Hough High cements its place as Mecklenburg’s top team

CAMERON WILLIAMS | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Hough High football coach DeShawn Baker holds the North Carolina 8A West Region trophy after the Huskies' 24-0 win against West Charlotte Nov. 28. The Huskies will play Raleigh Millbrook for the state title Dec. 11.

CORNELIUS – The Hough Huskies have finally made it to the promised land.

After years of coming up short in the West region, the 2025 Huskies, No. 1 in The Post’s Magnificent Seven rankings, got over the hump with a 24-0 win against No. 2 West Charlotte Friday in the 8A West Region final. Hough (13-0) coach DeShawn Baker — who has been on the job since 2023 — said the win was extra special.

“We are a part of history,” he said. “I told the kids we are the kings of the Queen City and that [West Charlotte] couldn’t mess with us. Everybody talks about what they do, but they haven’t seen a defense like ours, and I meant what I said. We came out and played our style of ball and so it is special and means we are a part of history.”

Amidst the postgame celebration, Baker said: “North Charlotte, South Charlotte, East Charlotte, West Charlotte, Hough by 30.” He had reason for confidence in his team, which is unbeaten against Mecklenburg County schools since his arrival. This year’s team erased the narrative of playoff failures and now will play for a state title.

“We got the monkey off our back,” Baker said. “Everyone is talking about what we can’t do. I heard someone say, ‘Man, what if you play West Charlotte and they beat you?’ Kanye West said it best: ‘I guess we’ll never know.’”

Hough’s defense, which has been stout all season long, showed why they just might be the best in the state by shutting out West Charlotte (10-3). Defensive coordinator Chachi Sullivan said he knew the Lions weren’t going to beat them based on athleticism alone. What made game planning difficult was wondering what the Lions had up their sleeves.

“We never thought that they were as good as everyone said they were,” Sullivan said. “We looked at the film. I’ll be honest with you; I was nervous because I couldn’t see what everybody else was saying. Honestly, I’m not trying to be disrespectful. I think they have some tremendous athletes, but I think that comes a time where being fast is not how you become a receiver, being fast is not how you become a running back. I think they’re just allowed to be athletes. The small details that you can see, there’s tendencies that were dead giveaways to what they wanted to do, and they’re just [winning with athleticism].”

Hough, which opened in 2010, has a long list of highly successful coaches. 

Bobby Collins, the school’s first coach (2010-13), led the Huskies to a 19-5 record his final two seasons before taking over at Rock Hill South Pointe. 

Miles Aldridge coached Hough to a pair of 10-plus win seasons before a final season of 7-5. He is now an assistant coach at Atlantic Collegiate Academy in Conway, S.C.  

Matt Jenkins took over in 2017 and had four 11-plus win seasons in five years. He got the Huskies to the regional final in 2021 before losing to Julius Chambers. Jenkins is now the head coach at West Cabarrus. 

It was Baker who did what none of the others couldn’t – get to the championship game. He was quick to divert the credit, though.

“This just means that my coaches have done a hell of a job all year,” Baker said. “I have some great coaches, and I’ve got some great kids. I can’t take all the credit, man. I have to have good players to be a good coach. I might be the head coach here but my coaches and players, they stayed the course and believed what I was teaching them and coaching them to do. It just worked out.”

The Huskies have a gap week until the state championship game against Raleigh Millbrook on Dec. 11. It’s a first for both teams as neither have won a title. 

On paper, Hough as the third ranked team in the state by MaxPreps and Millbrook 11th, the Huskies should be the favorite, but Baker isn’t letting his squad get complacent. He knows the Wildcats are unbeaten for a reason and will present challenges.

“We will not look over anybody,” Baker said. “We aren’t over here saying the East is no good. We are going to go out there and do what we do to prepare for every week. Millbrook is a really good team. They have some good players over there. So, we are going to take Monday off, get back at it Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and maybe be off Friday but get it going with the game plan.”

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