In the past 40 years, what’s the greatest team I’ve seen? There are only two contenders
Now here’s a question I get asked all the time: Which Charlotte-area high school football team is the best of all time?
Today, we’re celebrating the top teams and players of The Charlotte Observer’s Sweet 16 era, which began in 1984. But my answer would be the same if we’re talking the past 40 years or the past 100.
Picking between the 2001 and 2004 versions of the Independence High Patriots is like choosing who’s the greatest basketball player of all time: LeBron James or Michael Jordan.
You can make strong arguments for either team — which fans, friends and family will certainly do, with passion.
▪ So in one corner, you’ve got 2004 Independence, one of the biggest, most ferocious teams Charlotte has ever seen. After legendary coach Tom Knotts led the Patriots to the 2003 state championship, he decided to leave for a college assistant coaching job at Duke.
Knotts knew exactly what he was leaving defensive coordinator Bill Geiler — who would be the head coach in 2004 — a plug-and-play state championship contender.
“Probably, talent-wise, the year I left, with (quarterback) Joe (Cox) and receiver (Mohamed Massaquoi), that was a pretty special team,” Knotts said.
▪ And in the other corner is 2001 Independence, which featured the best high school player, Chris Leak, and the best high school coach, Knotts, the area has ever produced. That Patriots’ team set the stage, literally, for the Independence dynasty that stayed in the national rankings and national consciousness for an entire decade.
The first Independence state championship team in 2000 was made up of a lot of sophomores who were 5-5 as freshman. It was Knotts’ first season and no one knew what to expect. That team was a surprise state champion.
The 2001 team was a juggernaut.
“Chris’ sophomore year,” Knotts said, “we had 13 starters that were sophomores and all coming back. We didn’t make it easy for them, but they were hungry and they had tasted success (in 2000) and they wanted more, and they were all great kids. We had the linemen to protect Chris and we had great skill people. We were hard to beat.”
In fact, both teams were impossible to beat.
The 2004 team went 15-0, won the school’s fifth straight state championship and brought the Patriots’ winning streak to 77 games (it eventually hit 109). Independence finished top five in most national polls that season and beat opponents by an average of 55-8. Cox, who would play at Georgia, threw for 4,509 yards, and 66 touchdowns, besting Leak’s previous state record.
The 2001 team went 16-0 and won the school’s second title. It became Mecklenburg County’s first back-to-back NCHSAA 4A state champion, winning by nearly 40 points per game. Only one 4A team that season averaged more than 28 points in the playoffs. That was the Patriots’ average margin of victory in the postseason. That Patriots’ team finished in the top five of most national polls.
Leak became the first NC player to throw for 4,000 yards twice, finishing his junior year in 2001 with 4,521 yards and 57 touchdowns. Tailback Mario Crowe ran for 1,739 yards and a Mecklenburg County record 37 touchdowns. Receiver Mario Raley caught a state-record 27 touchdown passes and ended his career fifth in national history.
“That makes me smile to remember that team,” Leak said. “Just with how much work went into it. And we weren’t no-huddle back then. Man, if were no-huddle, I might’ve doubled all those yards. We were that good.”
But the ‘04 team was good, too.
Cox’s 4,509 yards passing that season was fourth most in state history, behind Leak’s sophomore, junior and senior seasons. Massaquoi set a new state record with 32 touchdown catches. Independence averaged nearly 500 yards per game.
“I think ‘04 would beat 2001,” Geiler said. “The ‘04 team was just monsters. We were just huge. Defensively they all ran to the ball and had no egos. Joe (Cox) throws the ball to everybody. It’s sort of like the kids just grew, like a virus, growing and sprouting. Every year, we just had so many kids coming out to play. Tommy started something that was like a tidal wave.”
So which one do I choose?
Of all the questions you could ask me about high school sports in the time I’ve done this, and I’ve been around since 1988, this is by far the toughest.
But with two teams this good and with this much talent — and this much dominance — it comes down to the little things.
So I’ll go with 2001 for two reasons. First, I think the statewide competition was several degrees tougher in 2001 than 2004. And second, in a close game, and this would be a close game, the ‘01 team had the best quarterback and best coach I ever saw from the area.
I think they would figure out a way to win late in the fourth quarter.
Although if you want to pick the ‘04 team, I wouldn’t push back too hard.
It’s just that close.
This story was originally published January 11, 2024 at 6:00 AM with the headline "In the past 40 years, what’s the greatest team I’ve seen? There are only two contenders."
