Greater Charlotte Athletic Conference football preview

HOUGH HIGH SCHOOL

Hough High, which went 12-2 and was unbeaten in the Queen City 3A/4A in 2024, transitions to the new Greater Charlotte Athletic Conference.

The Greater Charlotte Athletic Conference features perennial winners and teams that have been rebuilding for a long time.

The conference is composed of Hough, Myers Park, South Mecklenburg, West Mecklenburg, Hopewell and Garinger. While Hough is the odds-on favorite, each team is hungry to be the one to play spoiler to the Huskies hopes.

Hough (12-2 in 2024)

The Huskies had a good season in 2024 by most teams’ standards, but not for Hough’s. After dropping their season opener to Rock Hill Northwestern, the South Carolina 4A state champion, the Huskies rattled off 12 straight wins before falling to Greensboro Grimsley, the eventual North Carolina 4A winner. 

Hough is in the 8A classification this year since the state association moved to eight divisions. Grimsley is 7A, so the Huskies won’t have to go through Greensboro to win a title. Coach DeShawn Baker doesn’t care about any of that. He wants his team to fine tune the little things that separates great teams from elite teams.

“It’s championship or bust over here,” Baker said. “I know we’ve lost to Grimsley the last three years, and I tell the kids all the time it’s the mental things. We’ve got to be better with mental things. And like I tell them, I went and watched those games, all three games, and one thing that we did, they didn’t do, was turn the ball over. We turned the ball over one time in each one of those games, and it came back to haunt us and so just being better mentally and making sure we focus on the small details.”

Myers Park (4-6 in 2024)

Coach Chris James is heading into his third season with the Mustangs. After going 7-4 his first year, 2024 was a step back. James is hoping to get back to consistent winning soon.

“We are definitely going to be better than 4-6,” he said. “It wasn’t a great year for us last year and that is a part of the game. Things happen and I think you use things like that as fuel. I think you can find ways to push buttons of [the players] after a season like we had, so I am expecting us to continue to improve daily. I think that is the main thing.”

Myers Park has 27 seniors and James said the goal is for them to be playing into December.

South Mecklenburg (3-7 in 2024)

Coach Joe Evans leads his Sabres into 2025 where they hope to improve on a season where they had one-possession losses to Olympic, Palisades and Ardrey Kell. 

“We are definitely hoping for a big season,” quarterback Carter Gillis said. “We have some playmakers on the outside. We have a solid group of linemen as well, a big group, so we are going to be solid. I will have some solid pieces around me for sure. I just have to take care of the football, limit interceptions and take advantage of the big plays when they are there.”

West Mecklenburg (3-7 in 2024)

The Hawks have been in a rebuilding phase for some time. Coach Beady Waddell IV says there is a rejuvenated excitement around this year's team and players believe they are capable of more than what they have shown in past seasons. 

“I'm excited,” Waddell said. “I mean, the energy is high. There’s a lot of great things just going on in our building in general. Being in the new conference is exciting. But the expectation is every year, of course, you want to win the state title. That’s everybody’s expectation, right? But to win 10 games, to practice on Thanksgiving morning, to win our conference, those are the things that we’re preaching in our program.” 

Waddell did not hold back on a nonconference schedule that will challenge his team. The Hawks face Ashbrook, Statesville, Olympic, Corvian Community School and West Charlotte.

Hopewell (3-7 in 2024)

The Titans are one of two teams in the conference with a new coach. Brandon Sneed knows what winning football looks like coming from Mallard Creek, where he was offensive coordinator. 

Sneed feels the GCAC, which has several teams with similar struggles in recent seasons provides a chance for a program like Hopewell to separate themselves. The Titans haven’t produced a winning season since 2010.

“When you really believe in something, believe that you have a shot, it’s probably going to increase your belief,” Sneed said. “It’s hard to go out there if you feel like there’s not much of a chance of success. But I don’t think we feel that way right now.”

Garinger (0-10 in 2024)

The Wildcats are coming off their fifth consecutive winless season. Garinger has also had as many head coaches as winless seasons in a row. But new coach Jupiter Wilson knows what winning football looks like coming from Hickory Ridge, where he took the Ragin’ Bulls to the playoffs several times and a record of 9-3 in 2021. 

His message to the Wildcats — who have a drastic increase in player turnout this season — is change is coming. 

“I told the coaches when we took this job, I’ve got to be the most consistent guy,” Wilson said.  “The one thing I tell my kids all the time to hear from me: you may fail yourself, and I don’t feel like coming to practice, I don’t feel like doing my work or whatever, but I’m never going to fail.”

Wilson said that one of the most inspiring things he has seen from his players is their appreciation. The Wildcats can see and believe he is bought in as their coach and, in turn, they are as well. 

“I've enjoyed coaching here the most,” Wilson said. “Sometimes being at different places, and I've coached conference champions, all that good stuff, things are just taken for granted. So, when you buy kids T-shirts and shorts, other places have the means and stuff to do that, and then you see the appreciative part of them saying, one, ‘thank you, coach.’ And then two, doing what you’re asking because it makes it all worthwhile.”

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