The start of the NCHSAA 2024 high school football season is just around the corner.
The Cumberland County Football Jamboree is scheduled for Aug. 16 at Gray's Creek and Pine Forest with the regular season set to kick off on Aug. 23.
Each of Cumberland County’s 10 public schools are scheduled to play three nonconference games before wrapping up the regular season with seven conference games.
Pine Forest and Seventy-First have taken over their leagues each in the last three seasons as three-peat champions. The Trojans top the All American Conference and the Falcons have been soaring past the United 8, and the rest of the 3A East.
As the weeks dwindle down, the Fayetteville Observer take a look at all nonconference schedules and ranks the top five games for teams in the first half of the season before getting into league play.
2024 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE: Complete Fayetteville-area high school football schedule for 2024 season
2024 JAMBOREE SCHEDULE: 2024 football jamboree games are set. Who is your Fayetteville high school facing?
Looking ahead at the schedule through mid-September, here are five nonconference games to mark on the calendar:
Gray's Creek at E.E. Smith
The Bears and Golden Bulls will open up the season, and the fans will hope that the matchup will be just as exciting as last year. Gray's Creek won that one, 29-21, after going up 22-0 before E.E. Smith closed the gap in the second half. As E.E. Smith get set to host the first game of the year under the new Tevell Williams era, this contest should be a good bump on opening night.
Date: Aug. 23
Cape Fear at Pine Forest
Cape Fear dominated the Trojans last season for the two team's season opener after a burst of momentum for the Colts after the second drive of the night, ending 47-6. In a classic matchup to kickoff the season, these two teams could feature the game of the week to start the 2024 season.
Date: Aug. 23
Terry Sanford at Scotland
The last two meetings between the Bulldogs and the Scots' were thrillers to say the least. In 2022, Terry Sanford reigned victorious with a dramatic "Hail Terry" in the second round of the NCHSAA playoffs over Scotland. But last seaon, the Scots got the best of Terry Sanford at the line of scrimmage, and utilizing clock control. Both 3A east juggernauts were booted out of the playoffs at the third round last season.
Date: Aug. 30
Cape Fear at Terry Sanford
The Battle of the Blues annual matchup is always an anticipated contest, and never disappoints. Last season, it was one-sided, resulting in a 47-6 Colts rout. With last year's 38-25 win, the Colts took the 10-9 advantage over the last 19 games in the series, and put up the second-most points in the series since 2017. While both teams lost a load of starters on both sides of the ball, they look to both make playoff runs, and finish atop of their conferences.
Date: Sept. 6
Cape Fear vs. Wilmington Laney
The Colts and Bucs went down to the wire last season after a late-game interception thrown by Geronimo Sanchez that led to a 21-28 loss. As these two teams are both deep-playoff squads, facing the 4A East steamrollers, Laney in Week 3, is a great battle-test to get prepped for the reigning 3A East, and United 8 champions, Seventy-First.
Date: Sept. 13
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville’s top 5 high school football nonconference games to watch in 2024 season
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