It was deemed as the Richland County game of the year, and it lived up to the hype - and then some.
Shelby (9-0, 6-0) beat Ontario (8-1, 5-1) in an instant classic on Friday, 50-36, in front of a huge crowd at the Whippet Athletic Complex.
Ontario jumped out to a two touchdown lead, 14-0, early in the 1st quarter on TD runs by Mason Vantilburg. However, Shelby answered back with 2 TD's to tie the game, 14-14, early in the 2nd quarter, thanks for a 2 yard run by Brayden Devito (late 1st Q) and an 83 yard pass play, which saw Devito find the speedy Brady Bowman, with 10:57 to play in the 2nd quarter.
The Warriors answered back on a 6 yard TD run by James Mahon to take the lead back, 21-14, with 2:33 to go until halftime. Shelby marched down the field, and Brayden Devito found the end zone from 1 yard out, with just :05 seconds to play in the 2nd. The Whippets used a trick play, and found Denny Lafon for the 2 point conversion to take the lead, 22-21, at the half.
2nd Half
Shelby used a huge drive to start the 3rd quarter, chewing up more 6 minutes, before Devito found Michael Shepherd for a 4 yard TD to take a 28-21 advantage.
Ontario tied the game, 28-28, with 2:57 to play in the 3rd quarter on a 1 yard TD run by Bodpegn Miller, who played a great game with 2 INT's on defense. He has an incredible play, where he chased down Brayden Devito from behind, which was a touchdown saving tackle.
The Whippets took the lead back, 35-28, at the 1:07 mark in the 3rd, after Devito hooked up with Bowman again from 11 yards out.
Bodpegn tied the game back up, 35-35, on a 4 yard run, following his 2nd pick of the night, as he returned it 15 yards to the 4 yard line.
Devito and company marched down the field at the 2:08 mark of the 4th quarter, and Brayden ran it in from 2 yards out to give Shelby a 43-36 lead.
The kickoff saw an Ontario return man slip and fall, the ball was recovered by Shelby at the 10 yard line. Devito seal the victory on his 7th TD of the ball game, which came on a 2 yard run with 1:10 to play.
The win for Shelby, clinched a share of the MOAC title, which is overall their 30th league championship.
**Due to technical difficulties - there is no podcast of the game, which aired live on My 100.1 with Aaron Hines and Erik Will.**