Millbrook High School has built a reputation as one of North Carolina’s most consistent and competitive football programs, consistently producing strong teams year after year. Over the past several seasons, the Wildcats have made multiple deep playoff runs, consistently finishing with double-digit wins and proving they belong among the state’s best. Their showing of being a solid team has only become more noticeable in the new NCHSAA 8A division, where stronger competition has created intense regional rivalries.
While talking to Will Ramsey, a starting Offensive lineman, I asked how he feels with the new classifications from Millbrook coming to 4A to 8A he was telling me how it made the competition better because it separated 4A, Hence there is less Schools to play but harder competition which is really nice because it pushes the team to work harder against schools that are on the same level skills ways as us.
All of that history between the two teams and the reclassifications set the stage for Millbrook’s playoff battle against undefeated Hoggard in Wilmington, and one of the most anticipated matchups of the 2025 postseason.
Millbrook’s playoff win over Hoggard in Wilmington was a very close game, a defensive battle that sent the Wildcats to the NCHSAA 8A state playoffs and ended the Vikings’ 12 – 0 season. The matchup showed why Millbrook is one of North Carolina’s strongest football programs and why this new 8A era has quickly produced big-time rivalries between great schools. Hoggard came into the 2025 8A East Regional Final undefeated and playing at home, having rolled through earlier playoff rounds and earning the No. 1 seed in the East bracket. Millbrook arrived as the No. 2 seed, also with a 12–0 record. Not to mention last year, they knocked us out by a kickoff in the previous quarter. In the beginning, Hoggard threw a touchdown pass to give the Vikings a 7–0 lead, which would be the only time the Vikings scored that night. The first half became a struggle, with Millbrook missing a short field goal and drawing a special teams penalty, allowing Hoggard to hold its lead into halftime. Millbrook’s defense tightened after the break, limiting Hoggard’s passing. On offense, the Wildcats finally scored to tie the game in the third quarter.
The turning point came when Millbrook running back Brilison McCullers scored a rushing touchdown in the second half after coming in, giving the Wildcats a 14–7 lead, which Hoggard would not come back from. Wide receiver Malachi Gilchrist also delivered a standout performance, having over 100 receiving yards. These critical moments shifted the field position, allowing Millbrook to control the clock late in the game.
Millbrook’s defense, which had already been one of the best in the state all year, was the backbone of the win, holding Hoggard to just seven points. The Wildcats limited Hoggard’s passing efficiency and running. When the clock ran out in Wilmington, Millbrook had secured a 14–7 victory, claiming the 8A East regional title, while Hoggard finished its season at 12–1.
The run Millbrook is having this season, with double-digit wins, only letting the team score less than half of what they scored this year, and keep pushing into the playoffs under a great coaching staff that has shown why the Millbrook football team belongs at the top of North Carolina high school football. Now with a spot secured in the 8A State Championship, which will take place at the University of Chapel Hill’s Kenan Memorial Stadium on December 11, starting at 8 pm, Millbrook, which began the season 8–0, will make its first appearance in school history. December 11 will be the moment that decides whether Millbrook can finish the journey and officially claim its place as the best team in North Carolina 8A football.
