Shelby has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will square off against the Salisbury Hornets at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Shelby walked away with it. They were the clear victor by a 41-21 margin over Lincolnton. Shelby pushed the score to 41-14 by the end of the third, a deficit Lincolnton cut but never quite recovered from.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Shelby to victory, but perhaps none more so than Izay Bridges, who picked up 217 receiving yards and a touchdown, and also punched in two touchdowns on the ground. Lan Farmer also helped out by tossing the rock for 356 yards.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Shelby's defense and their six sacks. Leading the way was Jason Mcneilly and his 2.5 sacks.
Meanwhile, Salisbury put another one in the bag on Thursday to keep their perfect season alive. They claimed a resounding 40-0 victory over Maiden at home. Given Salisbury's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina football rankings (they are ranked 31st, while Maiden is ranked 108th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Jamal Rule continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 225 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 11.3 yards per carry. Rule is absolutely dominating the rushing yard category: he's posted at least 100 every time he's taken the field this season.
Shelby's win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-3. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.3 points per game. As for Salisbury, their win bumped their record up to 12-0.
Keep an eye on the end zone in Friday's game as Shelby and Salisbury haven't had much trouble getting there this season. Shelby commands a daunting offense this season, having averaged 6.9 touchdowns per game. However, it's not like Salisbury struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6 per game. With these two high-octane teams facing off on Friday, fans should be in for an exciting offensive matchup. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other football content.
Everything came up roses for Shelby against Salisbury when the teams last played back in December of 2019 as the squad secured a 34-0 win. Will Shelby repeat their success, or does Salisbury have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
