Whippets well-represented in all-star tilt
By CHUCK RIDENOUR Daily Globe Sports Editor
LEXINGTON — It was reminiscent of their days on the turf at W.W. Skiles Field for Shelby quarterback Marshall Shepherd and wide receiver Blaine Bowman.
The prolific passing duo for the Whippets got together one last time Friday night in the North Central Ohio Football Coaches Association annual all-star game at Clear Fork High School and did what they do best — make touchdowns happen.
Shepherd, who threw for a school-record 4,273 yards and 48 touchdowns as a senior, connected on four touchdown passes to guide the North to a 25-21 come-from-behind win against the South.
Two of the aerial strikes went to Bowman, who collected 95 passes for 1,510 yards and 18 touchdowns as a 12th grader last fall.
The Shepherd-bowman connection spotted the North an early 6-0 lead just three minutes into the game. The red and gray tandem would then complete an 81-yard scoring pass with seven minutes remaining to cut the South advantage to 21-19.
An interception in the end zone by Madison’s Isaac Brooks thwarted the South and culminated with the Bowman touchdown. Zachary Sheaffer of Upper Sandusky would then pick off a pass and Shepherd would direct a North march that would end with a scoring pass from Shepherd to Eric Schneiter of New London with 2:08 left.
Mapleton’s Hunter Sanders then intercepted a South pass to preserve the North triumph.
The South scored three times in the opening quarter to build a 21-6 lead, but would not score during the final three quarters.
A Shepherd scoring pass to Brooks with 4:46 left in the third quarter, pulled the North within nine at 21-12.
For the game, Shepherd was tabbed the offensive MVP of the game and Brooks was named the defensive MVP.