SHELBY — Shelby has a very clear goal for this football season. The Whippets broke their postgame huddle on Friday night with two words: “State Champs!”
Coach Erik Will’s team took a strong initial step in that direction with a 50-13 pounding of Wauseon at W.W. Skiles Field in the Division IV, Region 14 playoff opener.
Quarterback Brennan Armstrong and running back Devon “Shorty” Brooks played their dynamic duo act to the limit. The prolific pair had a hand in all seven touchdowns as the Whippets earned a second-half running clock for the 11th consecutive game.
“A lot of guys on this team have experience from last year,” said Armstrong, who guided the Whippets to the regional final before falling to eventual state champion Steubenville. “That helps a lot. We have a great group of seniors.”
One of them is Brooks, who posted touchdown runs of 51, 2 and 9 yards and caught a 35-yard TD pass.
“Last year I made (a lot of big plays) but this year I wasn’t blasting off,” Brooks said. “Coach challenged me to run like I did last year.”
Will confirmed he pushed Brooks to up his game in the postseason.
“He’s had a good year, for anyone else it would be a great year,” Will said. “But I challenged Shorty to give us his best.”
The victory sends Shelby to the second round next week against St. Mary’s Memorial. The Roughriders pounded Highland 48-8 in Sparta. St. Mary’s (10-1) is riding a 10-game winning streak after dropping a 39-32 decision in the season opener at Sidney.
The 5th-ranked Whippets (11-0) have avoided a blemish all season, and looked elite yet again.
Shelby took the opening kick and smartly marched 68 yards in five plays, capped by an Armstrong swing pass to Brooks that the senior standout broke with a nifty spin move for a 35-yard touchdown, barely 90 seconds into the game.
He followed with a 51-yard TD scamper in which he angled across the field to outrun several Indians. Brooks finished a 76-yard, 10-play drive with a 2-yard blast to make it 21-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Wauseon (8-3) responded with a 7-play, 74-yard march, fueled by Everett Buerter’s 47-yard catch and ensuing 27-yard dash. Quarterback Hunter Yackee finished it with a 2-yard scoring plunge to slice the deficit to 21-6 with 10:41 to play in the half.
But Shelby answered right back when Armstrong threaded a 15-yard touchdown pass to Carter Brooks to finish a 73-yard trek and push the margin back to 28-6 with 8:28 to play in the second period.
The Whippets then tacked on another score when Armstrong connected with Carter Brooks on a 6-yard TD pass. The 2-point conversion pass made it 36-6 just before intermission, triggering a running clock to start the second half.
“They are as advertised,” Wauseon coach Travis Cooper said. “There’s no special X’s and O’s when you have athletes like that.
“We looked like everybody else on film against them. They just overwhelmed us.”
Shelby scored TDs on its first two second-half possessions, on runs of 14 and 9 yards by Armstrong and Shorty Brooks, respectively.
Wauseon’s Dawson Rupp broke off a 54-yard touchdown with 6:28 remaining to account for the final score.
FORGET OHIO STATE: Armstrong confirmed after the game Ohio State reached out to him this week when the Buckeyes’ projected quarterback recruit from Georgia appeared to waiver on his commitment.
But Armstrong said he isn’t interested in OSU.
“Coach (Ryan) Day contacted me this week. Their verbal, Emory Jones, started traveling. He didn’t decommit, but they reached out. I’m not going to Ohio State. I’m not anybody’s Plan B.”
Jones is waffling between Ohio State and Alabama. Armstrong is among a number of QB recruits the Buckeyes contacted while trying to fill out their 2018 class, but the Shelby senior said he’s firm in his commitment to Minnesota and coach P.J. Fleck.
STAT FACTS: Shelby came into the game outscoring foes 50.0 to 5.4 points per game, and stayed almost exactly on point with that ratio.
Armstrong finished the night 13-22 passing for 220 yards and three touchdowns. For the season he’s completing about 65 percent of his passes for 1,519 yards, 24 TDs and only 2 interceptions. He also ran for 57 yards on 10 carries and a score. For the season he’s gained 713 yards and 15 TDs.
Shorty Brooks gained a whopping 168 yards on just 15 carries with three touchdowns. For the season he has 894 yards and 12 scores. He is on pace to crack 1,000 yards in next week’s regional semifinal.
Carter Brooks caught six passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns. He now has 876 yards receiving and 17 TDs.
No team has scored more than 14 points on the Whippets. Shelby’s starting defense outscored opponents 21-20 in the regular season, accounting for three touchdowns of their own.
The Whippets outclassed Edison 43-0, a playoff team in Division V. They also ripped Bellevue 46-0. The Redmen reached the Region 14 playoffs.
TEPEE TALK: This was Wauseon’s seventh trip to the playoffs. In addition to this season, the Indians made it to the postseason in 1993, 1994, 1999, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
