High school football season is almost here, and practices are underway. The NCHSAA enters its second year with eight championship classifications and introduces sanctioned girls' flag football. Seventy-eight coaches will debut at the helm across 393 member schools when the 2026 season arrives, according to The Charlotte Observer. Back in early May, the N.C. High School Athletic Association Board of Directors sanctioned girls' flag football as an official sport. Between 2002 and 2021, the NCHSAA split its four classes in half, crowning eight football state champions before reverting to four classifications for a brief period.