High School

West Charlotte Coach Sam Greiner Aims for Historic State Title Legacy Against Seventy-First

Greiner seeks to become only the second coach to win NCHSAA state titles with two different Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools programs as West Charlotte battles for its first state championship since 1995

Jeff Hawkins

With a win on Saturday, West Charlotte head football coach Sam Greiner will become the first head coach to lead two different Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools programs to NCHSAA football state championships.
With a win on Saturday, West Charlotte head football coach Sam Greiner will become the first head coach to lead two different Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools programs to NCHSAA football state championships. / Sam Greiner Instagram/The Elite Performance

West Charlotte High School football coach Sam Greiner wants to achieve something different onSaturday.

With his Lions scheduled to face Fayetteville’s Seventy-First High School in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) 3A state championship game at Carter-Finley Stadium on the campus of North Carolina State University, Greiner is in line to secure a unique legacy, leading two Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) programs to a state title.

In 2017, Greiner guided the unsung Harding University to a 2017 4A championship. It was the Rams’ first title in more than five decades. The previous season, they finished 1-10  

Holding court at Monday’s NCHSAA Championship Game press conference, Greiner recalled his first title and the interactions he still has with his former players.

“The memories that it will create for these young people will go beyond what I can ever imagine,” Greiner said, as reported by The News & Observer. “The kids that were at Harding, still, talk about it today.”

If the Lions earn a win in the final, Greiner could join former coach Tom Knotts with state titles at more than one CMS institution. Knotts led West Charlotte to its lone NCHSAA title in 1995 and, beginning in 2000, created an Independence High School dynasty, earning seven consecutive titles.

Knotts also guided Harding to the 1987 4A state lost to Garner.

West Charlotte will appear in its ninth final and second against 71st, which the Lions lost, 3-0.

West Charlotte cuts down Hickory

West Charlotte (12-2) earned a trip to the 3A state championship game by downing the host Hickory Red Tornadoes, who entered riding a 30-game winning streak and averaged more than 50 points per game.

The Red Tornadoes displayed their offensive prowess by opening the semifinal with consecutive 80-yard touchdown drives. The Lions defense stiffened and held Hickory scoreless during their next five possessions.

During that time, sophomore quarterback Jamouri Nichols led the Lions’ offense to 30 unanswered points, completing 13 of 15 passes for and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 60 yards on 15 carries and another TD.

K.D. Cotton caught five passes for and two touchdowns and Emory McClain Jr. gained on 18 carries and a TD to pace West Charlotte.

The matchup was the first between the two programs since a 1986 4A second-round playoff game. The Lions, directed by then-quarterback and future Carolina Panthers coach Steve Wilks, topped Hickory, 30-6.

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Jeff Hawkins
JEFF HAWKINS

Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in print and digital media. A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2023-24 and 2011-12), NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003). His minor-league coverage included the UHL’s Adirondack IceHawks (1999-2003), Northeast League’s Adirondack Lumberjacks (1997-99) and South Atlantic League’s Hickory Crawdads (1993-95). Hawkins penned four youth sports books and away from the laptop, his main hobbies include mountain bike riding and live music. He has been writing for High School On SI since 2024.

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