Last season

Record: 3-7 overall, 0-5 in Tobacco Road 6A/7A conference (sixth)
Playoffs: Missed the playoffs

2026 preview

For East Chapel Hill, progress may seem slow and repetitive.

Last year, coach Ricky Morton, entering his second season at the helm, recalled the expected work of a football team being a “culture shock” for his players.

“When I got here last year in February, some of these kids had never really been in a program before,” Morton said. “Bringing them through their first year of weight training, summer camp, four days of summer workouts — it was a huge change for them.”

After graduating 16 seniors and reloading with over 40 players who were either recruited from the school or rising freshmen, Morton and his staff, in ways, have had to once again reintroduce what a football program looks like. In the early building process for this season, the Wildcats met once a week just to talk about the fundamentals of the game.

Yet, Morton feels East Chapel Hill is in a much different place than before.

“Our numbers are looking so much better than last year,” Morton said. “We’re excited with the way the program is going. We finally started a weight room, and now we have Strength and Conditioning 1, Strength and Conditioning 2, Strength and Conditioning Honors. And so, we are filtering our guys through that. And just watching them grow, and how fast they are, it’s night and day from last June to June of this year.”

In addition to more strength in numbers and physical ability, the experience of the returning Wildcats has contributed to the team’s progression.

“We had a very young team,” Morton said about last year’s roster. “So now, those guys know the fundamentals. They know our operations, and it’s so much smoother. And those guys are bringing along the newcomers that we recruited as well as our freshmen.”

The returners include junior quarterback Leo George, who Morton says is now “seeing the field as a whole.”

“He’s had a lot of snaps up under himself,” Morton said. “He’s reading the defenses well, making good decisions.”

Junior running back Gabe Davis will also be a key veteran as he looks to lead the run game after A’maree Evans, who had multiple games of over 100 yards rushing last year.

“I don’t think it’s going to be too much of a decline,” Morton said. “(Davis) is a fast kid, a strong kid, and he really works hard.”

On the offensive and defensive line, East Chapel Hill will look for leadership from senior Andrew Hart.

Senior linebackers Jaden Nichols and Leo Veggian are expected to have big seasons in the Wildcats’ run defense. East Chapel Hill will rely on senior strong safety Grady LeGuillon in its secondary.

By nature and by training, leadership will be essential to the Wildcats’ offseason improvements showing up on the field. Morton has emphasized its importance through a weekly “leadership group” with two players from each class.

“We talk about the right way to do things,” Morton said. “Inside the classroom, in the community, on the football field and every aspect of their life. And so, those eight kids have really molded our team culture, and we look so much faster in going through drills and just putting on equipment and getting to practice on time. We’re starting to act like an actual football program.”

Said Morton, “We always have this saying like, ‘baby steps, baby steps.’ Little wins will eventually build up.”

Schedule
*conference game

Aug. 21 — at Cedar Ridge
Aug. 28 — at Green Hope
Sept. 4 — at Graham
Sept. 11 — vs. Carrboro
Sept. 18 — BYE
Sept. 25 — vs. Jordan-Matthews
Oct. 2 — vs. Hillside*
Oct. 9 — at Chapel Hill*
Oct. 16 — at Northern Durham*
Oct. 23 — vs. Riverside*
Oct. 30 — vs. Southern Durham*