SHELBY — Robert Mahaney thought he was reliving a nightmare on Halloween night, but the Shelby Whippets put their head coach’s fears to rest Saturday at W.W. Skiles Field.
Owen Fisher rushed for three touchdowns and the second-seeded Whippets cruised to a 28-14 win over No. 11 Clyde in the Division IV, Region 14 semifinals.
Shelby (9-0) will host fifth-seeded Van Wert for the regional title next Saturday. Van Wert upset top-seeded Bellevue 41-22 in Saturday’s other regional semifinal game.
Shelby and Clyde met in the regional semifinals in 2019 and the Whippets built a 21-7 halftime lead before the Fliers rallied for a 35-21 victory. Clyde would use the comeback win as a springboard to the Division IV state championship.
Fast-forward to Saturday night and the Whippets again led 21-7 at intermission.
“My last year at Mapleton in (2018), we were up 21-7 at halftime, too, and we blew that lead in the (Division VII) regional semis,” Mahaney said. “I’ve been here three years in a row, 21-7 at the half. I feel like I exorcised some demons tonight.”
The Whippets jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead when Fisher, who became the program’s career rushing leader in last week’s win over Firelands, busted loose on a 68-yard touchdown run on Shelby’s first offensive play from scrimmage. The Whippets extended the lead to 14-0 when quarterback Marshall Shepherd connected with Cody Lantz on a 24-yard TD pass with 2:20 remaining in the first quarter.
Clyde cut Shelby’s lead to 14-7 on Andrew Kauble’s 9-yard TD reception midway through the second quarter, but the Whippets responded when Fisher scored on a 7-yard run to make it 21-7 with 4:48 to play in the half. That’s how things would stand at intermission.
“At halftime our coaches just said, ‘Keep playing our game and don’t let what happened last year happen (again),’ ” two-way lineman Nathan Zehner said.
Shelby received the second-half kickoff and opened a 28-7 lead when Fisher scored on a 24-yard run midway through the third. Fisher’s third TD of the evening came one play after Clyde was flagged for pass interference to prolong the drive.
Shelby led 28-7 after three, but the Fliers made things interesting early in the fourth when Brady Wilson caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jaden Cook with 10:18 remaining.
The Whippets had a chance to ice it, but turned the ball over on downs at the Clyde 23 with 6:21 showing. The Fliers immediately marched deep into Shelby territory but linebacker Carson Ingram recovered a fumble at the Whippets’ 14-yard line to stem the tide.
Clyde would regain possession, but turned the ball over on downs at its own 43-yard line with 2:40 to play. The Whippets were able to run out the clock from there.
“We came out and scored on that first drive (of the second half). To me that really put us where we needed to be,” Mahaney said. “We knew Clyde wasn’t going to quit. They’re too well-coached and they’re too good of a football team.
“For us to get that score, that really got us going. It’s a credit to our kids and the mentality that we have.”
