Echo community correspondent Amanda Dodge contributed to this story.
Shelby didn’t play perfectly Friday night against Manistee, but it played more than well enough to score a 48-20 win on senior night and clinch the program’s first winning regular season since 2013.
The Tigers (5-2) led 16-0 after a quarter and fought off a feisty effort from the Mariners to get the win thanks to timely plays from their defense, which gave up yards but forced four turnovers and got several stops in the red zone. Brody Fessenden had two of those turnovers, picking off a pass and recovering a fumble, and racked up 16 tackles to boot. Max Hagstrom had 12 tackles and a fumble recovery, and Ethan Viterna totaled 11 takedowns, five of them for a loss.
Shelby’s offense was efficient, with Fessenden and Isaac Garcia each running for two touchdowns. Jaylin Henderson also went in for a score and had 117 total yards of offense.
“I just watched a bunch of dudes win a football game,” Shelby coach Phil Fortier said. “They were determined and unselfish and they were disciplined and they just gave such a great effort. I’m just so proud of them. Shout out to that O-line, Alonzo Garcia and Ethan Viterna, and Axel Moritz and then those two tackles, Colin Fenton and Casey Lamblin. Those five guys have really started to jell.”
Garcia took care of the throwing for the Tigers, going 6-of-13 for 153 yards in addition to his 63 yards on the ground.
Maybe Shelby’s only serious miscue on offense was when the Tigers were called for illegally hurdling a Manistee player on the way to a touchdown; by MHSAA rule, players cannot jump over opponents who are standing up. Shelby was unable to punch it in on the drive.
A key sequence came early in the second half, when the Tigers were backed up into their own end and had to punt, giving Manistee good field position. However, an interception on the drive kept Shelby in command.
The win enabled the Tiger seniors to ring the victory bell at the north end of the stadium in their final home game.
“For our seniors to go out winners on their home field, we don’t know what’s in front of us, so we’re going to treat this like our last home game of the year,” Fortier said. “This senior group was a special group. They’ve played a lot of football. They’ve done a lot of losing, and they’ve done a lot of work. They believed in each other, and they kept on fighting.
“It’s so fun to be coaching kids like this. They’re so together. They’re tight and they want to win and they do the work necessary to get that victory.”
Shelby would be in good position to make the playoffs with one more victory, though that won’t necessarily be an easy task. Mason County Central, the Tigers’ next opponent, defeated Ravenna earlier this season, so it stands to reason the Spartans will be tough, and the final opponent, Orchard View, boasts an explosive offensive attack.
“It’s going to start with defense, and it’s going to start with running the football,” Fortier said of the keys to beating MCC. “That’s how you win football games. You’ve got to run the football well and you’ve got to play good defense. They are playing some good football right now from what I hear. I haven’t gotten to look at them on film, but looking at some of their scores and what they’ve done, they’ve scared some people and beat some people. It’s going to be a dogfight.”
