MANSFIELD — Nearly every single day, Shelby coach Rob Mahaney drives by Arlin Field in the heart of Mansfield and gets a sick feeling in his stomach.
It stems from the Whippets’ loss to Ontario in the Division IV Region 14 semifinals last season where his team allowed 23 fourth-quarter points to lose by one.
Now, after the Whippets beat Galion 41-7 in the Division IV Region 14 championship game on Nov. 21, Mahaney will now be able to drive by Arlin Field and feel the joy he felt after his team won the program’s second regional championship.
“This is an exceptional group of young men that I am very lucky and very fortunate to coach alongside some great assistant coaches that got us to this point,” Mahaney said. “What an awesome night. To play at Arlin after having to drive by this field every day for a year with a pit in my stomach, it is great to now have this as the memory of playing here.”
The Whippets wasted no time scoring with 8:08 left in the first quarter when senior quarterback and Ohio Mr. Football candidate Brayden DeVito hit Brady Bowman for a 7-yard touchdown pass. DeVito then connected with Travis Slone on a 37-yarder with 1:49 left in the first to give the Whippets a 14-0 lead heading into the second. Galion cut the lead in half when Ayden Schmidt connected with Dominic Capretta on a 12-yard TD pass, but the Tigers wouldn’t see the end zone again.
DeVito ended the first half on one of the best high school football plays of the season when he scrambled right, then left, then back to the right and pointed for junior receiver Kayden Paz to go to a spot in the corner of the end zone and DeVito unleashed a 29-yard pass for a 21-7 halftime lead. DeVito then added a seven-yard touchdown run to start the second half for his 200th career TD and added another 15-yard score to Bowman to start the fourth. Michael Shepherd finished off the running-clock victory with a 20-yard interception return for a TD sending the Whippets to the regional championship and a trip to the state semifinals for the first time since 2017 and only the second time in program history.
“This trophy proves just how special this group of kids really is,” Mahaney said. “We had an unwritten goal, a standard that we wanted to get back here to Arlin Field and win a playoff game after what happened last year on this field. I met with the seniors in the offseason and they had a desire to get to Thanksgiving and win a regional championship. As special as these guys are and as much as we are going to enjoy the heck out of this, we are even more excited to play in a final four next week.”
DeVito finished with 151 rushing yards on 15 carries with a TD and was 18-for-28 for 249 yards and four more scores to lead an offense that put up 462 yards of total offense. Bowman had seven catches for 104 yards and three scores.
“This means blood, sweat and tears with my brothers,” DeVito said. “Back in February, the entire offseason, you just think about all that work and it is starting to pay off. We can enjoy this tonight, but this is not the end of the road. Our end goal was never to just win a regional championship. We want more and we want to keep playing with a special group of guys.”
While the offense lit up the scoreboard, it was the Shelby defense that stood strong allowing just 211 yards of total offense and only 20 rushing yards.
“The defense was electric,” DeVito said. “The d-line was special and Sam Gwirtz played a monster game behind them. They stopped the run and we stayed disciplined as a secondary and made some big plays. Our coaches put us in great positions, those guys make it so easy for us. I am proud of this entire group.”
The Whippets forced four turnovers with three interceptions, one of which was returned for a score, and forced three turnovers on downs. The Whippets also recovered two squib kicks to retake possession right after scoring a touchdown. Shepherd, Griffin Yeager and Travis Slone all had one interception apiece.
The defensive performance was a far cry from the 34 points and 343 total yards the Whippets allowed to Galion in Week 4.
“First off, we knew we could,” Gwirtz said. “Defense starts with belief and our preparation started with looking back at Week 4 and how it wasn’t good enough for us. That will never be good enough. We changed our practice habits and put up three shutouts in four weeks. Tonight, we allowed our first passing touchdown since Week 4. We shut down the run and they threw some picks and played an amazing game.”
The Shelby offense put itself in some peculiar situations with 17 penalties for 114 yards and even had a second and 43 situation at one point.
“As awesome as tonight was, it was equally as frustrating with the penalties,” Mahaney said. “That hasn’t plagued us all year and tonight, we had a ton of penalties. That is something we will clean up moving forward.”
Even though the Whippets punted three times, the defense never let those mistakes hurt.
“We put it all on us,” Gwirtz said. “When we failed like we did last time we played Galion, the offense had our back. When they had some failing drives tonight, we were right there to pick them up. They sill put up 41 points, which is insane.”
While it was DeVito taking most of the headlines, it was a night where many guys made big plays. Paz’s TD catch was just his second of the season. Shepherd and Yeager didn’t have interceptions coming into the contest. Landon Foltz made two very important catches that converted third downs into firsts. Slone caught his first TD pass of the season. Brice Sampsel led the team in tackles with 10 and tackles for loss with two. It was an all-around team effort.
“That is what is so special about this group,” Mahaney said. “We talk about how many guys we have that can make plays and they just take their turns. They do what they are supposed to do on every single play and when it is finally their turn to make a play, they make it and it is always in big moments. We are a team that is committed to serving their teammates and they do the little things every single time, no matter if the play isn’t for them. I cannot be more proud of each one of them.”
And Mahaney was most proud of his defense.
“There was a desire,” Mahaney said. “They read all week about how Galion was the team that scored 34 points against them and did all the things they wanted to and how Galion wanted us again. It was our defense that stepped up to the challenge. Galion did some great things offensively, but we talk about how it is the points that matter and to hold them to seven was a great job by our kids and our defensive staff.”
Now, the Whippets prepare for Cincinnati Indian Hill in a Division IV state semifinal matchup on Nov. 28. It is the third sport in the last three years to earn a regional championship after the basketball team did it during the 2023-24 season and the volleyball team made a run to the state semifinal in 2024.
“One thing you have to give credit to is a great community we live in,” Mahaney said. “Shelby supports everything and showed up for us tonight with some incredible support. How about three years in a row, Shelby wins regional championships in three different sports. That is all because of a special community that backs special kids.”
The Whippets will get right to work preparing for the second state semifinal game in program history and the always fun Thanksgiving Day practice.
“It is going to be a weird week,” Mahaney said. “We only have school Monday and Tuesday and we will have practice on Thanksgiving. But I wouldn’t trade this experience for these kids and it is something they will remember forever. You hope when you win something like this, like they did in 2017, it inspires the youth to want to do the same thing.”
But before they do, they are going to enjoy the special moment that erased a year’s worth of bad feelings and helped them improve to 13-0 and tie the program’s single-season wins record with the 2017 squad.
“It means everything,” Gwirtz said. “I watched all of this growing up. Brennan Armstrong and all of those guys. I remember being at the escort at the fire station with my family and now, we get to experience it. I love this so much.”
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Shelby wins second OHSAA football regional title in program history
Reporting by Jake Furr, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
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