"Great start to the new season, as all four county teams opened with victories."

The Burns Bulldogs
In his second season, Bulldogs Head Coach, Robert Senseney saw his team get off to a good start and never look back in a 28-0 shutout victory against the Q Foundation. Burns rushed for over 200 yards of offensive. Second year starter, Junior Quarterback Cameron Barbee looked comfortable on the opening series. Burns Raheem Epps caught a 45-yard touchdown pass for the first score of the night and came back later in the game and caught a 65-yard TD pass from Barbee. Barbee not only contributed to scores through the air but rushed for a touchdown as well. The problem of the night for the Dawgs were the number of penalties, but that is often expected in a first game. The Bulldogs face Hunter Huss this Friday.

The Crest Chargers
Defending State Champ, the Crest Chargers, under new first year Coach Will Clark, had to run into one of their true rivals to begin the season as they hosted South Point. The outcome for Charger Nation was sweet as they won 31-13. As expected, star running back Tre Harbison had two touchdowns to go along with confident play from QB Willie Green and a good receiving core. Defensively, it was players like Tyried Ramseur, who picked off a South Point pass in the second half and went 95 yards to extend and secure the Crest win. Wesley Bullard also contributed a touchdown and another good Crest kicker, Evan Davis, had a 35-yard field goal. This Friday night Crest visits Ashbrook.

The Kings Mountain Mountaineers
Coach Greg Lloyd and his Mountaineers had almost 500 yards total offense as they took down North Gaston 41-10. Kings Mountain mixed it up on offense with a good combination of run and pass. Quarterback Darren Burns connected on 14 of his passes for 197 yards, while running back Kavin Mosley rushed for 238 yards. Things seemed pretty easy for the Mountaineers, as they scored on four of their first five offensive possessions. Veteran receiver and one of the all around leaders for the team, Jack Merchant, had 90 receiving yards on only a few catches on the night. This week, Kings Mountain meets up with another Gaston County opponent when they travel to East Gaston.

The Shelby Golden Lions
The other Cleveland County State Champion from last season, the Shelby Golden Lions won on the road against a good Freedom team 40-28. After a tight first half, Shelby made adjustments and started using ten in the box defensively in the second half. Freedom's star running back and Alabama bound, BJ Emmons, could only carry his team so far. New Junior Shelby Quaterback, Darquez Lee, threw for 322 yards (16 of 22). Most of the following players had touchdown catches on the night or either significant receptions; Demonte Poole, Antwan Wright, Calvin Camp, Jayden Borders and Xavier Brooks. Coach Lance Ware and the Lions have their home opener this Friday when they welcome AC Reynolds.