SHELBY – Rarely – if ever – does a junior varsity football team get the chance to play under the lights on Fridays during the fall. Shelby’s JV team was given that prime slot on Homecoming week, taking advantage with a 42-28 win over Holton, Friday, Oct. 4.
Just two weeks ago, the Red Devils had both varsity and JV teams. Circumstances forced them to cancel the remainder of the varsity season, leaving Shelby without an opponent for its Homecoming game. With such little time to make changes to the schedule, Shelby opted to move the JV contest between themselves and Holton from Thursday to Friday, giving a host of underclassmen the unique opportunity to play on the biggest stage.
“We prepare our guys the same way every week and make sure they’re ready to play. We still go out and screw things up,” Shelby JV football Assistant Coach and varsity Head Coach Phil Fortier said. “We had some personnel issues in the first half, but that’s JV football. The guys were thrilled to be out here. In a weird way, the varsity guys were thrilled to be in the stands and cheer them on. The varsity definitely missed playing, but hopefully we get the extra time to heal up and get ready for Manistee.”
Though 14 of the 23 players that suited up were freshmen or sophomores, Shelby Head Coach Forrest Courtright and his staff pulled some juniors down to increase their numbers.
Among those juniors was Brody Fessenden, a running back and linebacker who gets significant reps on the varsity squad. Fessenden flexed his big play potential early, stepping in front of a pass from Holton’s quarterback and taking an interception the opposite way for a touchdown.
“(Fessenden) is only a sophomore, but he understands the game,” Fortier said. “His dad coaches with us and he’s been around the game a lot. He has great instincts and he plays super hard. As a defender, he comes at you and wants to make every play.”
With a 6-0 lead, youth and inexperience hurt the JV Tigers – particularly on special teams. Shelby scored two touchdowns early in the game and would have held a firm advantage. Unfortunately, the Tigers allowed touchdown returns following both of their initial touchdowns, leaving their lead at 14-12.
Holton’s ability to answer Shelby on big play strikes of their own kept things competitive early. Shelby sophomore quarterback Jaylin Henderson extended Shelby’s lead to 20-12 on a 51-yard touchdown run, only to watch the Red Devils break off a 55-yard rushing touchdown on the next drive.
That trend continued into the second quarter. Fessenden capped off a drive from Shelby’s offense with a 10-yard touchdown run. Holton responded with another long touchdown on the ground, taking off for a 41-yard score.
Fessenden made a big play to close out scoring in the first half, scooping a Holton fumble and taking it 52-yards to the house. The Tigers walked into halftime with a 34-24 lead.
The third quarter saw much less fireworks than the previous two, as only one touchdown was scored in that frame. Henderson connected with favorite target Elijah Dashiell for a 67-yard touchdown pass, putting Shelby in firm control.
Henderson and Dashiell were electric in the passing game, connecting on countless deep balls. That included a circus catch from Dashiell, who hauled in a pass despite being dragged to the ground early on a pass interference call.
“(Big plays from Henderson and Dashiell) dug us out of a lot of mistakes,” Fortier said. “Jaylin throws the best deep ball in our program and Elijah just competes. He wants to catch every ball, make every tackle, and he just constantly wants the ball. (Dashiell) is just a warrior and a competitor.”
The fourth and final quarter ended the way the game had begun, with Fessenden in the endzone. The Shelby junior punched in one more touchdown on the ground, bringing his total to four on the night, lifting the Tigers to a 48-24 win on Homecoming.
It was an odd Homecoming for Shelby, but one that was celebrated all the same.
The varsity team will be back in action Friday, Oct. 11 as they travel north for a meeting with the Mariners of Manistee.
“We’ve framed it as No. 1, we’re gonna get better this week,” Fortier said. “We’re 3-3 with the forfeit (by Holton) and we’re happy with that position right now, but we’ve got a lot of things to clean up. Going into next week, we’re just hitting our stride.”
