North Stanly has gone 9-1 against Albemarle recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Comets will welcome the Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (North Stanly has five straight wins, Albemarle has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
On Friday, North Stanly strolled past Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy with points to spare, taking the game 23-6. Given the Comets' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 155th, while the Gryphons are ranked 334th) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Racere Bruton
| 09/26/25 @ Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy | 87 |
| 09/05/25 @ Montgomery Central | 57 |
| 09/19/25 vs Mountain Island Charter | 21 |
| 08/29/25 @ West Stanly | 8 |
Zay Dockery was nothing short of spectacular: he rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries, and also caught one score. Racere Bruton did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 87 receiving yards.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: North Stanly was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 317 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Another reason for the win was North Stanly's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for five sacks. Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy's QB won't forget Jaden Little anytime soon given he sacked him twice. Another thorn in the Gryphons' side was Maddox(Tater) Lowder, who picked up a sack and made nine total tackles.
Meanwhile, Friday just wasn't the day for Albemarle's offense. They took a 14-0 bruising from Mountain Island Charter on Friday. The matchup marked the first time this year in which the Bulldogs were not able to get on the board.
Albemarle now has a losing record of 2-3. As for North Stanly, their victory bumped their record up to 5-0.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. North Stanly has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 209.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Albemarle struggles in that department as they've been averaging 172.2 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
North Stanly took their win against Albemarle in their previous matchup back in November of 2024 by a conclusive 24-0 score. Will the Comets repeat their success, or do the Bulldogs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
