The South Stanly varsity football team assured itself of a regular season win percentage more than .500 since 2012 with a dominating 49-7 home win Friday over Chatham Central.

Khris Mayo led the ground game for South (6-3, 4-1 YVC) with 154 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown. Quarterback Jaquez Cooke added 92 rushing yards on six carries scoring three times on the ground. As a team, South rushed for 290 yards on 34 carries.

Through the air, Cooke was 3-for-9 for 61 yards including one touchdown pass to Seth Morton.

Defensively, South limited Chatham to 55 total yards of offense including one turnover which led to points for the Bulls.

After stopping the Bears on the team’s opening drive, South Stanly drove 50 yards in six plays, capped by a 20-yard keeper by Cooke. Brandon Efird’s extra point put the Bulls up early, 7-0.

South’s defense turned in points on the ensuing drive. With Chatham facing third down and 12 at the Bears 29, quarterback Michael Moore tried to throw the ball but it slipped out of his hands. The Bulls’ Nate Kirby picked the ball out of midair and scampered 25 yards down the field for a touchdown.

The Bulls continued to score on the next offensive drive. Starting at the Bears’ 38, Cooke completed two passes to Seth Morton, the last of which was in the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown. Efird’s PAT put the Bulls up, 21-0, still in the first quarter.

Chatham then gave up points after going three and out on the team’s next offensive possession. A punt attempt was blocked by Joey Dorko and the ball rolled into the end zone. The Bears recovered in the end zone giving South a safety and two points.

South got the ball back on the free kick and marched six plays downfield for a 38-yard scoring drive capped by a 12-yard bootleg right by Cooke, putting South up, 29-0, after a bad snap on the point after try.

The visitors’ only points of the game came on a kickoff early in the second quarter when Bears freshman Malachai Moore returned the kick 93 yards for a touchdown. The extra point cut the lead down to 29-7.

South immediately answered on the ensuing kickoff as Tori Colson picked up the ball off the ground at the Bulls’ 10 yard line and raced down the middle of the field 90 yards for a touchdown. Crump’s point-after put the Bulls back up by 29 points, 36-7.

Just before halftime, Davis Moose capped an eight-play, 49-yard drive for South with a one-yard TD run, putting the Bulls up, 42-7.

The final scoring drive of the night for either team came when the Bulls took the opening kickoff of the second half and went 50 yards in three plays. A 15-yard touchdown run from Khris Mayo, including running over one Bears’ defender at the goal line, started a running clock putting South up, 49-7.

South Stanly travels to Albemarle (3-5, 3-2) Friday night. The Bulldogs won Friday at South Davidson, 46-6.