Which Fayetteville high school football teams have the toughest schedule?
Rodd Baxley
August is coming.
In a month and a half, Fayetteville’s high school football teams will be taking the field to compete under the Friday night lights.
Cumberland County’s 10 public schools are scheduled to scrimmage in the annual jamboree Aug. 12 at Douglas Byrd and Westover. A week later, the season kicks off.
The Fayetteville Observer took a look at the schedules for each team to see which squads have the toughest road. The results are based on the combined record and winning percentage of a team’s opponents from the previous season.
Athletes to watch:Which high school athletes could be Fayetteville's best in 2022-23?
Best of 910Preps:Fayetteville's High School Football All-Stars
Looking back:Here are 12 Fayetteville-area superlatives from the 2021 fall high school football season
Coming off a winless season in 2021, E.E. Smith has the toughest strength of schedule, followed by Jack Britt, Douglas Byrd and Terry Sanford. South View is in the middle of the pack.
Seventy-First, which posted the best record among Fayetteville teams last season, comes in at No. 10 in the rankings with the weakest strength of schedule.
Here’s a look at the schedule for each of the 10 public schools in Cumberland County with their strength-of-schedule ranking in parentheses.
E.E. Smith (1)
Aug. 19 – Seventy-First
Aug. 26 – Cape Fear
Sept. 2 – Clinton
Sept. 9 – OPEN
Sept. 16 – Triton
Sept. 23 – at Overhills
Sept. 30 – Harnett Central
Oct. 7 – at Pine Forest
Oct. 14 – Western Harnett
Oct. 21 – at Terry Sanford
Oct. 28 – at Westover
Opponents combined 2021 record/winning percentage: (63-42, .600)
Jack Britt (2)
Aug. 19 – Pine Forest
Aug. 26 – Terry Sanford
Sept. 2 – at Scotland
Sept. 9 – OPEN
Sept. 16 – at Douglas Byrd
Sept. 23 – Lumberton
Sept. 30 – at Purnell Swett
Oct. 7 – Seventy-First
Oct. 14 – at Cape Fear
Oct. 21 – Gray’s Creek
Oct. 28 – South View
Opponents combined 2021 record/winning percentage: (59-47, .556)
Douglas Byrd (3)
Aug. 19 – at Red Springs
Aug. 26 – Goldsboro
Sept. 2 – Pine Forest
Sept. 9 – OPEN
Sept. 16 – Jack Britt
Sept. 23 – at South View
Sept. 30 – at Gray’s Creek
Oct. 7 – Cape Fear
Oct. 14 – Lumberton
Oct. 21 – at Purnell Swett
Oct. 28 – at Seventy-First
Opponents combined 2021 record/winning percentage: (52-48, .520)
Terry Sanford (4)
Aug. 19 – at Glenn
Aug. 26 – at Jack Britt
Sept. 2 – Cape Fear
Sept. 9 – OPEN
Sept. 16 – Overhills
Sept. 23 – at Triton
Sept. 30 – Pine Forest
Oct. 7 – at Harnett Central
Oct. 14 – at Westover
Oct. 21 – E.E. Smith
Oct. 28 – at Western Harnett
Opponents combined 2021 record/winning percentage: (49-52, .485)
South View (5)
Aug. 19 – at Overhills
Aug. 26 – OPEN
Sept. 2 – Hoke County
Sept. 9 – Richmond
Sept. 16 – at Seventy-First
Sept. 23 – Douglas Byrd
Sept. 30 – at Lumberton
Oct. 7 – Purnell Swett
Oct. 14 – at Gray’s Creek
Oct. 21 – Cape Fear
Oct. 28 – at Jack Britt
Opponents combined 2021 record/winning percentage: (46-54, .460)
Gray's Creek (6)
Aug. 19 – Hoke County
Aug. 26 – at Union Pines
Sept. 2 – West Johnston
Sept. 9 – OPEN
Sept. 16 – Purnell Swett
Sept. 23 – at Seventy-First
Sept. 30 – Douglas Byrd
Oct. 7 – at Lumberton
Oct. 14 – South View
Oct. 21 – at Jack Britt
Oct. 28 – at Cape Fear
Opponents combined 2021 record/winning percentage: (45-57, .441)
Pine Forest (7)
Aug. 19 – at Jack Britt
Aug. 26 – at Seventy-First
Sept. 2 – at Douglas Byrd
Sept. 9 – OPEN
Sept. 16 – at Westover
Sept. 23 – Western Harnett
Sept. 30 – at Terry Sanford
Oct. 7 – E.E. Smith
Oct. 14 – Triton
Oct. 21 – Harnett Central
Oct. 28 – at Overhills
Opponents combined 2021 record/winning percentage: (44-57, .435)
Cape Fear (8)
Aug. 19 – Durham Riverside
Aug. 26 – at E.E. Smith
Sept. 2 – at Terry Sanford
Sept. 9 – OPEN
Sept. 16 – at Lumberton
Sept. 23 – Purnell Swett
Sept. 30 – Seventy-First
Oct. 7 – at Douglas Byrd
Oct. 14 – Jack Britt
Oct. 21 – at South View
Oct. 28 – Gray’s Creek
Opponents combined 2021 record/winning percentage: (41-59, .410)
Westover (9)
Aug. 19 – at Southern Lee
Aug. 26 – St. Pauls
Sept. 2 – Fairmont
Sept. 9 – OPEN
Sept. 16 – Pine Forest
Sept. 23 – at Harnett Central
Sept. 30 – Triton
Oct. 7 – at Overhills
Oct. 14 – Terry Sanford
Oct. 21 – at Western Harnett
Oct. 28 – E.E. Smith
Opponents combined 2021 record/winning percentage: (40-58, .408)
Seventy-First (10)
Aug. 19 – at E.E. Smith
Aug. 26 – Pine Forest
Sept. 2 – OPEN
Sept. 9 – at Hoke County
Sept. 16 – South View
Sept. 23 – Gray’s Creek
Sept. 30 – at Cape Fear
Oct. 7 – at Jack Britt
Oct. 14 – Purnell Swett
Oct. 21 – at Lumberton
Oct. 28 – Douglas Byrd
Opponents combined 2021 record/winning percentage: (40-59, .404)
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on Twitter.