Shelby fumbled on the very first play Friday night — and then scored 35 points before halftime. The second-seeded Whippets routed Firelands 42-3 in a Division IV, Region 14 quarterfinal, a final reported by the Mansfield News Journal and confirmed on The Columbus Dispatch and Zanesville Times Recorder statewide scoreboards, to set up an unbeaten-versus-unbeaten regional semifinal.
Michael Shepherd opened the scoring with a 47-yard touchdown pass to Brady Bowman, then added a 1-yard touchdown run as Shelby (11-0) led 14-0 after one quarter, according to the Mansfield News Journal. The second quarter brought three more scores: a 1-yard Gavin Baker run, a 15-yard Shepherd-to-Casyn Koch touchdown pass, and a 5-yard Baker touchdown, building a 35-3 halftime lead and a running clock to start the second half.
Shepherd finished 8-of-10 passing for 128 yards and two touchdowns and added two rushing scores, including an 11-yard third-quarter touchdown, the Mansfield News Journal reported. Baker ran for 115 yards and two touchdowns as Shelby piled up 237 rushing yards on 25 carries, and Bowman caught five passes for 90 yards.
Shelby’s defense controlled the line throughout, holding Firelands to negative-7 rushing yards on 11 carries, the Mansfield News Journal reported; the Falcons threw for 220 yards but never found the end zone. Shelby coach Rob Mahaney told the Shelby Daily Globe, as reported by the Mansfield News Journal, “Other than the fumble on the first play, I thought we were pretty dang efficient. We sustained drives and that will be huge for us next week against Perkins.”
Mahaney also credited his line via the Mansfield News Journal: “If we are going to do well in the postseason, it is going to fall on those guys up front. Those senior offensive linemen did a great job for us tonight and Michael (Shepherd) was great in the read game.”
What happens next is the game the region has pointed toward all fall: Shelby (11-0) hosts Perkins (11-0) — which beat Bellevue 42-14 on Friday — in the Region 14 semifinal on Friday, Nov. 13, the schools’ first meeting since 1979, according to the Mansfield News Journal. “All offseason, we thought if we wanted a chance to win the region, it would go through Perkins at some point,” Mahaney said via the News Journal. “To play a game with two 11-0 teams and a chance to play for a regional championship is all you could ask for.”
[…] matchup was set on the other side of the night’s bracket, where Shelby rolled past Firelands 42-3 to reach 11-0. The Mansfield News Journal’s Shelby recap reported that the Whippets will host […]