Other week, I met with Panthers’ football Coach Ben James – good guy. See our sports coverage on page 6, but I’ll tell you, after talking with Coach James, I’m excited for the season ahead. By all accounts, the Panthers seem to be coming together as a team, ready to play football.
Wasn’t so long ago that Plymouth was a regional powerhouse in football. And I see the potential for that to happen again.
Plymouth High School, then called the Vikings prior to school consolidation, captured three state championships – three different opponents, three different scores, one unmistakable stamp of dominance on the Class 1-A ranks.
It started in 2007, when Plymouth knocked off North Duplin High School 20–13 to claim the program's first-ever Class 1-A title. For a school that had never tasted a state crown, that win was more than a trophy — it was proof of concept. The Vikings could compete with anybody in their class.
Five years later, they did it again. In 2012, Plymouth dispatched Murphy High School 20–15, a tight, hard-fought battle that showed this wasn't a fluke — it was a program sustaining excellence year after year.
Then came 2015, and arguably the signature win of the era: a 28–20 victory over Robbinsville High School that sealed a third state title and cemented the Vikings' place among the state's elite small-school programs.
But titles alone don't tell the whole story. Plymouth also made championship-game appearances in 2013, 2014, and 2016 — three more trips to the biggest stage in Class 1-A football, even in years the Vikings came up just short. That kind of sustained presence, year after year, is the real marker of a dynasty. Anyone can catch lightning in a bottle once. Plymouth kept showing up.
Living in Eastern NC – you knew the Plymouth could play some ball. Three big trophies, six championship-game appearances across a decade — that's amazing!
Hard to describe the feeling of a new season, but I can sense a pulse in the air for Panthers’ football.
"We'll be able to play power, smash-mouth football,” Coach James said. “We'll be able to spread you out. We got speed, we got size. Being versatile, being able to adapt to other teams and causing matchup problems for other teams."
The Panthers open the season at home Friday, Aug. 21, against Manteo at 7 p.m.
Meanwhile, Columbia High School Football Coach Ron'Dayle Floyd believes the Wildcats have finally assembled the pieces to make real noise in the Atlantic 1A.
That confidence starts up front. Floyd calls his defensive line one of the best he's had, and it's easy to see why he's excited: a strong front allows Columbia to fly around the field, with athletic linebackers and defensive backs ready to make plays behind it. "Everything starts up front," Floyd said — and if his line holds up the way he expects, the Wildcats could be one of the more disruptive defenses in the league this year.
Offensively, Floyd isn't looking to lean on one dimension — he wants balance, and he's got the talent to get it. A deep group of skill players gives Columbia multiple ways to beat opponents, whether on the ground or through the air.
Floyd has been vocal about wanting Tyrrell County pumped up every step of the way. "Get ready, it's going to be an exciting season," he told fans, and it's the kind of energy that suggests he sees something in this roster worth believing in.
With a strong foundation, a stacked defensive front and playmakers up and down the roster, Columbia has every reason to believe 2026 is the year the Wildcats start climbing back up the Atlantic 1A standings.
Last note: whether you pull for the Panthers or the Wildcats, support the home team. Seeing a full crowd cheering from the home bleachers — that’s inspiring for the kids to press forward and give it their all on the playing field, maybe worth a touchdown or two more on the scoreboard.
Columbia opens its 2026 season at home on Friday, Aug. 28, hosting Jones Senior with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
Editor Miles Layton may be reached at mileslayton1969@gmail.com
