Top 15 most dominant North Carolina high school football programs since 2006

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When it comes to finding the most dominant football programs in North Carolina since MaxPreps became America's source for high school sports, it helps to look at schools large and small.

Sure, No. 1 Butler and No. 2 Mallard Creek play in large divisions. But look lower on the list and you will find some small school powers. Like for example, No. 5 Shelby. The Golden Lions have for state titles in a row in classes 2A and 2AA, plus they reached 2AA title games in 2006-07.

It's a diverse group on our list. Aside from small schools and large schools, there is some geographic variety. Two schools from the city of Shelby on the western edge of the Charlotte metro area are on the western flank while New Bern and Havelock reside near the coast. And Rockingham sits near the South Carolina border while Reidsville is near Virginia.

Here is how the points break down:

1. 20 for a state title

2. 10 for a state championship game appearance

3. Other points are based on where a team finished in the final MaxPreps North Carolina Football Computer Rankings presented by the Army National Guard. For example, if a team finished No. 1 overall, it would receive 25 points. If it finished 25th overall, the team would get one point. No points are awarded if the team did not finish in the Top 25.

1. David W. Butler (Matthews) — 264 points
State titles: 3
Runner-ups: 0
Top 25 state rankings: 2006 (8), 2007 (19), 2008 (9), 2009 (1), 2010 (1), 2011 (8), 2012 (1), 2013 (6), 2014 (12), 2015 (6), 2016 (11)

2. Mallard Creek (Charlotte) — 228 points
State titles: 3
Runner-ups: 0
Top 25 state rankings: 2009 (12), 2010 (4), 2011 (4), 2012 (5), 2013 (1), 2014 (1), 2015 (1), 2016 (12)

3. Charlotte Catholic — 212 points
State titles: 1
Runner-ups: 4
Top 25 state rankings: 2007 (14), 2010 (10), 2011 (10), 2012 (7), 2013 (5), 2014 (3), 2015 (3), 2016 (4)

4. Dudley (Greensboro) — 202 points
State titles: 4
Runner-ups: 0
Top 25 state rankings: 2006 (19), 2007 (10), 2008 (2), 2009 (16), 2013 (2), 2015 (10), 2016 (1)

5. Shelby — 180 points
State titles: 5
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2006 (6), 2007 (17), 2014 (22), 2015 (9), 2016 (6)

6. Northern Guilford (Greensboro) — 174 points
State titles: 4
Runner-ups: 0
Top 25 state rankings: 2010 (17), 2011 (3), 2012 (2), 2013 (8), 2014 (6)

7. Reidsville — 167 points
State titles: 4
Runner-ups: 0
Top 25 state rankings: 2006 (12), 2007 (6), 2008 (8), 2009 (3), 2016 (14)

8. Independence (Charlotte) — 159 points
State titles: 1
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2006 (1), 2007 (5), 2008 (1), 2009 (2), 2012 (17), 2013 (19), 2014 (8)

9. New Bern — 157 points
State titles: 3
Runner-ups: 0
Top 25 state rankings: 2007 (4), 2010 (16), 2011 (9), 2012 (3), 2013 (25), 2014 (2)

10 (tie). Wake Forest — 153 points
State titles: 1
Runner-ups: 3
Top 25 state rankings: 2007 (25), 2008 (14), 2009 (19), 2010 (5), 2013 (11), 2014 (4), 2015 (25), 2016 (2)

10 (tie). Havelock — 153 points
State titles: 3
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2011 (5), 2012 (4), 2013 (7), 2014 (11), 2016 (20)

12. Crest (Shelby) — 151 points
State titles: 2
Runner-ups: 3
Top 25 state rankings: 2006 (17), 2010 (18), 2011 (24), 2013 (17), 2014 (5), 2015 (4)

13. Richmond (Rockingham) — 148 points
State titles: 1
Runner-ups: 0
Top 25 state rankings: 2006 (15), 2007 (12), 2008 (3), 2009 (5), 2010 (6), 2011 (21), 2012 (13), 2013 (21), 2014 (21), 2015 (15)

14. South Point (Belmont) — 145 points
State titles: 2
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2007 (9), 2008 (13), 2009 (14), 2011 (15), 2012 (18), 2013 (10), 2015 (21), 2016 (13)

15. West Rowan (Mt. Ulla) — 136 points
State titles: 3
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2008 (5), 2009 (4), 2010 (3)