NORWALK, Ohio — One quarter was good enough for Shelby.
After sleep-walking through the first half, the Whippets pieced together a pair of lengthy third-quarter drives and held on for a 29-15 win over upstart Norwalk in the Northern Ohio League opener at Whitney Field on Friday.
The game was tied 15-15 at the half, much to Shelby coach Erik Will’s dismay.
“We played one quarter tonight. We played the third quarter,” Will said. “It’s pretty upsetting that I got to go in the locker room (at halftime) and get on them.
“I really feel like if you want to be a league champion, coaches shouldn’t have to go in and paste the wall.”
Taking Command: The Whippets (4-0, 1-0) took the second half kickoff and marched 80 yards to take the lead for good. Quarterback Brennan Armstrong capped the drive with a 1 yard run with 8:12 remaining. Six minutes later, Armstrong hooked up with Carter Brooks on a 7 yard scoring pass for a 29-15 lead.
“It was nice to come out and establish ourselves,” Will said. “I definitely was not happy with the way the first half went. I do like the way we responded.”
Behind the Eight Ball: The Truckers (2-2, 0-1) lost starting quarterback Trenten Morrow to a shoulder injury in the first quarter. The 6-foot-4 senior captain was replaced by sophomore Brandon Haraway. The shifty wideout performed admirably in relief of Morrow.
“He’s a good sophomore,” Norwalk coach Chris MacFarland said. “He’s a kid we’re trying to get the ball to on the perimeter anyhow. We want the ball in his hands. You can see he’s got skills.”
Haraway ran 17 yards for a touchdown with 4:58 to play in the second quarter to cut Shelby’s lead 9-7. He connected with Blake Obringer for a 42 yard touchdown to tie the game at 15-15 with 1:55 left in the first half.
Ground and Pound: The Whippets piled up 370 yards of rushing offense. Shorty Brooks scampered for 224 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries while Armstrong added 136 yards and a score on 14 attempts.
“The have a little more size up front than we have,” MacFarland said. “They were able to grind it on us a little bit, especially in that third quarter.”
NOL Showdown: The Whippets will host unbeaten Sandusky next week in a game ripe with NOL championship and playoff implications. The Blue Streaks roughed up Willard 64-12 on Friday.
“If we don’t get tremendously better in a week, Sandusky is going to name the score,” Will said. “You can’t count the amount of missed tackles and missed assignments. We’ve got to clean that stuff up.
“I want the kids to enjoy the win, but I kind of have a sour taste in my mouth.”
