Shelby has won three straight games at home, while Burns has won three straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The Golden Lions will host the Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Shelby's defense heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They blew past Bessemer City, posting a 67-0 win. Given the Golden Lions' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 109th, while the Yellow Jackets are ranked 367th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.
Lan Farmer
| 10/17/25 @ East Gaston | 6 |
| 10/24/25 vs Bessemer City | 5 |
| 09/19/25 vs Cherryville | 5 |
| 09/05/25 @ Highland Tech | 5 |
| 09/12/25 @ West Lincoln | 4 |
| + 2 more games |
Lan Farmer was his usual excellent self, throwing for 253 yards and five TDs while completing 90.9% of his passes. He has become a key player for Shelby: the team is undefeated when he posts at least three passing touchdowns, but 0-3 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Immanuel Collins, who picked up 67 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Shelby's defense and their four sacks. Bessemer City's QB won't forget Julius Brooks anytime soon given he sacked him twice. Another thorn in the Yellow Jackets' side was Noah Gartner, who picked up a sack, made seven total tackles (3.0 for loss), and defended one pass.
Special teams played a big role in the game for Shelby, adding 21 points to the final score. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Jamarion Jj Williams, who ran a kickoff back for a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Burns took their matchup on Friday with ease, bagging a 48-0 victory over Highland Tech. The Bulldogs pushed the score to 42-0 by the end of the third, a deficit the Rams had no chance of recovering from.
Burns' win came from a few key players Shelby will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Drew Dixon, who threw for 211 yards and three TDs on only 14 passes. Those 211 passing yards gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jorian Ussery, who picked up 105 receiving yards and a pair of scores.
Shelby's win bumped their record up to 6-3. As for Burns, their victory bumped their record up to an identical 6-3.
Shelby was able to grind out a solid win over Burns when the teams last played back in November of 2024, winning 27-14. Will the Golden Lions repeat their success, or do the Bulldogs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
