By Ryan Moxon — The road to back-to-back state championships begins Saturday for the top-ranked high school football teams in North and South Carolina.

The No. 1-ranked Hough Huskies, the 2025 North Carolina 8A champions, will face the top-ranked Northwestern Trojans, the 2025 South Carolina 5A champions. Hough has lost four games over the past three seasons; the Trojans have lost three.

The last time the Huskies lost a regular-season game was their opener two seasons ago against the same team, when the Trojans rallied from a 20-point second-half deficit to beat Hough 45-44.

Hough’s secondary is expected to be dominant again this season, while a revamped defensive line looks to strengthen the Huskies’ defense. The secondary will face a major test against the Trojans’ passing game, led by dual-threat quarterback Xavier Means and wide receiver Malik Ratliff.

On offense, quarterback Ethan Royal, wide receiver Mason Pearsall-Brown and running back Jamarion Morrison return to lead a Hough offense that scored more than 35 points in half of its games last season.

The game was scheduled for Friday night but moved to Saturday due to forecasted storms.

Kickoff is at 4 p.m. at District 3 Stadium in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Tickets cost $10, and games are streamed live on NFHS Network.