We ranked all 32 Western North Carolina high school football teams for 2026 season

The 2026 Western North Carolina high school football season kicks off on Aug. 21.

WNC had four teams play for a state championship last season, but Asheville School, Brevard, Murphy and Robbinsville all came up a game short of a state title.

Murphy finished No. 2 in the final 2025 WNC high school football power rankings. It starts out 2026 in the top five. Franklin is another team that remains in the top five as the 2026 season is set to begin.

Those two teams meet in Week 1 when the Panthers travel to face the Bulldogs.

With a few days remaining before the first games, the Citizen Times and Times-News ranked every high school football team in Western North Carolina from 1-32. Here are the rankings.

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1. Roberson (NCHSAA Class 6A)
2. Hendersonville (3A)
3. Asheville High (6A)
4. Franklin (5A)
5. Murphy (2A)
6. Mitchell (2A)
7. Christ School (NCISAA Division I)
8. Tuscola (4A)
9. Smoky Mountain (5A)
10. Reynolds (6A)
11. North Henderson (5A)
12. Cherokee (2A)
13. Robbinsville (1A)
14. Mountain Heritage (3A)
15. Asheville School (Division II)
16. Pisgah (4A)
17. Owen (3A)
18. Erwin (5A)
19. West Henderson (5A)
20. Brevard (4A)
21. North Buncombe (5A)
22. Swain County (2A)
23. McDowell (7A)
24. Enka (5A)
25. Polk County (3A)
26. Hayesville (2A)
27. Madison (3A)
28. Rosman (1A)
29. East Henderson (4A)
30. Andrews (1A)
31. Avery County (2A)
32. Asheville Christian (Independent)

Zachary Huber is a high school sports reporter for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him at [e-mail] or follow him on X @zacharyahuber.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: We ranked all 32 Western North Carolina high school football teams for 2026 season