SHELBY — For generations Shelby and Bellevue battled for Northern Ohio League football supremacy. Those taut, tight battles led to a simmering rivalry.
Today the two schools no longer share a conference affiliation. But the spirited rivalry often makes for an intriguing matchup. Such was the case on Friday night, when the Whippets bested the Redmen 27-7 thanks to the brilliant play of Brady Bowman.
The Shelby standout got his team off to a solid start by hauling in a 32-yard TD pass from Branson Reed in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead. It stayed that way into halftime.
Bowman struck again in the third period, weaving his way for a 60-yard punt return touchdown to open a 14-0 gap.
Early in the fourth quarter, Whippets’ quarterback Hayden Duval tossed a 31-yard TD pass to Luke Blevins to put the game out of reach at 21-0.
The Redmen averted the shutout when Ike Brown hit Cooper Winke for 30-yard scoring strike to slice the margin to 21-7.
But Gavin Baker’s 6-yard touchdown run with 2:24 showing finished it.
The Whippets dominated statistically, collecting more first downs (16-8), total yards (309-155), passing yards (139-59), rushing yards (172-96) and time of possession (31:19 to 22:17).
Individually, Shelby’s dual-quarterback rotation proved productive. Reed went 7-of-13 for 69 yards and a score, while Duval was 6-of-8 for 68 yards and a TD. Baker ran for 76 yards and a touchdown on 12 attempts.
Bowman caught 7 passes for 80 yards and a TD, and added 40 yards rushing on two carries.
The Whippets improved to 3-0 heading into next week’s key matchup at Galion.
Bellevue falls to 2-1 and will be at Norwalk on Friday night.