SHELBY, Ohio — Devon Brooks is nicknamed “Shorty.” But the 5-foot-7 sophomore stood tall on Friday night against Ontario.
Shelby’s undersized halfback ripped off 291 yards on 19 carries and scored five touchdowns to lead the Whippets to a 46-13 rout of the Warriors at W.W. Skiles Field.
“I know I can do that,” Brooks said. “I thank the offensive line for all the holes. We ran our normal offense and it opened up there in the middle.”
Brooks ripped off touchdown dashes of 80, 2, 46, 6 and 56 yards, all in the first half. The Whippets (5-3 overall, 3-1 in the Northern Ohio League) opened a 27-6 advantage in the first quarter, stretched it to a 46-13 halftime margin, and played a scoreless second half with a running clock.
Title Chase: The victory thrusts coach Erik Will’s team into a de facto NOL championship game next weekend at Bellevue. The Redmen, who blasted Willard on Friday night, are undefeated in the conference and a game on top of Shelby.
A Whippets’ upset would clinch a share of the crown with only a nonleague game against Loudonville remaining in Week 10.
“This is what all the hard work was for all summer and all season,” Will said. “We’re going to be an angry football team going up to Bellevue next week.”
His team will ride the talents of two super sophomores at the skill positions.
Bottled Up: For most of the season sophomore quarterback Brennan Armstrong has been the story. Against the Warriors (2-6, 2-2), he was limited to just 2 of 5 passing for three yards. He shook loose for 83 yards rushing on just eight carries and scored on a 38-yard TD sprint.
“Brennan understood (Ontario’s) focus was to take him away,” Will said. “He’s a very unselfish young man. He allowed Shorty to shine.”
Leading the Charge: Senior quarterback Alex Vredenburgh was the Warriors’ guiding light. He ran for 79 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown, and threw for 117 yards, punctuated by a 23-yard scoring strike to Treyvian Jordan.
Ontario moved the ball consistently, and registered 16 first downs to Shelby’s 13. But coach Scott Kreger’s team was unable to crack the code in scoring territory.
Brooks made sure the Whippets had no such problems.
“We knew last summer what kind of player he would be,” Will said. “We knew he could be special. He runs the ball extremely hard. Our offensive line did a great job and he ran to daylight.”
