SHELBY, N.C. — A.C. Reynolds’ two-day journey at Shelby finished the way it started –– red hot.

The Rockets built up an early three-score lead on Friday night. After the Golden Lions trimmed it to six points early into Saturday’s resumption, Reynolds ran away with the final 24 scored to win its first game of the season 51-21.

Max Guest broke the ice with a 5-yard touchdown run just over six minutes into the game. Rossi Santelia dialed up a pair of field goals, including one from 36-yards out, to make it 13-0 Rockets through one.

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Shelby broke through early in the second. Lan Farmer found Tyler Morgan for a 29-yard touchdown pass six seconds into the period to cut the ACR lead to 13-7.

Guest responded with a powerful 28-yard run, bouncing off multiple tacklers, for his second touchdown of the day. Zach Dickey quickly inflated the Rockets’ advantage to 27-7 when he picked off a Farmer pass on the ensuing drive and housed it from 25-yards out.

Farmer navigated into the end zone with 1:01 left in the second quarter to pull back within two touchdowns. Moments before the extra point attempt was to be kicked, storm sirens went off around the stadium and inclement weather in the Cleveland County area only got worse forcing the resumption on Saturday evening.

The kick ended up being good, and less than five minutes into the third quarter, Shelby had made it a game.

Farmer found Khalil Foster for a 32-yard score, and the Golden Lions pulled to as close as 27-21 with 7:41 left in the third. It would be their last points of the game.

Ely Hamrick and Covalli Montgomery linked up on a 75-yard touchdown to begin the Rocket run. Jayden Smith punched in a 20-yard score, Santelia sent his third field goal of the game through the uprights, and for good measure A.C. Reynolds added one more touchdown in the final minutes to secure the 51-21 victory.

The Rockets are now 1-1 overall while playing one of the state’s toughest non-conference schedules. Reynolds dropped its season-opener to West Forsyth, and next week welcomes in No. 5 ranked East Forsyth. HighSchoolOT’s Joel Bryant will be in Asheville for full coverage of that one.

Shelby, who defeated cross-county rival Kings Mountain to start the year is also 1-1. Next week, the Golden Lions take center stage in one of North Carolina’s top football rivalries when it travels 5.6 miles down the road to Crest.

Source: highschoolot.com