Lincolnton has won six straight games at home, while Shelby has won six straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The Wolves will square off against the Golden Lions at 7:30 p.m. The two teams might be coming in a bit winded given these two teams combined for 1,017 yards in their previous games.
Lincolnton is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat West Davidson 55-20. The Wolves pushed the score to 42-14 by the end of the third, a deficit the Dragons had little chance of recovering from.
Rashad Lynch
| 11/28/25 vs West Davidson | 157.5 |
| 10/25/24 @ Maiden | 150 |
| 10/03/25 vs Bessemer City | 149.3 |
| 10/02/24 vs Newton-Conover | 147.7 |
| 09/26/25 vs Highland Tech | 146.8 |
Rashad Lynch and Jarvis Littlejohn were among the main playmakers for Lincolnton as the former rushed for 140 yards and one TD on only 14 carries and the latter rushed for 171 yards and four touchdowns. The dominant performance also gave Lynch a new career-high in passer rating (157.5).
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Lincolnton was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 323 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Lincolnton didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Zay Coleman. Lincolnton got some further help from Jalaythan Mayfield: he made ten total tackles (4.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Shelby's offense rose to the challenge against a Wildcats defense that boasted an average of only 12.23 points allowed on Friday. The Golden Lions had just enough and edged out Eastern Randolph 43-41.
Lincolnton better keep an eye on Lan Farmer. He was instrumental in Shelby's win, throwing for 388 yards and three TDs while completing 75.9% of his passes, and also rushing for 65 yards and a pair of scores on only nine carries. Farmer's passing game has become a key predictor of the Golden Lions' success: the team is undefeated when his passer rating is 100 or higher, but only 0-3 otherwise. 98 of Farmer's passing yards were hauled in by Jonas Woods, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
Lincolnton's record is now 11-2. As for Shelby, their record now sits at 11-3.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the trenches. Lincolnton has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 201.6 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?
Lincolnton won a contest that couldn't have been any closer when the teams last played back in October, slipping by Shelby 35-34. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was the Golden Lions' Jaylen Tate, who rushed for 89 yards and four touchdowns, and also picked up 54 receiving yards. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will the Wolves still be able to contain Tate? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
