SHELBY — It was hard to hear inside the Shelby High School gymnasium Monday afternoon.
With students and staff already buzzing with excitement for Thanksgiving break, there was plenty of energy to go around during a districtwide pep rally celebrating the Final Four bound Whippet football team.
Senior captains Brayden DeVito, Sam Gwirtz and Quinton Albert, along with Shelby coach Rob Mahaney, each shared brief messages during the 15-minute frenzy. Whippet cheerleaders led several chants and the Shelby marching band filled the gym with the roar of its instruments.
The highlight of Monday’s pep rally included hundreds of signs, each displaying messages of support, raised in the air by some of the district’s youngest students.
Whippets to face Indian Hill in state semifinal
Top-ranked Shelby (13-0) earned its second regional title in program history on Friday by defeating Galion 41-7 at Mansfield’s Arlin Field. The Whippets’ first regional trophy came during the 2017 season.
Shelby’s 13 victories this year have also tied the storied program’s single-season wins record.
The Whippets will take on Cincinnati-based Indian Hill (13-0) this Friday in a Division IV state semifinal game at 7 p.m. at Sidney Memorial Stadium, a 7,000-seat facility located about 118 miles from Shelby High School.
Below are photos and a video from Monday afternoon’s districtwide pep rally at the Shelby High School Gymnasium. Credit: Hayden Gray
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Shelby sends three teams to Final Four since 2024
Shelby has reached the Final Four in three separate sports since March 2024.
The boys basketball team captured its first regional title in program history when it knocked off Lutheran West 55-46 in 2024. Shelby fell to Maysville in a Division II state semifinal by three points.
About eight months later, the Whippets earned their third-ever Final Four volleyball bid by defeating Lakeview 3-1 in a Division IV regional final. Shelby came up short to No. 4 Marlington 3-1 in its state semifinal match.
In football, this year marks only the second time in program history that Shelby has reached the Final Four. The first time was in 2017.
The Whippets, led then by record-setting quarterback Brennan Armstrong, fell 35-22 to Steubenville in the Division IV state semifinals at Akron’s InfoCision Stadium.
