CANTON — Shelby’s memorable run to the Division IV state championship game can’t be summed up in one contest.
The reason is Friday’s 45-7 loss to Cleveland Glenville was not indicative of the Whippets’ 2025 campaign.
Indeed, Shelby nation expressed how proud it was of this season-long odyssey by showing out in strong numbers at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on a frigid Friday morning, filling a significant portion of the far-side stands.
It could and should be viewed as a celebration that began in August, and culminated on a snow-spotted field in December at the pinnacle of Ohio high school football in Canton.
“Despite the result, it was just amazing to take that field with my brothers one last time,” senior quarterback Brayden DeVito said. “Knowing it was our last time and the community showed out like that, it was just amazing.
“I couldn’t imagine playing for anybody else. I love putting on a Shelby jersey.”
Falling to perennial powerhouse Glenville (12-3) won’t blunt any of that.
There’s no shame in losing to the Tarblooders, Ohio’s standard among Division IV schools. This was their third state crown in four years.
Coach Ted Ginn Sr.’s program has cranked out a Heisman Trophy winner in Troy Smith, first-round NFL draft picks in Ted Ginn Jr., Marshawn Lattimore and Donte Whitner, and current Ohio State standout Arvelle Reese.
This year’s Glenville roster features two more Tarblooders headed to Columbus in linebacker Cincere Johnson and defensive lineman Jamir Perez.
“We had to be dominant,” said Perez, the anchor of Glenville’s imposing line play. “We did our job and you see the result.”
Ginn’s squad plays an elite schedule, too. The Tarblooders beat Division II powerhouse Massillon Washington (33-27) and defending Division I state champion Olentangy Liberty (13-7) in the first two weeks of the season.
“Obviously (DeVito) is a Mr. Football candidate, but I was too,” Johnson said. “That’s a great team, but they haven’t faced a defense with the speed, size and somebody in the middle like myself.
“Our gameplan was not to bracket him or anything like that. We had to be fast, be physical, and we’ll be state champions.”
Below are video highlights from Friday’s game.
In sum, the Whippets’ were simply overmatched, for the first time all year. Coach Rob Mahaney’s squad has been the unstoppable force this fall in north central Ohio.
“Shelby is small-town football, that’s what I’m most proud of,” DeVito said. “We were able to come together and make history. Our goal was to make the program better than we found it.”
Only Galion gave the Whippets’ pause, before Shelby rallied in the fourth quarter for a 45-34 win on Sept. 12. No one else came within 23 points during the regular season, with eight teams suffering the wrath that led to a running clock.
The playoffs might have been even more fun, and every bit as convincing.
Orrville was hammered 42-0.
Lima Bath absorbed a 49-7 dismissal.
Galion was no match in the rematch, 41-7.
The Whippets were never better than a 42-7 state semifinal pounding of Cincinnati Indian Hill.
That’s four postseason games, all of them triggered the running-clock rule installed for 30-point blowouts.
Shelby won the Division IV state poll championship while ripping off 14 consecutive wins heading into the state finals. It was a show conducted by Mr. Football runner-up DeVito.
The senior standout, bound for the Air Force Academy, authored a show that lasted four years. That brilliant career was something to behold.
One tough morning in Canton won’t detract from the four-year masterpiece he painted in Shelby.
For decades people have talked about the basketball exploits of Whippets’ legend Larry Siegfried, and for good reason. Siegfried was an All-American at Ohio State and a world champion with the Boston Celtics. It would be tough for anyone to match that level of success.
But on the football side, DeVito’s prep career takes a backseat to no one — and people will be talking about his special abilities for decades to come, too.
DeVito paused just outside the locker room to soak in the moment, and remember the past. He was asked what the departing senior would tell himself as a freshman four years ago.
“I would tell him to calm down and enjoy the moment. You are going to have your ups and downs, but it’s going to be great,” DeVito said. “You had a great support system around you and it was the best four years of your life up to that point.”
That’s the kind of legacy he and his teammates crafted in a brilliant autumn. Reflect, remember and revel in it.
