Mustangs ready for season

As August gets underway, summer is quickly giving way to fall. Families are wrapping up vacations, checking off back-to-school shopping lists, and student-athletes are preparing for another exciting season.

The action officially begins next week with the Annual Moore County Football Kickoff at Pinecrest, where the county's three public high schools will showcase their teams before opening night on Aug. 21.

For North Moore fans, schedules are set, practices are underway, and it's time for our preseason picks. Here's how we see the Mustangs shaping up this fall.

FOOTBALL

The Mustangs enter the 2026 season looking to bounce back after a 3-8 campaign. After three consecutive seasons of deep playoff runs, North Moore is in the middle of a rebuilding phase, something nearly every successful program experiences from time to time.

The Mustangs graduated 11 seniors in June, meaning the rebuilding process continues. Last season's winless conference record is now in the rearview mirror, and a new season brings a fresh opportunity.

North Moore opens the season at home on Aug. 21 against Fike before traveling to Wake Prep. The remaining non-conference schedule includes home games against West Davidson and Thomasville, along with road trips to Chatham Central and Seaforth.

Conference play begins with back-to-back road games at Jordan-Matthews and Northwood before the Mustangs close the regular season at home against Eastern Randolph and Southwestern Randolph.

Curt's Pick: North Moore finishes the season at 5-5 overall, reaching the .500 mark while showing continued progress throughout the season.

SOCCER

The Mustangs' soccer team reached the second round of the state playoffs last season, finishing 7-8-1 overall and placing fourth in the Four Rivers Conference with a 3-6 record.

North Moore opens the season Monday, Aug. 10, at Ascend Leadership Academy. The Mustangs will spend much of August on the road with matches against Central Carolina Academy (Aug. 12), Wake Prep (Aug. 17), American Leadership Academy (Aug. 24), and Phoenix Academy (Aug. 26). Their home opener is scheduled for Aug. 31 against Central Carolina Academy.

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Curt's Pick: The Mustangs improve to 12-11 overall and finish 4-7 in conference play, earning another postseason appearance.

VOLLEYBALL

The Lady Mustangs are coming off a strong 14-9 season that included a second-round playoff appearance. They finished 4-7 in conference play and graduated six seniors, but plenty of experience returns under new head coach Alana Pennington.

North Moore opens the season Aug. 10 at home against Sandhills Highlanders Homeschool, Aug. 11 at Montgomery Central before hosting Providence Grove (Aug. 13), Wheatmore (Aug. 17), and Central Carolina Academy (Aug. 20). The Lady Mustangs also travel to Providence Grove (Aug. 19), South Stanly (Aug. 26), Trinity (Aug. 27), and Wheatmore (Aug. 31).

Curt's Pick: North Moore finishes 13-8 overall and improves to 5-4 in conference play, putting the Lady Mustangs in position for another playoff run.

Visit the Moore Daily Sports website for the complete schedules. At the time of this article we do not have a complete golf, tennis or cross country schedule.

Written by Editor Curtis Self.