Shepherd’s crackling 6-TD performance pushes Shelby past Madison

MADISON TOWNSHIP — Any mystery surrounding the Shelby football team’s offensive philosophy for the 2021 season quickly cleared up on Friday night at Ram Field.

This autumn will be the Marshall Shepherd Show. It certainly was in the season opener, as the veteran QB powered his Whippets to a 55-6 victory over Madison.

“I thought he played great,” Shelby coach Rob Mahaney said. “We knew he was going to be our guy.”

Shepherd immediately showed exactly why he figures to be the area’s featured performer. The Whippets’ senior was nearly flawless, completing 15-of-19 passes for 336 yards and 4 TDs. He also ran 6 times for 25 yards and 2 TDs.

The total damage report included 361 yards of total offense and six touchdowns. Shepherd also booted six extra points for good measure. If anyone is playing fantasy football with the local high school kids, here’s your No. 1 pick.

“He’s the reason we’re able to go empty,” Mahaney said. “He’s one of the smartest football players I’ve been around.”

The Whippets routinely line up with five receivers, Shepherd the lone setback, and let him check out the defense while dissecting it as he sees fit.

“It’s new to me, but I’m either throwing it or running it,” Shepherd said. “We feel like we have the athletes we can get in space that can make plays.

“I’ve been playing with these guys since middle school. I know what they can do.”

What Shelby did exceptionally, as Shepherd noted after the game, was allow him to find his receivers while they crisscrossed the Rams’ secondary.

“They’re so athletic when they go five-wide,” Madison coach Dave Stupka said. “Their quarterback can really deliver the ball and they did a great job protecting him.

“It’s really difficult to play man-to-man against them. We thought we would be able to get some pressure on him but we didn’t.”

The Whippets scored six touchdowns on their first six possessions, as the Rams struggled on both sides of the ball.

Shepherd began the onslaught with a 1-yard TD run, then connected on a 12-yard TD pass to David Ray. Another 1-yard touchdown blast from Shepherd and a 39-yard scoring strike to Blaine Bowman made it 28-0 at the end of the first period.

“We wanted to get off to a fast start,” Mahaney said. “We were spreading the ball around and taking advantage of what they gave us.”

The second period started in similar fashion, with David Ray rolling in on a 9-yard TD run and Shepherd hitting Andre Hill for a 53-yard touchdown pass to push the margin to 42-0 at halftime. That set up a running clock over the final two quarters.

When Shepherd connected with Garrett Baker on a 48-yard scoring toss, it signaled the end of his night with Shelby on top 48-0 in the third period.

Madison got on the board in the fourth quarter as junior Lucas Warren bolted 33 yards for a touchdown. The Whippets countered when Miles Hall scored on a 1-yard plunge at the 4:34 mark.

“We were able to move the ball at times. We had some glimpses, but we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Stupka said. “We’ve got to stick together and continue to try to move forward.”

Shelby junior Andre Hill had 6 catches for 122 yards, and a 91-yard kickoff return called back by penalty. He and his fellow receivers flashed the big-play potential that makes Shelby’s passing game so dangerous.

“That was just a matchup that we liked,” Shepherd said of Hill’s big night.

There are daunting expectations for Shelby this season. The Whippets were 9-1 last year, stopped only by eventual state champion Van Wert in the regionals. Shepherd threw for more than 1,100 yards while piloting that team. The 2021 lidlifter indicated those statistics may be a mere appetizer to what’s in store this season.

“There’s some pressure, but we’re ready for it,” Shepherd said.

Shelby hosts Lexington on Friday night.

Madison, which was 1-8 last year, will be at River Valley next week.