Football Game Preview: Mount Airy Granite Bears vs. Shelby Golden Lions

The Mount Airy Granite Bears will challenge the Shelby Golden Lions at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Mount Airy is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They blew past Thomasville 52-0. The win was nothing new for the Granite Bears as they're now sitting on seven straight.

Taeshon Martin

Rushing Yards

11/14/25 vs Thomasville	273
08/22/25 vs Starmount	247
10/03/25 vs North Surry	238
10/31/25 @ East Surry	207
09/19/25 vs St. Stephens	204
+ 4 more games

Taeshon Martin produced another solid effort rushing for 273 yards and five scores while picking up 17.1 yards per carry. He has become a key player for Mount Airy: the team is undefeated when he posts at least 80 rushing yards, but 1-2 otherwise.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Mount Airy was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 290 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 160 rushing yards in seven consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Shelby was fully in charge on Friday, breezing past East Rutherford 65-34. The victory continues a trend for the Golden Lions in their matchups with the Cavaliers: they've now won seven in a row.

Shelby's win came from a few key players Mount Airy will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jonas Woods, who rushed for 220 yards and a pair of touchdowns while picking up 12.9 yards per carry, and also picked up 36 receiving yards. Those 220 rushing yards gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Lan Farmer, who threw for 256 yards and three TDs while completing 71.4% of his passes.

Mount Airy's win bumped their record up to 9-2. As for Shelby, their victory bumped their record up to 9-3.

Friday's matchup might be decided in the trenches. Mount Airy has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 193.7 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Shelby, though, as they've been averaging only 77.7 rushing yards. How will they fare against such a dominant running game? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other football content.