Shelby will meet Steubenville in Final Four at Akron

SHELBY — The biggest football game in Shelby High School history will take place on Friday at 7:30 p.m. on Summa Field at the University of Akron’s Infocision Stadium.

The fifth-ranked Whippets (13-0), slated to be the visiting team, will challenge No. 1-ranked Steubenville in the Division IV state semifinals.

Coach Erik Will’s Sandusky Bay Conference champions won the school’s first regional crown on Friday night by blasting Bellevue 42-21 at Ashland’s Community Stadium. Meanwhile, Steubenville (13-0) rolled over Perry 33-21 on Friday night to earn its fifth straight regional championship.

That scenario sets up a rematch of last year’s regional championship game, when the Big Red beat Shelby 29-15 in Massillon.

“It’s something we talked about the whole off-season. We wanted to get back and play those guys again. We look forward to the challenge. We know what to expect,” Shelby quarterback Brennan Armstrong said. “When adversity hits (this year), we have a lot of guys returning who played in that game and we know what to do. I think we should be in good shape.

“We all worked our tails off. We are here now and it’s crazy to believe we just played Week 13. I am excited for the seniors. We went from 2-8 (as freshmen) to 13-0 right now. I couldn’t be prouder of my guys.”

Will also looks forward to the rematch against a Big Red team that has won three state titles and finished state runner-up five times since the state playoffs began in 1972. Steubenville has qualified for the playoffs 30 times.

“(Steubenville) is unbelievable,” Will said. “We return a lot of guys from last year. They return some guys. We know it’s not going to be easy.”

The winner plays the survivor of the other state semifinal, pitting unranked New Concord John Glenn (11-2) against No. 7 Clarksville Clinton-Massie (12-1). Those two tangle on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Hilliard Darby Stadium.

State Semifinal Ticket Information

Fans are encouraged to buy their playoff tickets in advance at the participating schools, which keep a percentage of the revenue. For state semifinal playoff games, tickets are $9 presale and $10 at the gate.

The rest of the Ohio High School Football Final Four pairings are listed below:

Division I