Leonardo
By SHANNON DOVE
- THE REVIEW TIMES
SHELBY -- Fostoria High School hoped to build on last Friday's scoring outburst against Galion but Shelby's unrelenting running game took center stage Friday night.
Will Lance ran for 152 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries and Zach Yates added a pair of rushing touchdowns as the Whippets whipped the winless Redmen 61-14 in Northern Ohio League play.
The Whippets (7-2 overall, 5-1 NOL) ran for more than 400 yards to go with eight touchdowns while covering just 58 yards in the air. Shelby can still share the NOL title if it wins next week and Tiffin Columbian loses to Fostoria.
"We couldn't stop it," FHS coach Beau Carmon said after his club fell to 0-9 overall and 0-6 in the league. "Defensively, we didn't have an answer and they outphysicaled us, they out played us and they're a really good football team. I'm not taking anything away from Shelby. We could have played a lot better than we did."
Shelby scored on its first drive as Lance ran up the middle for score from three yards away with 8:15 remaining. Dylan Blevins' kick put the Whippets up 7-0. Lance opened the five-play, 57-yard drive with a 32-yard run to put the Whippets at the Redmen 25 yard line. On the second play, Denver Burks took the ball 25 yards into the end zone, but the play was called back on a holding penalty.
Tyler McLay intercepted an Adonis Cousin pass on the second play of the ensuing FHS possession to set up the Whippets as the FHS 45. It took the Whippets just five plays to find the end zone, as quarterback Zach Strine ran for the seven-yard score, sidestepping a defender and pushing straight through the middle. Blevins kick extended the lead to 14-0.
Lance scored his second touchdown of the game less than a minute into the second quarter when he cut left a reverse and ran 31 yards on third-and-inches. Blevins again converted the kick and the Whippets led 21-0 with 11:01 left in the first half.
Zach Yates capped a 77-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run straight up the gut. Blevins' kick pushed Shelby's advantage to 28-0 with 6:17 left in the half.
Tyrell Tucker put the Redmen on the board with a 30-yard touchdown reception with 1:15 remaining in the half. Cousin faked a handoff and threw a long pass to Tucker, who had slipped past his defender and ran the final 15 yards to the end zone unimpeded. Titajuan Sanchez kicked the extra point, bringing the score to 28-7.
The Whippets answered before the end of the second quarter, however, as Yates scored his second touchdown of the half on a nine-yard run and a Blevins kick gave Shelby a 35-7 lead at halftime.
Shelby's unrelenting offense opened the third quarter with another touchdown, using just two plays and 29 seconds to cover 54 yards. Lance scored his third touchdown of the game on a 38-yard run, cutting right and sprinting up the sideline, dragging an FHS defender with him the last 10 yards. Blevins sent the kick through the center of the uprights to extend the Whippets' lead to 42-7.
Blevins scored six on Shelby's next possession, barreling 12 yards for the end zone to cap a three-play, 61-yard drive that took just 42 seconds off the clock and pushed the Whippets advantage to 48-7 with 9:37 left in the third quarter.
Burks finally got a touchdown that counted, snaring an 11-yard pass deep in the end zone for Shelby's third score of the quarter. Alex Milliron's kick raised the score to 55-7 Whippets with 6:15 left on the clock.
Tucker corralled a 46-yard touchdown pass from Cousin for his second score of the game with 3:38 left in the third period. Cousin faked the handoff and passed down the middle to Tucker, who was all alone near the Shelby 36. Tucker pulled the ball down, made the turn and headed toward the end zone unhindered until he was reached by a Shelby defender and pulled down as he crossed the goal line. Sanchez nailed the kick, bringing the score to 55-14. Carl Weaver added an eight-yard touchdown run for Shelby early in the fourth quarter.
"I'm not going to say necessarily that we took a step back," Carmon said. "Maybe on paper it looks that way. I think we played hard, but I don't think we played well enough to win. I don't think we played disciplined enough and I don't think we were physical enough tonight. But there were some positives: I think we have a lot of kids that are playing hard. We have to execute better and eliminate penalties and turnovers."