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In football games Friday night, West Stanly hosted Anson County while South Stanly went on the road to Union Academy.

West Stanly 21, Anson 7

Friday’s game between the Colts and the Bearcats featured a former standout running back for the Colts coaching the visiting team, Ralph Jackson.

Both teams were looking for their first Rocky River Conference win this season. It was the Colts who stopped a five-game losing streak Friday night with the 14-point win over Anson.

Braden Hartsell ended a West (3-5, 1-3 RRC) drive with a short five-yard touchdown run with 3:13 left in the opening quarter. Jamie Jaramillo’s extra point put the Colts up 7-0.

Hartsell set up a scoring drive in the second quarter with a 59-yard touchdown run down to the Anson 3-yard line. Hartsell later swept to the left side for a two-yard touchdown. West went for two and got the conversion, building a 15-0 lead with 7:39 left in the first half.

West recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and drove down for another score. Hartsell kept his stellar night going with a 15-yard touchdown run two minutes later.

Anson (3-5, 0-4) recovered a fumble in the waning seconds of the first half and spoiled the shutout bid for West with a late touchdown pass as time expired in the first half.

The win evens the all-time series between the two schools at 2-2.

West’s regular season ends with a win percentage below .500 for the first time since head coach Brett Morton’s first season with the Colts in 2017. The Colts qualified for the 2A playoffs with the No. 28 seed and travel to No. 5 Hendersonville Friday night.

South Stanly 27, Union Academy 18

The Bulls also ended the season on a high note, building a three-touchdown lead and never trailing in a road win at the Cardinals.

South built an early lead with a 40-yard touchdown run from Jaxon Barbee with 9:34 left in the opening quarter.

The Bulls added to the lead midway through the second when Trevor Tucker threw a 14-yard touchdown pass. The extra point was no good, and the Bulls led 13-0.

South made it 20-0 with under four minutes left in the third quarter when Deejay Rogers scored on a short TD run.

All the offense for the Cardinals (0-10, 0-5) came in the fourth quarter. Noah Tyson, an offensive lineman listed at 6-foot, 5-inches tall and 340 pounds, got a carry from the fullback position and rumbled 13 yards down to the one-yard line. He then pushed the pile across the goal line on the next play for a touchdown. The two-point conversion was no good, leaving the Bulls up 20-6.

The Bulls quickly answered, driving the ball down for a short rushing touchdown, pushing the lead to 27-6.

With 5:27 on the clock, C.J. Hartley hauled in a 37-yard touchdown pass for the Cardinals. A failed conversion left the Bulls up 15 points, 27-12.

Union added another touchdown in the last two minutes for the final margin of victory for the visiting Bulls.

South’s 27 points was a high for the Bulls (2-7, 1-4 YVC) this season and ended a four-game losing streak. The win was also the Bulls’ fourth straight win all time versus Union Academy, improving the Bulls’ mark in the series with the Cardinals to 4-2.

The Bulls are the No. 26 seed in the 1A West Region and will travel to No. 7 Starmount Friday night.