SHELBY — Erik Will gathered his team in the north end zone at W.W. Skiles Field after Shelby’s 41-7 win over Lexington in Week 2 for a postgame discussion.

The conversation was brief.

“Let’s take care of business next week,” Will said, “because you know what is waiting for you after that.”

The Whippets heeded their veteran head coach’s advice, throttling Willard 56-6 last week to set up a showdown with rival Bellevue on Friday. The schools were longtime members of the Northern Ohio League and are members of the new-look Sandusky Bay Conference, albeit in different divisions.

Shelby won last year’s meeting 49-34, snapping Bellevue’s five-game winning streak. The Whippets haven’t won two in a row in the series since Chris Solis led the program to consecutive victories in 2005 and 2006.

Bellevue (2-1) at Shelby (3-0): Reinforcements have arrived for the Whippets.

Brennan Armstrong, an All-Ohio senior who is verbally committed to the University of Minnesota, will return from a three-game suspension for violating team rules. Armstrong will replace sophomore McGwire Albert, who was sensational the past three weeks.

In his first three career starts, Albert was 29 of 41 for 623 yards and 14 touchdowns. Six of tight end Carter Brooks’ 10 receptions have gone for touchdowns. He’s averaging 20.6 yards per catch. Uriah Schwemley, Tyshaundre Hall and Brady Hill have combined for 18 catches, 407 yards and eight TDs. Brooks, a defensive end-linebacker hybrid, and linebacker Tristan Reed are tied for the team lead with 25 tackles apiece.

The Redmen bounced back from an overtime loss at Clear Fork in Week 2 with a 34-26 win at West Holmes last week. Running back Bryce Ray is the leading rusher in the SBC Lake Division with 527 yards and six TDs on 101 carries. Quarterback Riley Renwand has completed 36 of 66 passes for 489 yards and three touchdowns. Linebacker Jack Howey leads the Lake Division with 35 tackles, while Kolton Henry has four sacks and Bryce McMurray has three interceptions.

Clear Fork (3-0) at North Union (2-1): The Colts were ranked fourth in Division IV in the first Associated Press state poll released this week. Quarterback Blake Dinsmore is one of the leading rushers in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference after rushing for 74 yards and a pair of touchdowns in last week’s upset of Jonathan Alder. Running back Trevon Trammell picked up 76 yards on just eight carries and caught two passes for 85 yards and a score. Hunter Tollison had a pair of sacks, while Bryce Lyon picked off a pass. The Colts boast one of the most rugged run defenses in north central Ohio, surrendering just 187 yards on the ground through three games.

The Wildcats have won two straight road games after a season-opening loss to Swanton. Garrett Miller leads North Union with 305 rushing yards on 51 carries. Backfield mate Carson Smith has 258 yards on 35 attempts and leads the team with six catches for 85 yards.

Galion (3-0) at Pleasant (2-0): The Tigers are perhaps the surprise of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference this fall, having surrendered just 21 points in three games after last week’s 23-0 white-washing of Portsmouth. Galion boasts a wealth of speed at the skill positions, led by quarterback Harrison Ivy, running back Tanner Crisman and receiver Takoda Crisman. Ivy rushed for 156 yards and two touchdowns last week. The defense limited Portsmouth to 127 yards.

Pleasant roughed up Bucyrus 51-0 last week as Matt Chase rushed for 91 yards and Patrick Blubaugh scored a pair of touchdowns.

Ontario (2-1) at Marion Harding (2-1): The Warriors rebounded from a Week 2 loss to Highland with a resounding 51-14 win over Cardington. Quarterback Cameron Todd rushed for 102 yards on eight carries and completed 14 of 21 passes for 339 yards and three touchdowns. Ontario scored 30 points in the second quarter and led 37-7 at the break. Ethan Pensante caught six passes for 160 yards and two TDs.

Harding beat Newark 28-27 in overtime. Kwauve Booker returned a fumble 77 yards for a touchdown and scored on an 8-yard run, while Devon Fraker had an 83 yard TD run.