After emotional win vs. Marvin Ridge, Lake Norman enters Charlotte Observer Sweet 16
Welcome Lake Norman to The Charlotte Observer’s Sweet 16 regional high school football poll.
On Friday night, the Wildcats (4-0) rallied from 21 points down to beat previously unbeaten Marvin Ridge 23-21. The Mavericks, No. 16 last in The Sweet 16 a week ago, fell out of the poll.
Elsewhere, three teams made big jumps:
▪ Chambers (2-1) moved from No. 15 to No. 5 after defeating Hickory Ridge 63-14 Friday. The Cougars were blown out by Benedictine (GA) to start the season. Benedictine (4-0) is the No. 1 ranked 4A team in its state. Since then, Chambers has beaten Winston-Salem’s Glenn High and Hickory Ridge by a total of 105-14.
▪ Butler (3-1) jumped from No. 11 to No. 3. A week after beating a top-20 national team from Georgia (Langston Hughes), Butler beat the No. 2 team in The Sweet 16, rallying to beat Weddington 22-15 Friday. Weddington dropped two spots in this week’s Sweet 16, to No. 4.
▪ West Charlotte jumped to No. 2 in the poll, its highest ranking since 2007. The Lions (3-0) were off this week but play at No. 7 Mallard Creek on Thursday night.
▪ The 3A Lions and private Providence Day are top two teams in the poll. It’s the first time since the ‘80s that a 4A team is not ranked first or second.
This story was originally published September 10, 2023 at 5:30 AM with the headline "After emotional win vs. Marvin Ridge, Lake Norman enters Charlotte Observer Sweet 16."
