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More importantly, the Whippets are now part of a four-team logjam for first place after Tiffin Columbian stunned previously undefeated Fostoria 34-32.
SHS used a 55-yard strike from tenth grade QB Zach Strine to senior fullback Kyle Bailey four minutes into the third quarter to snap a 7-7 tie and go to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the NOL — good enough for a first-place tie with Fostoria, Tiffin and Bellevue.
On the go-ahead play, the timing for the play was slightly off, but it turned out to be the right time for Shelby to make a move after a lethargic opening half of football.
Andre Rohde was in motion when the snap from center glanced off him. Strine picked the ball up off the turf and rolled to his right and spotted Bailey open. The throw was on target as Bailey streaked down the right sideline for a 13-7 advantage at the 7:57 mark.
Looking back on the play, Whippet coach Chris Solis said “Kyle Bailey stepped up to make another play for us.”
Bailey, a bruising fullback and punishing linebacker, was all over the field for SHS. He rushed the ball 23 times for 129 yards and caught two passes for another 69 stripes. On the defensive side, he registered nine tackles.
“I thought our fullback played a whale of a game,” said Solis.
Shelby gave itself some breathing room with 5:20 remaining in the game when Strine scored from a yard away. The two-point conversion pass from Strine to Briton Lash made it 21-7.
That score also triggered a bonanza of points — a total of 38 — by the two league rivals. For the locals, Lash tacked on a 51-yard dash and Bailey reached paydirt from a yard out in the spree of touchdowns. PAT conversions were a pass from Strine to Tyler Grove and a run by Lash.
After a Whippet turnover at their own three, Willard quickly converted for a 7-0 lead at the 10:27 mark on a three-yard plunge by Matt Hamons and a PAT kick by Cody Frasure.
SHS finally dented the scoreboard with 1:22 to go in the half on a 17-yard pass from Strine to Josh Ingle. Dylan Blevins’ kick evened the score at 7-7.
“Our defense played very well in the first half. They came ready to play,” said Solis. “Offensively in the first half, we didn’t do a good job up front and couldn’t control their front and they kept busting through.”
“In the second half we executed much better,” said Solis as Shelby owned a 382-241 edge in yardage, including 271 on the ground. Strine tacked on 90 yards on 26 carries.
Willard, which is now 0-10 in homecoming games at Shelby, was topped by Brandon Cochran with 100 yards on 18 rushes. He also completed 14-of-32 passes for 161 yards.
Rohde, who had an interception to set up the first Whippet score, led the team with 10 tackles. Jon Champer and Jordan Kick each had a sack and a half to go with nine and eight tackles, respectively. Ethan Stephens added seven sticks while Matt Kauffman had six stops and four hits that went for losses.