Midseason report cards: How do Fayetteville's football teams stack up?

We're halfway through the 2023 NCHSAA football season, and while the homestretch lies ahead, we've learned plenty about Fayetteville's teams up to this point.

With every team having played five games that included a few weeks of nonconference matchups, league titles will be decided in the coming schedule. Let's take a look at where teams stand heading into that stretch.

Here are report cards for every Fayetteville-area NCHSAA football team midway through the 2023 season.

SEASON-LONG COVERAGE High school football in Fayetteville: Complete coverage from the 2023 season

Seventy-First: A+

Record: 5-0, 2-0 United 8

Standout player: Quarterback Deandre Nance

Biggest win: 47-14 over South View

The Falcons were a breath away from a state championship appearance last season, and they are playing like a team hungry for more.

Nance is a high-IQ play-caller, and he's leading a team loaded with talent, behind an offensive line that routinely clears the way for big gains from star running backs Jayson Franklin and Donovan Frederick (also a vicious defender at 6-foot-1, 240 pounds). Those three average more than 100 yards rushing per game.

Nance can also sling it to a talented corps of receivers, including Amire Drummond, Zayvion Hill and Jytavius Whitted. And the Falcons' imposing defense wreaks havoc, never giving up more than two TDs in a game this season while dishing out 27 sacks, led by Carmello Joliffe's eight on the season.

Cape Fear: A

Record: 4-1, 2-0 U8

Standout player: Wide receiver Jeremiah Melvin

Biggest win: 38-25 over Terry Sanford

The Colts make the most of their weapons on both sides of the ball, and Wake Forest commit Jeremiah Melvin is hitting his stride with an average of 99 receiving yards per game and a team-high 10 touchdowns.

Favour Murtala continues to power the run game while Brice Mckenzie continues to improve at QB and a traditionally powerful defense led by Landon Sargent, Robert Moore and Bryan Charles holds down the line while two-way players Mekhai Coleman and Rico Mcdonald patrol the secondary.

Cape Fear jumped out with a statement win against Pine Forest and its only loss came at Wilmington Laney. This week's game at Seventy-First will be the Colts' toughest test of the regular season and a big indication of how they stack up against the best in the state.

South View: A

Record: 4-1, 1-1 U8

Standout player: Running back Christian Rutledge

Biggest win: 47-22 over Overhills

The Tigers are powered by Christian Rutledge, a senior running back who's averaging 162 yards rushing per game. He's also scored 14 touchdowns so far this season, including a six-TD performance in the opener vs. Overhills.

Junior quarterback Tyriq Clarida balances Rutledge's running with an average of almost 200 passing yards per game, and the Tigers' defense has two shutouts.

South View's only blemish has been a 47-14 loss to Seventy-First, and its schedule is end-loaded with games against Gray's Creek, Cape Fear and Jack Britt rounding out the regular season.

Terry Sanford: B+

Record: 3-2, 2-0 All American

Standout players: Wide receivers Kamal Thames and Rashid Jones

Biggest win: 38-20 over Triton

The Bulldogs' two losses have quality, coming against Scotland (34-29) and at Cape Fear (38-25). But their high points bookend the year so far, with a season-opening win over Topsail and a Week 6 victory over Triton proving Terry Sanford is on a higher tier and ready to contend for a conference title.

This edition of the Bulldogs has a creative factor that coach Bruce McClelland has utilized well on offense, but it really shines on special teams. Kamal Thames is No. 1 in North Carolina with an average of 54 yards per punt return, and his 34 ypg on kickoff returns ranks in the state's top 10.

Rashid Jones adds more strength to the Bulldogs' attack. He's put up 42 points and 262 return yards. And Jaylen Wright's 1,030 yards passing ranks 10th in 3A, tops in Cumberland County. And it's not close.

Pine Forest: B

Record: 2-3, 2-0 AAC

Standout player: Running back Jamari Jones

Biggest win: 20-15 over Westover

The Trojans put concerns over an 0-3 start to rest with an AAC-opening victory vs. Westover that saw Jones pile up 120 yards rushing with a TD. Fredrick Logan snagged an interception in that game, and his average of 18 yards per punt return ranks 25th in the state, among all classifications.

Sophomore Ja'lynn Thomas took over at quarterback in Week 2 of a grueling nonconference slate of Cape Fear, Seventy-First and Gray's Creek. The Trojans only managed one touchdown in each of their first two games, but put up 35 points in Week 3 against the Bears. With opening-week starting QB Nyzir Bostick healthy, he and Thomas combined for 154 yards on just eight pass attempts.

They say you're only as good as your last performance, and the Trojans won their last game 59-0. They also have momentum to go with a 2-0 conference record heading into a huge Week 7 matchup against Terry Sanford.

Jack Britt: B-

Record: 2-3, 2-0 U8

Standout player: Quarterback Jackson Powell

Biggest win: 49-8 at Lumberton

The Bucs got off to a rough start, going 0-2 in a one-TD game against Hoke and a shutout against powerhouse East Forsyth. But a Week 3 battle at Scotland breathed new life into Britt and it's gone 2-0 since. Those wins have come against U8 bottom-dwellers, but the Bucs dominated by a combined score of 98-16.

Powell has a sturdy target in sophomore Javonte Brooks to complement senior receiver/safety Darcy Davis Jr., and Cameron Williams has emerged as a reliable running back. The Bucs' defense earns respect with Bryce Bennett and Zach Pickel both averaging double-figure tackles.

Gray's Creek: C+

Record: 3-2, 0-2 U8

Standout players: Running back Javon Webb

Biggest win: 56-35 at Pine Forest

The Bears were off to a 3-0 start, coming off a quality win over two-time reigning AAU champ Pine Forest entering a conference opener against Purnell Swett, also 3-0. Gray's Creek would give up 439 all-purpose yards (and running back Darius Bethea's five TDs) to the Rams, losing the shootout 42-39. Then, the Bears hosted Seventy-First and fell 55-7.

The recent thud after a promising start highlighted by Webb's explosive running, leaves the Bears at the bottom of league standings. For now.

Westover: C

Record: 3-2, 0-2 AAC

Standout player: Quarterback Christian Frazier

Biggest win: 12-9 over St. Pauls

Westover, like Gray's Creek, streaked out to an impressive 3-0 start. The Wolverines had a quality win in their season-opener against St. Pauls — just one season removed from a 2A East Region championship appearance.

But the Bears set up a trap game for the Wolverines in Week 5, and that's where Westover met a 0-3 Pine Forest squad that had given up 56 points to Gray's Creek and then had a bye week to think about it.

The Wolverines seem to have lost some steam and they hit the midway point of the season looking mid after a home loss to Harnett Central. That's not where expectations are set for this squad. A defense built on speed will need to overachieve and first-year starting QB Christian Frazier will need to stay on his accelerated learning curve to keep Westover in the conference race. And those things are very possible.

E.E. Smith: D

Record: 1-4, 0-2 AAC

Biggest win: 28-0 over Douglas Byrd

The Golden Bulls are still trying to get over that one-win hump, dating back to the 2019 season when E.E. Smith went 4-8 overall. They haven't been able to snag more than one victory in any season since, but a 1-1 start and a Week 9 date with winless Western Harnett look promising.

Smith had a shot at another winless team last week at Overhills, but the Jaguars picked up their first victory instead.

Douglas Byrd: D-

Record: 0-5, 0-2 U8

Standout player: Running back Sincere Blount

Expectations are different for a rebuilding program, and Byrd has come a long way despite low participation in past years slowing the pipeline of future talent.

The improvement from a winless 2020 to a one-win 2021 to last year's 3-7 overall record shows that coach Maurice Huey has done the hard work of turning the ship. Now, he has to hold the course, and that's a stiff challenge in a league whose teams have an overall combined winning percentage of 0.733 when you take out the 0-5 records of Byrd and Lumberton.

The Eagles play at Lumberton in Week 10.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Midseason report cards: How do Fayetteville's football teams stack up?