Cleveland County’s high school football rivalries too big to be stopped?

Some things are simply too big to be stopped.

The COVID-19 pandemic altered the sports landscape, bringing about changes that included a shortened North Carolina spring high school football season.

But despite the scheduling limitations, Cleveland County teams are managing to find a way to play one another.

And that’s a good thing, since the county’s four public high schools have a combined record of 18-2. The two losses were in inter-county games.

Shelby is the defending state 2AA champion. Crest is a perennial playoff powerhouse. Kings Mountain would have reached the 3A finals in 2019, were it not for a seven-overtime loss to Charlotte Catholic. And Burns is enjoying a surge of football success in recent seasons.

Last week brought a 36-35 Kings Mountain victory over Shelby in one of those Cleveland County rivalries.

On Thursday night, Burns visits Crest is another of those games. Next Friday, Crest (5-0) visits Kings Mountain (5-0) to decide the Big South 3A championship.

“All four high schools have a strong tradition of success that leads to a high interest, from little league to high school,” says Kings Mountain athletics director Jeff Melton. “We are fortunate to have great athletes in this county and coaches who want to be successful.”

Mike Wilbanks, the head football coach and athletics director at Shelby, says the athletic interest goes beyond football -- and below the high school age.

“Even at middle school, if you have Shelby-Crest, Shelby-Burns, Shelby-Kings Mountain, everyone is talking about it,” Wilbanks says.

He says success breeds success.

“It’s the Tiger Woods effect,” he says. “Once a team gets good, it raises the level for everyone. The other schools try to keep up.”

The first of the rivalry games was played March 19, with Shelby edging Burns 20-18 in a game decided in the final minute. The Kings Mountain-Shelby game went down to the final minute.

Keeping the traditional rivalries going this season was not easy.

The N.C. High School Athletic Association set the limit at seven games. All four Cleveland County schools have six conference games -- Crest and Kings Mountain in the Big South 3A, Shelby and Burns in the Southwestern 2A.

So the Shelby-Crest and Kings Mountain-Burns games did not take place this season.

In fact, athletics directors had to shuffle the schedule, just to get the Shelby-Kings Mountain and Crest-Burns games on the schedule.

“It took the work of several athletics directors and both conferences,” Wilbanks says. “A few game dates were flipped on the schedules to allow it to happen.”

Playing the games meant more than bragging rights.

“It had an economic impact, due to the attendance limits being changed,” Wilbanks says.

Gov. Roy Cooper amended the COVID-19 restrictions, allowing up to 50 percent attendance at outdoor athletic events. That allowed more than 1,000 additional fans to attend last Saturday’s Shelby-Kings Mountain game.

“And it helped us make up the budget shortfall we experienced this year with limited attendance,” says Wilbanks, whose school was the home team. “Believe me, in a year like this, it was important.”

Kings Mountain football coach Greg Lloyd says everyone wins when Cleveland County teams play one another.

“The fans enjoy it, and the players are tickled to be in a game like this,” he says. “It means a lot to our community.”

Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle