American Leadership Academy hopes to build on playoff run from its first season

By Randy Capps American Leadership Academy has made quite an impact in its first two years as a varsity program. A 7-3 mark in 2024 as a non-affiliated member of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association laid the foundation for last year’s 4-7 record as a member of the Quad County 2A/3A/4A. It resulted […]

Corinth Holders gears up for year No. 2 in CAP 8A

By Randy Capps Moving up to the 8A ranks in the most recent North Carolina High School Athletic Association realignment was always going to present challenges for Corinth Holders. As Johnston County’s largest school, the Pirates were slotted in the CAP 8A with traditional powers Millbrook and Rolesville, along with Leesville Road, Enloe, Broughton, Wakefield […]

After state title game run, Clayton looks to build on recent success

By Randy Capps Under current NCHSAA regulations, only eight football teams can win a state championship. That’s one in each classification, and Clayton fell one game short of winning the 7A crown with a 24-14 loss to nationally-ranked Grimsley in the title game in Chapel Hill. The journey, which included 12 wins, a victory over […]

New coach bringing fresh ideas, familiar winning mentality to Cleveland

By Randy Capps When Scott Riley ended his 12-year run at Cleveland in January — a period that featured a 130-27 record and 11 conference championships — one of the best high school football jobs in the state was unexpectedly open. It drew plenty of attention from coaches all over the Carolinas, and it seems, […]

Youthful North Johnston looks to take a step forward in 2026

By Randy Capps Six is the magic number for this year’s North Johnston football team. It’s the number of wins in each of head coach Kyle Schenk’s first two seasons in charge of the Panthers, and it’s the number of wins and losses (6-6) that the 2025 squad posted last fall. There are also a […]

South Johnston keeps it in the family with new coaching hire

By Randy Capps The last time South Johnston had an opening for its head football coaching job five years ago, it hired a coordinator with strong ties to the community in Lee Webb. The result was a 32-23 record and, more importantly, a revitalization of the program’s culture and bond with the towns that feed […]

West Johnston seeks more consistency in 2026

By Randy Capps In a season that featured the first eight-classification system in North Carolina high school football and more transfers than the New York City subway system, the strangest storyline from the 2025 season in Johnston County might actually be West Johnston. A 4-7 record and a first-round playoff exit at West Brunswick may […]

Spartans will hope to punch above their weight in rugged Greater Neuse 7A

By Randy Capps As Stanley Williams enters the third season as head coach at his alma mater, he and Smithfield-Selma are coming off the back of consecutive 1-9 seasons. The Spartans are slotted into the Greater Neuse River 7A Conference — a league that produced four of the last 16 teams left in last year’s […]

Publisher column: I’m glad we keep good records around here

By Randy Capps As a newly-minted 50-year-old man who has written more than 130 columns for this magazine, I’m glad I went to check the past football editions to make sure I haven’t covered my start with journalism. Turns out, I’ve already done it twice in previous football editions. Of all the things I’ve lost […]