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Andre Rohde’s 15-yard interception return for a touchdown and Dylan Blevins’ extra-point kick tied the game at 13-all with 10:51 remaining in the first half during the first meeting on the gridiron between the two school districts.
With a little more than four minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Whippets seized the lead for good on a two-yard scoring run by Kyle Bailey, who also struck paydirt from a yard out at the 8:40 mark of the opening stanza to provide the visitors a quick 6-0 lead.
SHS, which is 2-1 on the season, led 20-13 at the intermission and outscored the 1-2 Warriors 20-0 over the final two periods.
Shelby coach Chris Solis said the early touchdown was important for the psyche of his club after they were roughed up a week earlier by Lexington.
“Getting up 6-0 was great for our kids. It set the tone for the game and was really needed for our confidence,” said Solis as his club outgained the home team 216-109. “In the second half, our kids came out and executed the adjustments we made at halftime.”
In the second half, sophomore quarterback Zach Strine passed for two scores and ran 20 yards for another. He fired a 23-yard strike to Briton Lash and a 10-yarder to Colton Rhinebolt.
Strine lugged the ball 18 times for 91 yards and Bailey added 45 stripes on 10 totes. Lash hauled in four passes totaling 45 yards.
“Zach had a nice second half and made some nice reads,” said Solis. “Our offensive line did a nice job of knocking them off of the ball.”
Ontario gained 75 of its 109 yards on two series that resulted in their two scores in the first quarter.
A gimmick play resulted in a 36-yard completion to Logan Rupert and set up a seven-yard TD run by Cory Cardwell to tie the game 6-6 at the 5:18 mark.
Shelby fumbled away its next possession and the Warriors recovered at the enemy 15. That would lead to a 2-yard scoring run by Kaulen Korody for 13-6 advantage at 3:24 mark.
After that, the Whippet defense was smothering and blanked the home team over the final three quarters.
Bailey anchored the defensive charge with a career-best 21 tackles. Jon Champer had 12 stops and Nick Wagoner registered nine sticks.
Besides an interception, Rohde also had a sack. Wagoner had a sack and a fumble recovery. Also pouncing on fumbles were Rhinebolt and Tyler Grove.
“Our young kids are learning how to fight and we liked what we saw from the kids in the second half,” said Solis. “Our kids fought very hard tonight.”
Shelby will now shift its focus to the Northern Ohio League race which begins next week. The Whippets open at home Friday against defending co-champion Tiffin Columbian.
The Tornadoes will come to town with a chip on their shoulder after getting beat by Fremont Ross 28-6 Friday evening.