Saturday, September 15, 2018

Shelby Snaps Skid, Stuns Kings Mountain

               Coming in at 1-3 and facing a great 3-0 team, very few people picked Shelby to win this game against county rival, Kings Mountain. The Golden Lions were up to the task as they raced out to a 21-3 second quarter lead and held on at the end of the game for a 28-23 victory. Things did not start off good for Shelby as their first two plays (a 20-yard pass and a 19-yard run) were both called back due to penalties. The Golden Lions punted and gave the Mountaineers short field.

                The Mountaineers were unable to get a touchdown out of it so they had to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Austin Browning. Shelby struck back with a drive of their own. Donye Fuller would cap it off with a 10-yard touchdown run. Caden Sheeley’s extra point made it 7-3. The Golden Lions would extend their lead when quarterback Isaiah Bess connected with Diavonni Daley for a 61-yard touchdown pass.

                It got worse before it got better for Kings Mountain. Fuller put another touchdown on the board for Shelby, this time from 13 yards out. Sheeley was 3-for-3 on his extra point kicks in the first half. The Mountaineers chipped away at the lead before half-time with a Kaylon Wade seven-yard touchdown run. Browning’s extra point was good!

                The Mountaineers would cut the Golden Lions’ lead to 21-16 with a three-yard run by Wade. But the two-point conversion was stopped. In the second half, the Mountaineers were their own undoing. Wade was intercepted twice and the Mountaineers lost a fumble that Shelby’s Dorian Davis would return four yards for a touchdown. Davis and Jahari Mitchell also had the interceptions for Shelby. Sheeley’s extra point kick would give the Golden Lions a two touchdown lead at 28-16 early in the fourth quarter.

                Kings Mountain cut the lead to five with a ten-yard touchdown pass from Kaylon Wade to Kobe Paysour and Browning’s extra point with just over a minute left. The on-side kick attempt was unsuccessful.

                “We gave good effort. We just didn’t play polished. It came down to turnovers.” Said Kings Mountain head coach Greg Lloyd “We gave good effort. I’m proud of the kids. The defense played phenomenal in the second half. The only touchdown we gave up was a fumble. Shelby made some nice plays in the second quarter with the wind to their back but that’s not an excuse. They got a good defense.”

                “We got a tough game coming up against Stuart Cramer.” Lloyd said “Our conference is one of the toughest, if not the toughest 3A conference, in the state.”

                Kings Mountain running-back Ricaylen Mack returned to action after missing the previous two games with an injury. He amassed 75 yards rushing. “He’s not 100% yet. But we need to get him some work. It was nice to have him back.” Lloyd said on Ricaylen Mack’s return.

                Kings Mountain will host the Storm next Friday for the conference opener.

                “I thought our team really came together. They played well in all three phases.” Said Shelby head coach Lance Ware “The biggest difference was turnovers. We’ve been minus-eight in the last three weeks. We were able to cause some turnovers and take advantage of them. I thought we had some kids really grow up, mature and that we really played together. Kings Mountain is a great team. I thought our staff did a great job preparing and had a plan for what they did too.”

                “There’s a lot or pride here and they have not been real happy so we created some adversity for them in practice. They’ve responded well.” Ware said about the 1-3 start “I told them that they’re still a good football team even after those losses but we could be great. They’re taking the steps to get there. I’m looking forward to watching them grow throughout the season.”

                Shelby will have a bye week before concluding their non-conference schedule at Mount Pleasant. This will be a rematch from last year’s third round playoff game that the Golden Lions won 7-0. Mount Pleasant has won two consecutive games after starting 0-3. Shelby has now won eight straight games against Kings Mountain. The last time the Mountaineers beat the Golden Lions was in 2010 by a score of 20-17. Shelby also avoids going 0-3 against their county rivals.

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