Before Friday night’s game, the football teams of North Stanly and Forest Hills had not met on the field since the COVID-19 pandemic forced teams to play the 2020 season the following spring.

That night, North Stanly ended a 14-game losing streak to the Yellow Jackets with a lopsided 43-21 win.

This time, the Jackets, ranked fourth in the 2A by MaxPreps, stayed perfect on the season with a strong offensive second half in a 35-13 win at North.

Both touchdowns for North (3-2) came from running back Jay Jackson, both in the second half. Trailing 13-0, the Comets’ back finished a long drive with a three-yard TD run up the middle.

Forest Hills (5-0) built a 35-6 lead before Jackson’s two-yard TD run in the last minute of the game.

Jackets quarterback Brady Hibberd threw for three touchdowns, going 16-of-25 for 170 yards with one interception.

“They’re the number-three team in the state and we are not. We’ve got a lot to work on,” North head coach Chad Little said.

Little said Friday night was a numbers game in terms of the reserves the Jackets had on the bench.

“We don’t have that amount. They are a big school…we are a 2A school, but we don’t have 2A numbers,” Little said. “It’s hard to play with that.”

North Stanly opens Yadkin Valley Conference play this week with Union Academy (1-5). The Cardinals lost Friday night at Trinity 14-10.