Shelby’s Golden Lions roar past Lincolnton, back to another NCHSAA state final

Shelby’s high school football team made a statement when it ran through a banner that read “Unfinished Business, Take 2” before the start of Friday night’s rematch against Lincolnton.

The Golden Lions then followed up on that by shutting out the Wolves 30-0 to win the NCHSAA 3A Western Regional title and earn Shelby its first title game appearance since 2021.

Lan Farmer threw for two touchdowns — both to Kendrick Jawon — Jonas Woods ran for two scores, and Matt Grenier made a 26-yard field goal as Shelby (12-3) avenged a 35-34 overtime loss to Lincolnton nearly two months ago at the Wolves’ Richard Smith Stadium.

“The first time we came over here, it was a heck of a ballgame,” Golden Lions head coach Mike Wilbanks said. “It was a great setup for us. I told them, we were like Revolutionary War soldiers. We were a company of soldiers, and we had to fight for each other and play for each other. I couldn’t be more pleased with a group of guys.”

Yet a big part of the credit for Friday’s win went to Shelby’s defense, which held Lincolnton to just 213 yards total offense.

Much of the Golden Lions’ focus was on Wolves quarterback Rashad Lynch, who had thrown for 2,621 yards and 33 touchdowns, and rushed for 1,024 yards and nine TDs this season.

But against Shelby, Lynch was held to 69 yards on 22 carries, and 78 yards passing on 6-of-20 attempts. He was sacked five times.

“I just told my dad, I told him Wednesday, that we wanted to come up here and embarrass them,” said Golden Lions senior linebacker Grady Nodine, who had one of the sacks. “Everybody was talking smack about our defense — we couldn’t stop the run, we couldn’t stop nothin’ — and we put up a goose egg on their field. So we knew what we could do.”

The Wolves only broke into Shelby’s red zone twice in Friday’s game, and only one of those became a real scoring opportunity. That came in the closing minute of the first half, when Lincolnton put together a 10-play drive to get to the Golden Lions’ 5-yard line with just seconds remaining.

After a penalty pushed the Wolves back 5 yards, Lynch’s last-chance pass — coming under pressure — landed at his receiver’s feet, incomplete and less than a foot from the goal line as Shelby led 17-0 at the break.

“We’re weren’t overconfident, we just lacked execution tonight,” Lincolnton head coach Jaden Angle said. “Shelby did a great job. We just couldn’t get our offense going early on, and got behind. … We’ve been building each year, and things are looking up for next year.”

Three who mattered

Lan Farmer, Shelby – The senior quarterback accounted for 306 yards of the Golden Lions’ 475 yards of total offense. He ran for 76 yards on 15 carries — and took the knee twice in the final minute — and threw for 230 yards, completing 11 of 15 attempts.

Jonas Woods, Shelby – The freshman back posted his third 100-yard rushing game this season, finishing with a game-high 142 yards on 22 carries, including a pair of 4-yard TD runs in the first and third quarters. That gives him 13 TDs for the season.

Kendrick Jawon, Shelby – The junior “do everything guy” only caught two passes from Farmer, but both went for long scores — a 53-yarder in the second quarter, and a 57-yarder in the third. He finished with 110 receiving yards, and his eighth and ninth TD catches this season.

Observations

Friday’s game was the fourth time that Shelby and Lincolnton had faced off in a state playoff game. The other meetings came in 1986 (a 28-6 Golden Lions win), 2001 (a 28-27 Wolves victory), and 2023 (won by Shelby 41-21). All time, the Golden Lions lead the series 32-11.

Up next

Shelby will face Eastern Regional champion Kinston (11-4) — a 30-7 winner over Warsaw James Kenan on Thursday night — for the NCHSAA 3A state championship this weekend. The date and site of the title game have yet to be announced by the NCHSAA.

SCORING SUMMARY

Shelby 7 10 13 0 — 30

Lincolnton 0 0 0 0 — 0

First Quarter

S—Jonas Woods 4 run (Matt Grenier kick), 6:55.

Second Quarter

S—Kendrick Jawon 53 pass from Lan Farmer (Grenier kick), 11:42.

S—Grenier 26 FG, 1:28.

Third Quarter

S—Jawon 57 pass from Farmer (kick failed), 9:13.

S—Woods 4 run (Greiner kick), 4:17.

This story was originally published December 6, 2025 at 12:05 AM.