BELLEVUE – Shelby and Bellevue continued their bitter and storied rivalry on Friday night with yet another classic encounter.
Bitter foes in the former Northern Ohio League (NOL), the two teams combined for 68 points, 41 in the second half, as Bellevue closed out a narrow 35-33 victory.
The respect is mutual
Bellevue coach Ed Nasonti said it felt good to earn a big win over an opponent of the Whippets caliber.
“They’re (Shelby) going to win a lot of ball games,” Nasonti said. “They’re skill is probably as good as we’ll see.”
Redmen senior Jax LaPata put Bellevue on the board first after a 9-yard dash.
“We got off the ball and did a good job,” Nasonti said. “I thought there were several times we won that battle.”
Bellevue rushed for 227 yards on 45 carries. LaPata led the team in rushing with 172 yards, followed by Brody Horn’s 56 yards on 12 carries.
DeVito’s sophomore success continues
Shelby sophomore Brayden DeVito led the Whippets opening drive down the field, and on fourth down, found senior Issaiah Ramsey in the end zone to tie the game, 7-7.
“I thought our effort was awesome,” Shelby coach Rob Mahaney said. “Specifically games like this, you have to play with great effort. I thought we played with heart for one another as well.”
Shelby at Belleuve Photo Gallery:
Trailing 21-14 to begin the second half, the Whippets struck quickly as Miles Swisher hauled in a 44-yard pass from DeVito.
The sophomore quarterback hit 19-of-29 passes for 372 yards, 4 TDs and one interception.
“You learn so much when you’re thrown into the fire on a Friday night in this atmosphere against a quality opponent,” Mahaney said. “I think Brayden is one of those guys who fought and gave us a chance.”
DeVito connected with senior receiver Casey Lantz for two scores in the fourth quarter, a 27-yarder and 65-yarder, to keep the Whippets’ hopes alive.
Down to the final drive
With the clock winding down, the Redmen sustained a lengthy drive downfield as LaPata capped things off with an 11-yard rushing TD to give Bellevue a 35-27 lead with under eight minutes remaining.
The Whippet defense successfully stopped the Redmen on their next possession to give the offense one final shot, but it started inside the Shelby 5.
Shelby at Bellevue Video Highlight
Faced with fourth down from their own 1-yard line, DeVito scrambled to find Ramsey open for the reception, who was tripped up short of reaching the needed first down yardage.
Nasonti said that nobody was relaxed on his sideline during the game’s final drive.
“Everybody was holding their breath,” he said. “Even if we wouldn’t have come out on top tonight, I would’ve been proud of our kids. They played hard.”
Bellevue (2-1) will host Norwalk next week, while the Whippets (2-1) travel to Marion Harding.
“We didn’t execute at times and had some mistakes that when you play a quality opponent, it comes back to bite you,” Mahaney said.
“Our kids fought all the way until the end, we just have to continue to learn from this game, move forward, and turn the page.”
SCORING PLAYS
1st quarter – BHS – Jax LaPata, 9-yard rush, 7-0
1st quarter – SHS – DeVito to Ramsey, 11-yard pass, 7-7
1st quarter – BHS – LaPata, 3-yard rush, 13-7
1st quarter – SHS – Skyler Winters, 1-yard rush, 14-13
2nd quarter – BHS – Brody Horn, 10-yard rush, 21-14
3rd quarter – SHS – DeVito to Miles Swisher, 44-yard pass, 21-20
3rd quarter – BHS – Ashton Martin to Dylan Barger, 33-yard pass, 29-20
4th quarter – SHS – DeVito to Casey Lantz, 27-yard pass, 29-27
4th quarter – BHS – LaPata, 11-yard rush, 35-27
4th quarter – SHS – DeVito to Lantz, 65-yard pass, 35-33