NORWOOD — Playing on its home field at K.L. Young Stadium Friday night, South Stanly’s football team carried the hope of advancing to the third round of the NCHSAA state playoffs.
Instead, the eighth-seeded Rowdy Rebel Bulls (6-5) fell victim to the ninth-seeded Starmount Rams (11-1) in a 37-19 home defeat, eliminating the last Stanly County team alive in the tournament; North Stanly (6-5) and Albemarle (3-8) each fell short in their first-round matchups.
The 1A West Regional matchup marked the follow-up to South’s 34-7 home win over the No. 25 Avery County Vikings (2-8) on Nov. 15, as well as Starmount’s first game since blanking the No. 24 Andrews Wildcats (4-6) in a 51-0 first-round shutout that same night.
Over the weekend, the Bulls trailed by just seven points at halftime, but were unable to make up for three interceptions that helped the Rams outscore South by a margin of 23-12 in the second half.
It was the Bulls who recorded the first touchdown of the night as running back Carter Callicutt put together a long dash to the end zone to put the first points on the board. Starmount running back Savian Billips quickly responded with a touchdown rush of his own.
Late in the second quarter, Rams quarterback Luke Collins kept the ball in his own hands as he scored on a run to give his team a 14-7 lead heading into halftime. Still showing signs of life, South fired back as quarterback Kaleb Richardson connected with wide receiver Jasiah Holt on a 50-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter.
A few minutes later, Starmount’s Cody Hernandez gave the Rams a 22-13 edge, leading to a series of interceptions by Richardson that resulted in another rushing touchdown by Collins.
With the game quickly getting out of reach for the Bulls, Starmount led 30-13 entering the fourth quarter as each team added another touchdown of its own in the closing minutes of play.
The Rams are now set to travel to top-seeded and undefeated Mount Airy (12-0), while the Bulls’ 2024 campaign has reached its end.
Under the leadership of second-year coach Terry Shankle, South finished the regular season at third place in the Yadkin Valley Conference with a 2-2 conference record, falling short of the team’s hunt for its first conference title in over three decades.
However, South’s first-round state playoff victory allowed the Bulls to hit six wins and achieve their first winning season in six years.