Concord High School (Concord, North Carolina)

Concord High School

Established	1924
School type	public school
Principal	Carla Bridges Black
Location	Concord, N.C.
Enrollment	1,200.75
Athletic Conference	South Piedmont 3A
Colors	Gold, black
Nickname	Spiders
Rival School	Kannapolis
Homepage	[http://www.cabarrus.k12.nc.us/chs Official Site]

Concord High School is a comprehensive public high school in Concord, North Carolina. Founded circa 1912, it is the oldest high school in Cabarrus County. Concord High became a part of Cabarrus County Schools in 1983 when Concord City Schools merged with the county school system.

History

The Concord City Schools were formed in 1891, starting with a single school building. CCS continued in operation until merger with the Cabarrus County Schools in July 1983. The Concord City Schools held a proud tradition of academic excellence, and featured Concord High School moved to its current location, situated on a wooded hilltop on Burrage Road in northeast Concord, in August 1967. The new school, which opened as Concord Senior High School (grades 10-12), featured a two-story modern 1960's layout and design to maximize circulation and HVAC efficiency. However, the design was such that the school appeared to have no "front entry," a quirk that was resolved during a renovation in the late 1990's. In 1977, the Concord City Schools moved to the 5-3-4 school grade model, and the school was again known as Concord High School, with grades 9-12.

Located in a natural bowl alongside the school is the athletic stadium, which was dedicated as Robert C. Bailey Memorial Stadium in 1977, named for longtime team physician Dr. Robert Bailey. The stadium opened for play one year before the school (in the 1966 football season). Bailey Memorial Stadium is widely considered one of the more scenic stadiums among NC high schools, nestled within a hardwood forest that is abalaze with color in the late fall. The horseshoe stadium features 4,000 fixed seats, most with aluminum seating, and a grassy horseshoe that can accommodate an additional 6,000 fans, for a total capacity of 10,000.

Two major additions have been made to the 1967 high school building in the nearly four decades since.

The enrollment at Concord High School in the 2007-08 school year is 1,194 students in grades 9-12.

Athletics

Concord High's athletic teams are known as the "Spiders". The nickname, unique to N.C. high schools, came as a tribute to longtime principal and schools superintendent A.S. Webb. The athletic field at the 1924-1966 Concord High School was named Webb Field, and Concord teams were known as the Spiders by the late 1930's. Concord football and baseball teams played at Webb Field, which is now on the National Register of Historic Places study list, throughout this timeframe.

Concord High competed in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association from 1922-1929 (and won a state football title in 1929, defeating Oxford 13-6 in one of the first football games played at the new Kenan Memorial Stadium at UNC-Chapel Hill).

Concord High became a charter member of the Western North Carolina High School Activities Association (WNCHSAA) shortly after winning the 1929 state football title, and participated in this sports association from 1930-1976, when the association merged with the larger NCHSAA. Concord's football team won the WNCHSAA football title in 1935, defeating Newton-Conover 30-0, and won the postseason Harvest Bowl title game in 1947, defeating Shelby 13-6. The Western North Carolina High School Activities Association contained up to 42 schools, mainly from the smaller cities from the mountains to the Winston-Salem area. The WNCHSAA featured some of the best high school sports in the state, with many longtime traditional sports powerhouses amongst their midst. Many of these schools continue to feature strong sports programs to this day, having won many state titles since rejoining the NCHSAA. Since 1977, Concord High has been a 3A (AAA) member of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association and still competes in the South Piedmont Conference (SPC). The South Piedmont Conference dates back to the 1940's and the WNCHSAA, and Concord High is the only charter member of the SPC that remains in that league, having never played in another athletic conference. Dr. As Webb was the current faculty member at Concord High School.The school sponsors interscholastic football, volleyball, tennis (boys and girls), cross country (boys and girls), basketball (boys and girls), wrestling, swimming (boys and girls), baseball, softball, golf, track and field (boys and girls), and soccer (boys and girls).

Concord's football team is notable throughout North Carolina due to two recent state titles (2004 and 2006), and to its role as one half of the State's longest-running high school football rivalry with A.L. Brown High School in neighboring Kannapolis. This "Battle for the Bell" began in 1930, and has been played each year since that time. Since 1950, the victor of the game has been awarded a mounted Southern Railway train bell that is painted in the colors of both high schools. The annual football game has long been a tradition in the area and is among the state's most highly-attended single high school sports events, regularly drawing crowds of 10,000-plus. In 2007 they lost the bell to the notable A.L. Brown Wonders.

The 2006-07 school year was a very special year for Concord athletics, as the Spiders won both football and men's basketball championships. In 2006-07, the Concord's men's basketball team rolled through the season and made its second straight return to the state 3A championship game, making this back-to-back years for the Spiders. The Spiders won the 2007 3A state title game at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, and brought home its very first 3A state basketball championship ever in history, defeating Kinston High School 85-79. This win secured a state championship in both basketball and football in the same academic school-year, giving the Spiders the honor of being the first 3A team to ever win both championships in the same school year.

Principals

*Dr. A.S. Webb (1920's)
*Ralph A. Glenn (1946–1969)
*Charles E. Rimer (1969–1986)
*Alan Voigt (1986–1988)
*Elbert F. Thomas (1988–1995)
*Charles Borders (1995–1996)
*D.M. Sonny Pruette (1996–2003)
*Dr. Bill Kinsey (2003–2005)
*Carla Black (2005-Present)