For a few minutes Friday night, Galion and Shelby were not rivals. Before the football took over at Unckrich Stadium, the Galion Tiger Marching Band and Shelby Whippet Band came together to perform the National Anthem, providing a fitting centerpiece to a season in which Galion is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its high school marching band and a wonderful tribute on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The centennial marks a century of Galion students carrying the school’s music onto football fields, parade routes and performance venues, and the district is commemorating the anniversary with special apparel. Friday’s joint performance allowed Shelby’s musicians to become part of that celebration before the Tigers and Whippets returned to opposite sides of one of north central Ohio’s oldest football rivalries.
Then came kickoff, and for more than two quarters Galion gave an unbeaten Shelby team everything it could handle.
The Tigers carried a 14-10 lead into halftime before Shelby decisively changed the direction of the game, scoring 21 unanswered points and leaving Galion with a 31-14 victory in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
Galion Finds an Answer
Shelby arrived in Galion at 3-0 and had been dominant. The Whippets opened the season by beating Madison Comprehensive 54-0, followed that with a 48-6 victory at Lexington and then handled Bellevue 27-7. They had scored 129 points while allowing only 13 through three games. Galion changed that script quickly enough to make Friday night interesting.
Shelby struck first when senior Brady Bowman turned a short pass from Branson Reed into a 41-yard touchdown with 3:09 remaining in the opening quarter. Bowman’s ability to turn routine touches into major gains has become familiar to Galion. He had caught two touchdown passes against the Tigers in last season’s Division IV regional championship game and entered Friday as one of Shelby’s principal offensive threats.
Galion answered early in the second quarter. Quarterback Kane Hay connected with Jameson Glew for a 17-yard touchdown, pulling the Tigers even at 7-7. Shelby regained the advantage late in the half when Everett Harris converted a 22-yard field goal with 2:36 remaining. That left Galion enough time for one more response.
Hay moved the Tigers downfield and found tight end Dominic Capretta for a 16-yard touchdown with only 42 seconds remaining before intermission. Galion went to the locker room leading 14-10. For a Shelby defense that had surrendered only two touchdowns in its first three games combined, the first half represented unfamiliar territory. Galion had scored more points in 24 minutes than any previous Whippet opponent had scored in an entire game this season.
Shelby Changes the Game
The second half looked very different. Shelby was playing without starting quarterback Michael Shepherd for the second consecutive week after Shepherd was diagnosed with mononucleosis. Instead, Reed and sophomore Hayden Duval split the quarterback duties. Both would make consequential plays.
Only 1:15 into the third quarter, Duval found senior Trent Rodman behind the Galion defense for a 57-yard touchdown. Just like that, Shelby had erased the halftime deficit and moved back in front 17-14. The play that may have changed the night for good came later in the quarter.
Facing fourth-and-13 near midfield, Shelby did not give the ball back to Galion. Luke Blevins took the snap on a fake punt and threw to a wide-open Lucas Mohn for approximately 35 yards, moving the Whippets deep into Tiger territory. Instead of Galion taking possession with an opportunity to answer, Shelby had a new set of downs. The Whippets made it count.
Reed connected with Bowman for another touchdown, this time from 17 yards, with 4:19 left in the third quarter. The extra point stretched Shelby’s lead to 24-14.
By the end of the quarter, Shelby was driving again. Reed finished the possession himself early in the fourth, scoring on a 2-yard quarterback keeper. The extra point made it 31-14 with 9:44 remaining. Galion never found its way back into the end zone. The halftime lead had become a 17-point defeat.
Bowman Again Makes His Mark
Bowman finished with five receptions for 93 yards and two touchdowns, another major performance against a Galion defense that has seen plenty of him. Earlier this season, Bowman became Shelby’s career receiving-yardage leader. Against Galion, his biggest contribution was not simply the yardage but when it came. His first touchdown established Shelby’s early lead. His second capped the drive extended by the fake punt and pushed the Whippets ahead by two scores.
Shelby found production elsewhere as well. Duval completed 5 of 10 passes for 120 yards and the touchdown to Rodman. Reed also went 5 of 10, throwing for 73 yards and two touchdowns in addition to his fourth-quarter rushing score. Running back Gavin Baker gave Shelby balance on the ground, carrying 13 times for 95 yards.
Hay Keeps Galion Moving
The final score obscures how productive Galion was through the air. Hay completed 18 of 38 passes for 254 yards and both Tiger touchdowns. His 254 passing yards exceeded the combined 193 passing yards produced by Shelby’s two quarterbacks. Kurt Hay, his twin brother, was Galion’s busiest receiver with nine catches for 78 yards. Glew and Capretta accounted for the Tigers’ two scores.
Kane Hay had entered the game coming off one of his strongest performances of the young season. A week earlier against Bishop Ready, he completed 15 of 22 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns, ran for another 59 yards and scored the winning touchdown as Galion rallied for a 28-24 victory. Against Shelby, the passing game again generated yardage and produced two first-half touchdowns. What Galion could not do was sustain that production after intermission. Shelby’s defense shut the Tigers out over the final 24 minutes.
Another Chapter in an Old Rivalry
The history surrounding Friday night extended well beyond the marching band anniversary. Galion and Shelby have been playing football against one another since the 1890s, with the rivalry dating to 1894. Last season added two particularly significant chapters. Shelby won a 45-34 regular-season meeting, then met Galion again in the Division IV, Region 14 championship game and won 41-7, ending an 11-win Tiger season one victory short of the state semifinals. Friday’s meeting came with a different cast in some key positions, but Shelby again found a way to take control after halftime.
The Whippets improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the MOAC. Galion slipped to 2-2 and 0-1 in conference play. Shelby travels to Highland next Friday, September 18, while Galion remains at Unckrich Stadium to host Ontario in another MOAC matchup.