In the hours ahead of his team’s NCHSAA 3A West final at Lincolnton, Shelby football coach Mike Wilbanks couldn’t shake a certain sense of impending déjà vu.

“I’ll tell you, I thought about (the 2015 playoffs) this morning,” Wilbanks said. “In 2015, Crest played for the state championship, and we played for the state championship. We played Kinston (for the 2015 championship), who won (Thursday night in the NCHSAA 3A East final). And we beat Lincolnton to go to the state championship.”

After watching Crest earn its spot in the NCHSAA 5A final Thursday with a 39-21 win at Hickory, Shelby followed suit the next night courtesy of a 30-0 rout of Lincolnton. It will be Shelby’s first state final since 2021; it’s been longer for Crest, the Chargers last playing for a title in 2015.

Both tea

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