North Stanly left little doubt as to which was the better team Friday night with a 68-6 victory over winless South Stanly in New London.
The Comets (5-3, 2-1 YVC) have now won four of their past five games — including a 2-1 record in Yadkin Valley Conference play — while South Stanly (0-8, 0-3 YVC) at least managed to get on the scoreboard after five straight shutout losses.
North Stanly running back Cameron Smith scored early in the first quarter on a 15-yard touchdown rush then added a 50-yard run on the next drive to put North up 14-0. He finished with 100 rushing yards and four touchdowns, adding two punt returns for touchdowns to his pair of rushing scores.
The Comets outscored the Bulls 41-6 in the second quarter alone.
Next up, the Comets will host Mount Pleasant (6-2, 3-0 YVC) in a battle of two top YVC teams. The Bulls travel to Jay M. Robinson (7-1, 3-0 YVC).
Forest Hills 35, West Stanly 14
West Stanly lost its fifth consecutive game Friday, dropping a 35-14 Rocky River Conference decision to unbeaten Forest Hills in Oakboro.
The Colts (3-5, 0-2 RRC) trailed 21-7 at halftime and were unable to erase the Yellow Jackets’ (8-0, 3-0 RRC) 14-point lead in the second half.
West quarterback Jett Thomas had 124 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception, while Forest Hills quarterback Brady Hibbard threw for 251 passing yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
Dual-threat Matthew Parker provided 95 receiving yards and 26 rushing yards for the Colts, and running back Shane Mecimore added a team-high 107 rushing yards on 17 carries.
West will now travel to Monroe (7-1, 2-0 RRC) for a challenging road test against the Redhawks, who have outscored their opponents 364-57 this year.
Mount Pleasant 56, Albemarle 21
Albemarle dropped its fourth game in the last five with its 56-21 home loss to Yadkin Valley foe Mount Pleasant on Friday.
The teams were tied at 7-7 after the first quarter before the Tigers (6-2, 3-0 YVC) outscored the Bulldogs (2-6, 1-2 YVC) 49-14 the rest of the way.
Albemarle quarterback Dre Davis scored on a 65-yard touchdown run early in the game and finished 136 passing yards, a touchdown throw and an interception on 10-of-16 passing.
Bulldog wide receiver Ja’zyion Geiger continued his strong 2022 campaign with two more touchdown receptions to go with 124 yards on eight catches. The sophomore has now recorded six touchdowns since the beginning of September.
This week, Albemarle is scheduled to travel to Union Academy (1-7, 0-3 YVC) to face a Cardinals team that hasn’t won a game since Aug. 19 and is coming off a 42-0 home loss to Robinson.