SHELBY – Skyler Winters had a handful of touchdowns on Friday night.
The senior running back found the end zone five times and led the Shelby offense with 275 yards as the Whippets soared past Galion, 62-26, in a key Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference meeting.
Winters fuels Shelby offense
“I came out not doing too hot in the first half,” Winters said. “But then, something just flipped and we rallied together to get it done.”
The Tigers traveled to the Whippet Athletic Complex with an unblemished record while Shelby brought in just one loss to Bellevue.
With MOAC title implications on the line, Winters said the team recognized the significance, but also wanted to play in the moment.
“I mean, Galion really doesn’t like us and we don’t really like Galion,” he said. “We said ‘forget the league tonight,’ it’s a big rivalry game, let’s get the win.”
Rough rhythm for Tiger offense
The Tigers opened the night picking up right where they left off after last week’s 35-3 victory over Clear Fork.
Less than a minute into the action, senior Gabe Ivy scored on Galion’s second play from scrimmage.
The opening Tiger drive was their most explosive of the night. After that, they struggled to find production against a physical Whippet defense.
Ivy finished the game with 106 yards and 2 TDs on 14 carries.
“Offensively we just didn’t get into a rhythm,” Galion coach Matt Dick said. “In the second half (Shelby) really got in a rhythm and started rolling, and we just didn’t keep up.”
Shelby produced 28 first downs and 650 yards of total offense while dominating time of possession, 26:07 to the Tiger’s 13:29.
Galion at Shelby Photo Gallery
Shelby offense sets tone with physical play
“I’m extremely proud of our team,” Shelby coach Rob Mahaney said. “We challenged these guys all off-season and again this week to be a physical football team.”
Mahaney said he knew Galion played a physical brand of football and in order to beat them, his team would have to match that level of play.
“I thought that with our run game, we established a level of physicality,” he said. “They got a few big plays on us defensively, but I thought our guys did a great job of rallying and making stops when we needed it.”
The play of Winters brought a smile to Mahaney’s face, who said his running-back defines what it means to be a teammate.
“Skyler (Winters) is the constant teammate,” he said. “No one on our football team constantly shows on the film with the effort that he does.”
Shelby’s backfield proved to be one of the area’s best when pairing Winters with sophomore quarterback Brayden DeVito, who threw for 248 yards and 2 TDs.
“Brayden did a great job of keeping the defense honest, pulling it every once and a while,” Mahaney said. “Skyler was a man tonight, for a senior on a stage like this, how awesome for him.”
Galion (4-1, 1-1 MOAC) will face an unbeaten Ontario team on the road next week.
“We’re going to find ways to put our kids in better situations,” Dick said. “As a coaching staff and as a head coach, we’re going to find a way to bounce back.”
Shelby (4-1, 2-0 MOAC) will host the Highland Fighting Scots (4-1, 1-1 MOAC) in another crucial MOAC showdown.
Galion at Shelby Video Highlights
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
GAL: Gabe Ivy 1 yd Rush (TD) 6-0
SHE: Casey Lantz 10 yd Pass from Brayden Devito (TD) 7-6
2nd Quarter
SHE: Casey Lantz 20 yd (FG) 10-6
GAL: Jacob Chambers 49 yd Rush (TD) 13-10
SHE: Skyler Winters 6 yd Rush (TD) 17-13
SHE: Skyler Winters 4 yd Rush (TD) 24-13
GAL: Landon Campbell 25 yd Pass from Braxton Prosser (TD) 24-20
3rd Quarter
SHE: Skyler Winters 13 yd Rush (TD) 31-20
SHE: Casey Lantz 25 yd (FG) 34-20
SHE: Skyler Winters 2 yd Rush (TD) 41-20
4th Quarter
SHE: Brayden Devito 60 yd Pass from Issaiah Ramsey (TD) 48-20
SHE: Nic Eyster 10 yd Pass from Brayden Devito (TD) 55-20
GAL: Gabe Ivy 22 yd Rush (TD) 55-26
SHE: Skyler Winters 60 yd Rush (TD) 62-26