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By Eric Montgomery, for the SNAP

South Stanly’s defense made a Homeric stand to keep Albemarle out of the endzone Friday night as the clock ran out for a 26-20 Yadkin Valley Conference victory.
The Bulldogs (2-5, 0-2) had a Kaine McLendon touchdown run deleted on an illegal procedure inside the two-minute mark. Penalties played a big part in this one on both sides.
The home team had its shots after that but South won the battle and improved to 4-2, 1-1.
South’s defense is led by Carter Callicutt who averages around 10 stops per game.
“It was team play,” Callicutt said. “It’s everybody to the ball just like we preach in practice.
“It means a lot (to beat Albemarle) with those four state championships over there. It means a lot.”
South started off beating Albemarle in the first quarter, scoring 13 unanswered points. Rebel Bulls quarterback Kaleb Richardson beat the Bulldogs with his legs and arm in its opening drive. The junior hit Jayden Woods on the opening score. Albemarle’s Shoddy Pregee blocked the PAT.
Fumbles killed the Bulldogs, including on the next drive when South stripped the ball on its own 23 yard line and ended a strong Bulldog drive.
Richardson went on to connect with Kylan Dockery for a 77-yard touchdown pass. Richardson was 7 of 13 for 131 yards and two touchdowns. Dockery had four catches for 129 yards and a pair of scores.
The second quarter belonged to the Bulldogs. McLendon had one of his best performances with a team-leading 91 yards in rushing and two trips to the endzone.

McLendon got his team on the board with a 5-yard plunge and had three sacks on the night. Quarterback Dre Davis later found a wide-open Pregee for an 80-yard touchdown pass for Albemarle’s first lead.
Bulldog linebacker Vinvient Gregory hit a milestone, surpassing 200 career tackles. Jasiah Holt scored early in the second half on a 5-yard run to give South back the lead. He had 129 yards on 14 carries.
I’key Holt had 33 yards mostly in the second half.
McLendon answered back with a touchdown for a 20-19 Albemarle lead. South took advantage of another turnover and Richardson marched the visitors down the field once more, hitting Dockery for a 26-20 lead towards the end of the third.
Sacks by Willie Browne and McLendon forced South to punt.
“It was a good conference win for us,” Richardson said. “We played as a team. Our defense was shaky for a while, but they made up for it. They stopped them when they had to.”
Lake Norman Charter 22, North Stanly 10
North Stanly scored its first touchdown in the fourth quarter in a YVC loss on the road. LNC improved to 6-0 for just the second time in its history.
Drew Johnson also got in on the fun with a 54-yard interception returned for a touchdown in the win.
North (4-3, 1-1) hosts South Stanly this Friday.
Forest Hills 35, West Stanly 9
West Stanly falls to 1-6, 1-1 in the Rocky River Conference and hosts Parkwood in Week 8.

Eric Montgomery is a freelance writer for The Stanly News & Press.