The Central Carolina Conference underwent changes this realignment. Moved to the 3A classification are Central Davidson Ledford, Oak Grove, North Davidson and South Rowan. Newcomers to the conference are North Rowan and South Davidson. The conference is now a 7-team split 1A/2A with 2A members being East Davidson, Lexington, Salisbury, and West Davidson with 1A members North Rowan, Thomasville, and South Davidson. The conference, in my opinion, is four-tier's.
Tier One
Salisbury: Without question the favorite to win the conference. Coming of a state championship there is no shortage of talent or coaching for the Hornets. Even with graduation losses from last year's title team, they are the team to beat. Will they have an off-night in conference? Maybe. But not likely. They are the most stable program in the conference.
Tier Two
THS: THS enters year two of Coach Gillespie and staff. They completed the spring with a 3-3 record. They won they games they should have while losing to conference leaders ND, OG, and Ledford. They lost those three games by a combined 28 points with the loss to ND consuming 18 of those points. They did not play Salisbury in the spring. They defeated Lexington and South Rowan and received a forfeit win against ED who had cancel due to COVID. After Salisbury, they are the leader of the pack in regards to the rest of the conference. THS-SHS on 09/17 could determine the conference depending on the improvement THS continues to make.
NRHS: The Cavaliers are also in the second year of a coaching change. Nygel Pearson and staff led the Cavaliers through the spring to finish 5-3 overall after a second round defeat to Polk County. NRHS previously played in the Yadkin Valley 1A and, even though this is a split conference, games against THS and SHS will prove challenging. Could they upset either one of the conference leaders? They play THS on 09/24 in Thomasville and close the season at Salisbury on 10/29.
Tier Three
EDHS: ED limped to a 2-5 finish last year with a young team in the first year of a new offense. Coach Hanner is conference's elder statesman approaching 10 years over two stints as the head coach of the Eagles. ED has had pockets of success but has been unable to find something sustainable. Could this be the year they make a jump into Tier Two? Might they pull an upset somewhere along the way?
WDHS: After the retirement of Coach Lingerfelt, the Dragons have a new coach in Brian Billings. Will the Dragons continue their tradition of tough, physical play in the trenches? They have always been a well-coached team lacking an explosive element to them. To their credit, they know their identity and play to it.
Tier Four
Lexington: Year 2 under head coach Eric Brown and staff. While the Yellow Jackets did not score a win during the spring. However, one observer noted that the team was the most disciplined LSHS squad they had seen in some years. If Coach Brown can build on that foundation and have time to grow the program LSHS could make their way up the tiers in the next couple of years. For now, they have to build little-by-little.
SDHS: SDHS will continue to be SDHS until something changes. As of now, they play hard but lack the athletes and the volume of players to be competitive most nights.
Predicted Final Conference Standings
1. SHS (6-0)
2. THS (5-1)
3. NRHS (4-2)
4. EDHS (3-3)
5. WDHS (2-4)
6. LSHS (1-5)
7. SDHS (0-6)
Tier One
Salisbury: Without question the favorite to win the conference. Coming of a state championship there is no shortage of talent or coaching for the Hornets. Even with graduation losses from last year's title team, they are the team to beat. Will they have an off-night in conference? Maybe. But not likely. They are the most stable program in the conference.
Tier Two
THS: THS enters year two of Coach Gillespie and staff. They completed the spring with a 3-3 record. They won they games they should have while losing to conference leaders ND, OG, and Ledford. They lost those three games by a combined 28 points with the loss to ND consuming 18 of those points. They did not play Salisbury in the spring. They defeated Lexington and South Rowan and received a forfeit win against ED who had cancel due to COVID. After Salisbury, they are the leader of the pack in regards to the rest of the conference. THS-SHS on 09/17 could determine the conference depending on the improvement THS continues to make.
NRHS: The Cavaliers are also in the second year of a coaching change. Nygel Pearson and staff led the Cavaliers through the spring to finish 5-3 overall after a second round defeat to Polk County. NRHS previously played in the Yadkin Valley 1A and, even though this is a split conference, games against THS and SHS will prove challenging. Could they upset either one of the conference leaders? They play THS on 09/24 in Thomasville and close the season at Salisbury on 10/29.
Tier Three
EDHS: ED limped to a 2-5 finish last year with a young team in the first year of a new offense. Coach Hanner is conference's elder statesman approaching 10 years over two stints as the head coach of the Eagles. ED has had pockets of success but has been unable to find something sustainable. Could this be the year they make a jump into Tier Two? Might they pull an upset somewhere along the way?
WDHS: After the retirement of Coach Lingerfelt, the Dragons have a new coach in Brian Billings. Will the Dragons continue their tradition of tough, physical play in the trenches? They have always been a well-coached team lacking an explosive element to them. To their credit, they know their identity and play to it.
Tier Four
Lexington: Year 2 under head coach Eric Brown and staff. While the Yellow Jackets did not score a win during the spring. However, one observer noted that the team was the most disciplined LSHS squad they had seen in some years. If Coach Brown can build on that foundation and have time to grow the program LSHS could make their way up the tiers in the next couple of years. For now, they have to build little-by-little.
SDHS: SDHS will continue to be SDHS until something changes. As of now, they play hard but lack the athletes and the volume of players to be competitive most nights.
Predicted Final Conference Standings
1. SHS (6-0)
2. THS (5-1)
3. NRHS (4-2)
4. EDHS (3-3)
5. WDHS (2-4)
6. LSHS (1-5)
7. SDHS (0-6)