Two dominant signal callers in Lan Farmer and Rashad Lynch are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Shelby Golden Lions will venture away from home to square off against the Lincolnton Wolves at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Shelby sitting on four straight victories and Lincolnton on six.
Last Friday, Shelby got the win against Stuart W. Cramer by a conclusive 50-29. Considering the Golden Lions have won four games by more than 20 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Jaylen Tate
| 09/26/25 vs Stuart W. Cramer | 158 |
| 09/19/25 vs Cherryville | 93 |
| 09/12/25 @ West Lincoln | 42 |
| 09/05/25 @ Highland Tech | 40 |
| 08/29/25 vs Crest | 20 |
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Shelby to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jamarion Jj Williams, who picked up 120 receiving yards and a pair of scores, and also rushed for 32 yards and one touchdown. The Golden Lions also got a significant boost from Jaylen Tate, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 158 yards.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Shelby was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 242 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2024.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Shelby's defense and their seven sacks. The team can thank two different players for their defensive prowess: Landon Hollifield and Julius Brooks, who each picked up two sacks apiece. Another thorn in Stuart W. Cramer's side was Hollifield, who picked up two sacks and made 11 total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Lincolnton). They really took it to Bessemer City for the full four quarters, racking up a 57-0 win. Given the Wolves' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 98th, while the Yellow Jackets are ranked 344th) , the win on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Lincolnton didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Jeremiah Thompson and Messiah Thompson. Messiah got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Shelby's record is now 4-2. As for Lincolnton, their record now sits at 6-1.
Shelby took their victory against Lincolnton in their previous matchup back in November of 2023 by a conclusive 41-21 score. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was the Wolves' Andre Bost, who rushed for 87 yards, and also picked up 37 receiving yards and one TD. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for the Golden Lions to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
