West Charlotte, coming off a state title, not feeling the love at media day
West Charlotte High’s football team and quarterback Jamouri Nichols have found their rallying cry for the 2025 season.
Yes, the Lions are the only returning state football champion from Mecklenburg County, and yes, the Lions have 15 players — and nine underclassmen — with Division I football offers, but at the Meck Power 6 media day at Independence High, West Charlotte said it feels a little unappreciated.
The Lions won the 3A title last season in a state where 4A has always been king. Coach Sam Greiner said some people call his team the “Triple-A” champions, using a pro baseball reference. And in preseason, there are nine N.C. teams ranked in major national polls, including two from West Charlotte’s conference — Mallard Creek and Independence.
West Charlotte — which won more than 40 7-on-7 games this summer without a loss — didn’t make the cut.
“A lot of people don’t believe,” said Greiner, the reigning Charlotte Observer coach of the year. “So you’ve got to make them believe. We believe in ourselves and the outside world comes along a little later. We plan on making sure they believe it later on.”
Greiner thinks people are going to believe in his quarterback as well.
Last December, just over four months into his sophomore year, Nichols threw two touchdowns, completed 12 of 13 passes, and was named MVP of West Charlotte’s shocking 14-7 win over favored Fayetteville 71st in the state final.
West Charlotte won its first N.C. title since 1995. Greiner became just the first Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ coach in 24 years to win state championships at two schools. Greiner led Harding to an improbable state title in 2017, the Rams’ first in more than 50 years.
“We went through a lot of adversity and we usually put up a lot of points,” Nichols said, standing just in front an end zone at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh last December. “But today showed who we really were. We came through at the end.”
Nichols said he thought the win would launch his team into a different stratosphere, up there with national powers like Providence Day and Weddington and Greensboro’s Grimsley High, a team West Charlotte will face at Bank of America Stadium to kick off the season in a few weeks.
Instead, even with the dominant summer they’ve had, Nichols said it didn’t go the way he thought. There’s been more doubt than respect.
“It makes me just want to push the team and push myself more,” Nichols said Tuesday, “and to push the coaches, too. We want to be more of a player-led team and I just want to have a bond with my brothers. But we look at (the national polls) and laugh about it. It makes us want to go harder. That’s it.”
Since winning the state title, Nichols has grown two inches, to about 6-foot, and he’s put on a very noticeable 15 pounds.
He said he’s determined to put himself on the radar, big-time, this season.
“I felt like last year was a breakout year,” he said. “But I feel like this year will really be. I feel it in my spirit.”
Greiner said Nichols was always a great leader but he’s worked on his mechanics and his footwork and his physical strength as he gears up for what Greiner thinks can be a very special junior run, saying he thinks Nichols can be a real candidate to win N.C. Mr. Football.
“He’s phenomenal,” Greiner said. “I can’t wait for people to see him. It’s like unleashing someone. Even though he’s a state champion MVP, it’s like people go, ‘I don’t know.’ He’s picked up a couple (college) offers in the summer. He’s grown. He’s really strong in the weight room. His arm is just unbelievable and his leadership qualities have always remained the same. It’s going to be exciting to watch him.”
Greiner said he’s also excited for people to see his 2025 team, which is made up of more than 70% underclassmen.
“It’s the best summer I’ve ever had as a coach,” Greiner said. “And everything we want is right here in front of us. We’ve just go to own it.”
This story was originally published August 6, 2025 at 5:30 AM with the headline "West Charlotte, coming off a state title, not feeling the love at media day."
