SHELBY — Brayden DeVito accounted for five offensive touchdowns Friday night in the first round of the Division IV, Region 14 football playoffs.

But all Shelby’s record-breaking quarterback wanted to talk about after the game was his defensive touchdown, a pick-six midway through the third quarter that lifted the Whippets to a 49-21 victory over visiting Elida.

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“It’s the first pick six of my career,” DeVito said. “It’s surreal. That’s been one of my goals all year, to get a pick six or even a pick.

“Our D-line had been putting pressure on their quarterback all game, so him being nervous throwing the ball gave me an opportunity to make a play.”

With the win, the 11-0 Whippets will be able to set up a second-round matchup against Ottawa Glandorf, a 13-7 winner over Galion on Friday. Like Elida, Ottawa-Glandorf is a member of the Western Buckeye League.

Friday night’s game between second-seeded Shelby and the 15th-seeded Bulldogs (3-8) might have seemed like a mismatch, but Elida was ready to play.

The Bulldogs scored on their first two drives and took a 21-13 lead at 8:51 of the second quarter. Amari Wash ran for an 11-yard touchdown after Shelby’s failed fake punt on fourth-and-1 from his own 10-yard line.

After that, it was all Shelby as the Whippets scored 36 unanswered points to win, even threatening to force a running clock in the third quarter.

With the game tied at 21-21, DeVito hit sophomore receiver Brady Bowman for a 72-yard touchdown and a 27-21 advantage, Shelby’s first lead of the night, with 3:18 remaining. the intermission.

“It was a great play. We planned it to try to get the safety through, and Brady got open, and he’s so fast,” DeVito said. “He’s got really good hands. I just trusted my guy to make the play, and he did it.

“That really built the momentum for the rest of the game.”

DeVito intercepted a pass on Elida’s next drive to set up the grueling play. He passed to receiver Nic Eyster, who returned the ball to DeVito for a 15-yard touchdown with just four seconds left in the half.

“We knew we had different ways of getting him the ball,” coach Rob Mahaney said. “The play right before halftime, he turns the corner, and we have four linemen with no one to block. It was an incredibly executed play.”

The Whippets led 35-21 at the break and never looked back.

“I think you have to thank our kids for the way they finished the first half,” Mahaney said. “To make some stops and make some really explosive plays offensively to get two scores at halftime, to be able to do that, the message at halftime was to come out here and finish.

“I thought it took away their momentum, and I thought our kids used that to build in the second half.”

As Shelby’s offense found its rhythm, it was the defense’s turn in the second half. Shelby sacked Elida quarterback Ryan Mcgue four times in the third quarter alone.

In the second half, the Bulldogs produced just 37 total yards of offense, including minus-25 yards rushing.

“Defensively, we obviously worked hard and played really well,” Mahaney said. “We changed a little bit how we lined up and some of the personnel.

“They’re a good football team. We just had to figure out what the speed of the game was going to be like.”

Senior Karsen Homan recovered a fumble for the Whippets.

Offensively, Shelby finished with 479 yards. DeVito finished 9 of 14 passing for 206 yards and two scores, including a 31-yard touchdown pass to Avery Lambert, as well as an interception.

DeVito also ran for 103 yards with scoring runs of 52 and 47 yards in the first half. He caught two passes, both from Eyster, for 64 yards. Running back Marcus Lambert contributed 93 rushing yards and a 5-yard touchdown run.

“Some people think high school kids can’t handle too much,” Mahaney said. “We’re experiencing the exact opposite of that. We’re going to throw tons of stuff at our kids and have fun.”

What will be fun is having one more game at the Whippet Athletic Complex.

“We understand that at this point in the season we are fighting for our lives every week,” Mahaney said. “Our kids wanted to make sure we had another opportunity to play.

“For our seniors, this will be the last game they play in their home stadium, the Whippet Athletic Complex. Our challenge is to ensure that next week’s game is one that our seniors will remember – for the right reasons .”

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This article was originally published in the Mansfield News Journal: Shelby Whippets continue football season with 49-21 playoff victory