By Brendan Samuels
LocalSp0rtsJournal.com
Just like it did in 2022, Shelby claimed their first win of the season over Hesperia on Friday, walking away with a 21-7 victory.
It was all Shelby for the first 24 minutes of play as the Tigers marched up and down the field with little push back from Hesperia’s defense. That quickly turned into points when Shelby senior quarterback Lalo Garcia dropped back and found Levi Cooley over the middle for an 18-yard touchdown.
Garcia and Cooley connected once more as time wound down in the initial period. This time, it was an 85-yard catch and run for Cooley that increased the Tigers’ lead.
“We came out and made some big plays out the gate and that just gave us enough energy to believe in ourselves,” Shelby coach Phil Fortier said. “The offense took a big load and came up with some early scores. I felt like we left some out there even. There was some meat left on the bone.”
Photo/Brendan Samuels
The Panthers experienced draughts of all sorts through the first two quarters. With drives featuring turnovers, punts and a missed field goal attempt, the Panthers trailed 13-0 heading into the locker room.
Hesperia came out of halftime looking much more rejuvenated. After pushing Shelby’s defense back inside its own 30-yard line, Hesperia’s Skyler Stalbaum took off for a 20-yard rumble to bring the deficit within one possession.
Much to the dismay of Fortier, the Panthers were now back in the game.
“The message to the team at halftime was ‘don’t let (Hesperia) come out and do that,’” Fortier laughed. “We gave up that score and we had to respond. Our guys didn’t lay down and die, they got up and fought.”
Letting that touchdown serve as a swift kick in the pants, the Tigers delivered a near 7-minute drive as an answer. That effort was capped off by a 6-yard AJ Melchor touchdown run.
Just 30 seconds later, Shelby’s defense delivered again, recovering a Hesperia fumble and setting themselves up at midfield. Nothing came of that drive, but the Tigers did wind the clock into the fourth quarter.
In need of points, the Panthers turned almost exclusively to the passing game in the fourth. A few connections between quarterback Brock Bolles and receiver Ian Fox seemed to have Hesperia moving. That was until Shelby figured them out and Phillip Hayes stepped into a passing lane for an interception, effectively icing the game.
Cooley served as the engine that made Shelby run. On offense, he caught two touchdowns and topped 100 yards receiving. On defense, he came up with a forced fumble and recovery.
The Tigers (1-4) will now look to do exactly what they did in 2022 and build a win streak as they travel to Holton to take on the Red Devils (0-5) next Friday.
“We have to get better,” Fortier said. “Offensively, we need to be more consistent and stop shooting ourselves in the foot with mistakes. You saw us move the ball and we did some really good things. But then we get a penalty or fumble a snap or jump offsides. When we do something like that, we hurt our chances. We need to play mistake-free football.”
Hesperia (1-4) will host Ravenna on Friday.
