Bolstered by a three-touchdown performance from Khris Mayo, South Stanly notched its third shutout in four weeks with a 42-0 win at West Montgomery Friday.

The Bulls (5-3, 3-1) were held scoreless in the first quarter by the Warriors (3-5, 2-2), who were coming off a 82-48 victory over winless Chatham Central.

The fullback Mayo was one of a few Bulls who spent the first 12 minutes on the sideline due to disciplinary actions. Once South Stanly had all its weapons back in the lineup, West Montgomery had no answers on either side of the ball. The Bulls shut out the Warriors for the first time.

“He (Mayo) is a whole new level,” said South Stanly head coach Ryan Ochier. “We had to sit him out in the first quarter, but I looked at him and said ‘your time’s up’ and he said ‘okay, I’ve got you, Coach.’ I could see in his eyes that he was going to get 150 yards tonight. He took off and wasn’t going to be stopped — there was no denying him tonight. He knew what he needed to do.”

Mayo’s first score — a 10-yard dash up the middle — broke open a game that resembled a punt contest for the majority of the first half.

Despite a tackle-breaking run by quarterback Chase Chappell, the Warriors were forced to punt with halftime quickly approaching. That left just enough time for the Bulls to put together a 60-yard touchdown drive with 14 seconds to go.

Junior quarterback Jaquez Cooke quickly found Seth Morton on a seven-yard slant, leading up to a 53-yard bomb to Luke Morton and the 14-0 halftime lead.

“That drive turned us up and got us fired up,” Ochier said. “Up until that point, we were so sluggish and we didn’t move the ball.”

A crucial first down catch by Bull running back Tony Loftin set up the first of South Stanly’s three third-quarter touchdowns. A 10-yard keeper by Cooke led right into a 15-yard score from Mayo at the 6:26 mark.

Another Warrior three-and-out squandered a promising play by senior Payton Coble, and Mayo made the home team pay once again via a 55-yard touchdown run.

The Bulls’ offensive line continued to create wide lanes for the junior.

“They did a great job of continuing to get their blocks — we didn’t have many missed blocks at all,” Ochier said. “Even I could walk through some of those holes and not get touched.”

Junior running back Marcus Green got in on the action with a nine-yard score at the end of the third quarter. To top it off, Cooke had a rushing touchdown of his own: a 72-yarder to make it a 42-0 game with under seven minutes left.

Throughout the game, West Montgomery failed to overcome numerous penalties; namely, false start and holding calls.

The Bulls have a favorable matchup this week as Chatham Central travels to Norwood. The Warriors will look to get back in the win column at North Moore.

Jesse Deal is a freelance contributor for The Stanly News & Press.