LEXINGTON — Andrew Saris was blunt Friday night when asked how opposing teams could simulate Shelby QB Brayden DeVito in practice.
“You can’t.”
The third-year Lexington coach, an All-Ohio defensive back in his playing days at Smithville High School, marveled at DeVito’s efforts during Shelby’s 21-10 win Friday night.
“It’s more just try to be prepared for it. You can talk about angles. You can try (to simulate) it as much as you can.
“But you can’t.”
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound junior, a first-team All-Ohio selection last year, had a hand in all three Shelby scores in the annual cross-county rivalry game, running for one TD and throwing for two.
Statistically, it was just another night for DeVito. He completed 16-of-23 passes for 272 yards and rushed for 63 yards on 20 attempts.
Photo gallery from Shelby’s 21-10 at lexington on friday night
But time and time again, DeVito found ways to make something out of nothing, especially in the first half when he frustrated the Minutemen by finding ways to convert on one long third- or fourth-down after another.
Sit back and DeVito waits to find an open receiver. Pressure him and he rolls out to buy time — or runs it himself.
The key to improvisational success was found in hard work in practice as the Whippets built a 21-3 halftime lead en route to raising their record to 2-0.
“I knew our guys were coming into this week laser-focused. We executed. We did a lot of situational stuff during practice this week. That’s how ultimately we were ready for those (long-distance) situations,” said DeVito, who has accounted for six TDs in the first two weeks of the season.
Two of those scores came through the air Friday night on passes to Kaden Price and Nic Eyster.
Shelby coach Rob Mahaney laughed when asked if he spent time each week with a thesaurus to find new words to describe his quarterback — who also starts at defensive back.
“He is a great football player with the ball in his hands,” said Mahaney, now 43-17 in his sixth season leading the Whippets.
“What is great about him is he runs the play we call so well, but when things break down, he is just as special. Brayden is a special kid and a special football player. Wizard … magician, they all fit.
“The thing is he loves it. He loves the sport. He loves to put in the time. He loves the film study,” Mahaney said.
Remarkably, DeVito is doing it with a largely new cast of characters. Shelby lost 17 players to graduation from a 2023 team that went 10-3 with a trip to the Division III regional semifinals, including the best wide receiver in school history.
The Whippets returned just five starters on offense and five on defense.
As pleased as he was with DeVito, Mahaney was just as happy with his defense, which has allowed just three TDs in eight quarters to start the season.
“The defense has played phenomenal,” Mahaney said.
“We are doing very well playing team defense right now. Our defensive line is forcing the ball where we want it to go. Our linebackers are closing windows and we are making plays as a unit.
“Our defensive staff does a great job preparing. We knew Lexington had weapons, so to hold them to a field goal in the first half and one offensive touchdown was a job well done,” he said.
As frustrating as it was in the first half, Saris saw improvement in the second as his Minutemen (0-2) kept the Whippets off the scoreboard.
The Lexington offense, which got a 25-yard field goal from JayByx Mack in the first half, scored a TD in the fourth quarter on a 20-yard pass from quarterback Joe Caudill to wide receiver Seven Allen.
Caudill was 10-of-19 passing for 148 yards. Allen caught five passes for 66 yards and has scored three TDs in two games.
“The kids played with toughness in the second half,” Saris said.
“It is obviously disappointing when you lose, but chasing around Brayden DeVito isn’t easy. We are going to play great players all year long and we have to be prepared for that,” he said.
“Defensively, we went into halftime understanding that we gave up really silly things,” Saris said.
“Kudos to Shelby because they did some things that really put us in a bind. We adjusted simply by making sure we had everyone covered. They didn’t make it easy with a kid like Brayden DeVito in an empty set making plays. We tackled much better, too.”
“Offensively, we had a better drive off of the ball and we spread it around much better. We saw some strides in the second half. We just have to put it together for four quarters,” Saris said.
Up next:
— Shelby hosts former Northern Ohio League rival Bellevue (1-1) next Friday night. The Redmen knocked off Wauseon, 28-7, in Week Two.
— Lexington plays its third straight cross-county rivalry game next Friday night at Clear Fork (0-2). The Colts lost to Granville, 31-14 on Friday night.
Shelby 21, Lexington 10
Scoring summary
1st quarter
Shelby — Brayden DeVito 8-yard run (PAT Michael Shepherd kick), 7-0
Lexington — JayByx Mack 25-yard field goal, 7-3
Shelby — Kaden Price 21-yard pass from DeVito (PAT kick failed), 13-3
2nd quarter
Shelby — Nic Eyster 5-yard pass from DeVito (PAT Travis Slone pass from Shepherd), 21-3
3rd quarter
(No scoring)
4th quarter
Lexington — Seven Allen 20-yard pass from Joe Caudill (PAT Mack kick), 21-10
