Queen City 3A/4A Conference looks ahead to upcoming season

CHARLOTTE, N.C. ( CHARLOTTE SPORTS LIVE ) — Ahead of the 2024 high school football season, we sit just 23 days out from the highly-anticipated regular season kicking off in the Charlotte area.

The CSL crew has been previewing various conferences as they hold individual media days throughout the week.

At Mallard Creek High School Tuesday afternoon, arguably the toughest conference in the state, the Queen City 3A/4A Conference held its media day, where every coach in attendance made sure to emphasize the toughness of the league.

“This is the toughest conference in North Carolina. We call it the SEC of the north,” North Meck first-year head coach Daryl Vereen said.

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In his first season as the head man for Hough, DeShawn Baker led the Huskies to an unblemished conference mark with a league title on top of it in 2023.

Baker and Co. are back for more in 2024, trying to defend that crown, while chasing bigger feats on the horizon.

“We just had a coaches meeting and that was one of my questions, ‘how do we get over the hump?’, Baker said. “We just gotta hold each other accountable.”

Behind the Huskies, Mallard Creek, Chambers, North Meck and West Charlotte look poised to make a run at the reigning conference champions.

As for the bottom of the league, things don’t get easier this year.

Third-year Hopewell head coach Brandon Gentry knows this firsthand but now feels good about the guys he has in his program, which he believes has been the biggest issue with the program over the years.

Hough opens its season Friday, Aug. 23 at 5:15 p.m. against Northwestern.

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