South Stanly and Albemarle met Friday in Norwood, and the Rowdy Rebel Bulls came away with a 26-12 win over the Bulldogs in an intracounty matchup.
South responded to an early 12-6 deficit by scoring 20 unanswered points to earn the win.
Playing under first-year coach Terry Shankle, the Bulls (4-3, 1-1 YVC) have now won four of their past six games since ending a 12-game losing streak that dated back to 2021. South’s win over Albemarle (2-5, 0-1 YVC) marks its first win over a Stanly County team since it defeated the Bulldogs 34-6 in 2018.
Early in the game, South quarterback Kaleb Richardson found wide receiver Jasiah Holt in the end zone for his first of three touchdown grabs to go up 6-0. Albemarle responded with touchdown passes from quarterback Ander Artis to Jason Wall and Kaine McLendon to vault the Bulldogs to a 12-6 lead.
Holt’s second score of the night tied the game at halftime before running back Mahari Caple gave the Bulls a 19-12 edge with a touchdown run.
South will next host North Stanly, while Albemarle will play at home against Mount Pleasant (5-2, 2-0 YVC).
North Stanly 57, Lake Norman Charter 20
North Stanly put together its strongest offensive showing of the season, running away from Lake Norman for a 57-20 home win.
The Comets (5-2, 1-0 YVC) used a balanced attack led by 225 passing yards by quarterback Chance Blake and 210 rushing yards from running back Jay Jackson. The Knights (4-3) managed to score 14 points in the third quarter but were unable to mount a serious challenge after falling behind 34-6 at halftime.
North will travel to South Stanly for a matchup with the Bulls nearly a year to the day after the Comets cruised to a 68-6 home win between the two teams.
Forest Hills 56, West Stanly 7
Just one week after notching a victory in their Rocky River Conference opener, West Stanly suffered a 56-7 loss at Forest Hills.
The Colts’ only score of the night — a touchdown pass from Jett Thomas to Austin Eudy — came when they were down 49-0 with seven minutes left in the game. The Yellow Jackets (6-1, 1-1 RRC) scored at least 14 points in each of the first three quarters.
West (4-3, 1-1 RRC) heads next to Parkwood to face the Wolf Pack (1-6, 0-2 RRC), which has lost four games in a row and been outscored 272-74 on the season.