GALION — Brayden DeVito presents a difficult package for any opposing coach charged with slowing the dynamic junior.
On Friday night, the 5-foot-11, 175-pound Shelby quarterback registered four total touchdowns as the Whippets overwhelmed Galion 35-6 in a battle of unbeatens with major Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference implications.
DeVito completed 17-of-24 passes for 304 yards and 3 TDs. On the ground, he rushed 16 times for 134 yards and another score.
Galion coach Matt Dick wasted no time complimenting the talented dual-threat quarterback following the loss.
“He is amazing to watch,” Dick said. “What they (Shelby) do on offense, the spreading you out and then running the quarterback and all that stuff, it’s just hard to defend.”
Shelby rattled off 471 yards of total offense and earned 21 first downs. Defensively, the Whippets contained the Tigers to 209 yards of total offense and only six points.
The Whippets remain undefeated this season at 5-0 (2-0 MOAC) and are seeking another league crown after sharing the title with Ontario last year.
Whippets had ‘something to prove’
Big plays helped Shelby light up the scoreboard first Friday night.
After halting the Tigers’ opening drive, DeVito found sophomore speedster Brady Bowman for a 46-yard TD. Bowman finished Friday’s game with five catches for 87 yards and a score.
Less than three minutes later, Shelby marched down the field again and finished its drive with a five-yard score from junior running back Marcus Gumbert.
The Whippets added six more before halftime via a seven-yard touchdown pass from DeVito to senior receiver Nic Eyster — giving Shelby a 20-0 lead at the break.
Coach Rob Mahaney knew his team was motivated this week, but he didn’t dare dream the Whippets would find themselves with a running-clock lead.
“I felt really good about our team and where our head space was,” he said. “I think they had something to prove tonight and I thought we came out and we did that.
“Defensively, we played awesome and offensively we made plays when we needed to and man, it was awesome to see our kids come out and do that.”
The Whippets added two more score in the second half. DeVito rushed 11 yards for a TD near the end of the third quarter. With 9:56 remaining in the game, he connected 38 yards with sophomore tight end Michael Shepherd to put Shelby up 35-0.
Galion’s lone score came five minutes later via an 8-yard pass from senior quarterback Braxton Prosser to junior wide receiver Landyn Prosser.
Photo gallery: Shelby at Galion
Shelby defense forces three turnovers
Shelby’s defensive front seven made a statement of its own Friday.
After scoring 27 points in the first quarter of its game last week, Galion was held scoreless until 4:26 in the fourth quarter.
Mahaney said the Whippets’ front seven does a great job controlling the game. He applauded several, including Brayden Schartiger, Karsen Homan, Hunter Oney and Kyler Williams.
“Our linebacker core, Cohen Sturts, Sam Gwirtz and Dennis Lafon fly around and make plays,” he said. “Our secondary did a great job of keeping things in front of them.”
Shelby forced three Galion turnovers. Junior Brock Fisher intercepted Prosser twice and Williams recovered a forced fumble. Offensively, the Tigers were held to 12 first downs.
“We wanted to come out and prove who we were as a football team and I thought we did that tonight,” Mahaney said.
Galion must continue to grow
An early fumble started Galion’s offense off on the wrong foot. Despite the turnover, Dick said his team likes to be aggressive and take shots down the field.
Prosser completed 13-of-22 passes for 133 yards, a TD and two interceptions. He also ran the ball 14 times for 33 yards.
“Some of the adjustments we made, we’re going to go back as coaches and try to find ways to put kids in better positions,” he said.
“That’s a good Shelby team. I felt like we were fighting momentum and just not punching it in a couple times when we got down there.”
While Friday’s loss marked its first of the season, Galion remains hungry to compete for an MOAC title. They’ll be faced with another opportunity to stay in the hunt next week when the Tigers host Ontario (5-0).
“Our kids did keep fighting. I was proud of that in the second half,” Dick said.
“But there’s a lot to learn from it. We’re a young coaching staff, we’ve got plenty of things we can go back and look at and we can grow and I’m sure I can do a lot better as a head coach as well.”
Up next:
— Shelby (5-0) travels to Highland (2-3) Friday night to continue MOAC play. The Fighting Scots defeated Marion Harding in Week Five, 28-9.
— Galion (4-1) hosts Ontario (5-0) Friday night to continue MOAC play. The Warriors defeated Clear Fork in Week Five, 31-14.
Scoring summary: Shelby 35, Galion 6
1st quarter
Shelby — Brady Bowman 46-yard pass from Brayden DeVito, 6-0
Shelby — Marcus Gumbert five-yard run, 14-0
2nd quarter
Shelby — Nic Eyster seven-yard pass from DeVito, 20-0
3rd quarter
Shelby — DeVito 11-yard run, 28-0
4th quarter
Shelby — Michael Shepherd 38-yard pass from DeVito, 35-0
Galion — Landyn Prosser eight-yard pass from Braxton Prosser, 35-6