For the first time in five years, Jug is back where the Tigers believe it belongs — Shelby.
On a charged Friday night in front of a packed house, the Tigers outlasted rival Hart, 28-18, in a gritty West Michigan Conference Rivers matchup.
Shelby came into the game carrying the confidence of a narrow 33-30 loss to powerhouse North Muskegon last week — a defeat that felt more like validation than setback. That energy carried over as the Tigers set the tone with a grinding 90-yard opening drive, capped by senior Isaac Garcia’s 4-yard touchdown run.
Hart answered midway through the second quarter on a short TD run by Lorenz, knotting things at 6-6. But on the ensuing kickoff, Shelby’s lightning bolt, Dashiell changed everything, slicing through a seam and blazing 86 yards to the end zone untouched. The Tigers never looked back.
Junior quarterback, Jaylin Henderson added fireworks of his own, uncorking a 74-yard touchdown strike to senior receiver Trevor Weiss in the third quarter and sealing the deal with an 11-yard scoring scamper late in the game. Henderson finished with 79 rushing yards on nine carries and connected on 3 of 5 passes for 85 yards.
All told, Shelby piled up 174 rushing yards and 104 passing yards, showcasing a balanced attack that kept Hart off-balance all night. The Pirates leaned heavily on the legs of senior Greiner, who bulldozed his way to 194 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries, but Hart managed just 2-of-14 on third downs and came up empty on four drives inside Shelby’s 30-yard line.
When the dust settled, Shelby was 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the WMC Rivers, while Hart dropped to 2-1 and 1-1. More importantly for the Tigers, they snapped Hart’s five-year grip on the Jug — a trophy the Pirates had dominated with a lopsided 228-60 scoring margin during their win streak.
This Shelby squad has the look of a program on the rise. But this isn’t unexpected. Just two years ago, many of these varsity players, found their own success going 8-1 at the JV level.
That said, the Jug is back in Shelby. The Tigers, sitting at 2-1 with plenty of momentum, are making it clear: a new era of Shelby football may just be underway.
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