Shelby Coyotes fly to win
SHELBY — Fast.
That's the kind of team the Shelby Coyotes want to be.
And it doesn't get much quicker than a 60-yard touchdown connection on your first play from scrimmage.
That's what Coyotes quarterback Aaron White did, finding Brock Whitted deep down the left sideline for an uncontested score, and Shelby rolled to a 58-0 win over visiting Harlem to open the 2015 football season.
As the score indicated, Shelby stuck with the airborne attack, throwing the ball 40 times to just 13 run plays.
"We're going to line up, go four or five wide, and we're going to chuck the ball around," Coyotes coach Mike White explained. "We're not very big and we're not very old, so that's the equalizer that we're going to try to go with."
Not very old indeed; just one senior, receiver Traise Dumas, touched the ball for Shelby Friday night. Aaron White, the sophomore signal-caller, threw for 313 yards and five scores in his 37 attempts.
"It was just good blocking and good running routes," the younger White explained, passing credit to his teammates. "I just had to throw them the ball."
But it's also in Aaron's blood. His father and coach, Mike, starred at Corvallis and later Rocky Mountain College and Montana Western. Aaron's brother, Chase, earned the starting job at Rocky, leading the Bears to a victory over Dickinson State last week with a stellar performance of his own.
No pressure on little brother, though.
"He sent me a pretty good text message just telling me to do what I do and things will work out right," Aaron said.
He had help on the ground. Tailback Colt Pederson rushed for 115 yards and three TDs on just six totes. Pederson, a linebacker as well, said the defense set the tone. Shelby nabbed two fumbles and an interception from the Wildcats and held Harlem without a first down from midway through the first quarter until the final minute of the game.
"It's a huge confidence booster more than anything," he said.
For Harlem and first-year coach Kelly Mills, it wasn't all bad despite the scoreboard. Mills, who moved to the Hi-Line from Arkansas to coach the Wildcats, said he liked the effort of the 17 players he had eligible for the first game of the season.
"It's hard to say when you get beat 58-0 that you're not disappointed, but I'm not disappointed with our effort," he said. "We've got 31 on the team, but only 17 of them are eligible to play right now. They just wore out. That's the bottom line."
Mills said it's the first time a team he's coached has ever been shut out, but he liked the attitude of his young team.
"We weren't fighting amongst ourselves," he said. "We weren't pointing fingers. You try to find the positives."
Both teams will be tested by playoff teams next Friday. Mills and the Wildcats play host to Roundup while Shelby hits the road for Eureka.
Shelby 58, Harlem 0
Score by Quarter
H…0 0 0 0 – 0
S…14 26 6 12 – 58
Scoring Summary
S – Brock Whitted 60 pass from Aaron White (pass failed)
S – Logan Watson 22 pass from White (Watson pass from White)
S – Colt Pederson 5 run (pass failed)
S – Zach Torgerson 9 pass from White (Pederson pass from White)
S – Pederson 27 run (run failed)
S – Pederson 32 run (pass failed)
S – Andrew Johnson 2 pass from White (kick blocked)
S – Wyatt Brusven 2 pass from White (kick failed)
S – David Kelleher 6 run (pass failed)
Team Statistics H …S
First Downs 4 …15
Total Yds 82 481
Carries-Yds …36-64 13-140
Passing Yds …18 …341
Pass C-A-I …6-13-1 …26-40-1
Punts-Avg. …4-36.5 …1-28.0
Fumbles-Lost 5-2 …1-1
Penalties-Yds …1-10 …7-60
Individual Stats
RUSHING – Harlem (Damon Adams 6-10, Tyus Hammett 10-6, Tevin Messerly 13-28, Lane Allen 1-3, Corbin Brockie 6-17). Shelby (Brock Whitted 1-7, Zach Torgerson 3-16, Colt Pederson 6-115, Damon Irvin 1-(-4), David Kelleher 2-6).
PASSING – Harlem (Messerly 6-13-1-0-18). Shelby (Aaron White 24-37-1-3-313, Irvin 2-3-0-0-28).
RECEIVING – Harlem (Hammett 4-13, Adams 1-(-2), Allen 1-7). Shelby (Whitted 4-82, Torgerson 7-66, Logan Watson 6-72, Brodey White 1-3, Andrew Johnson 5-52, Wyatt Brusven 2-19, Pederson 1-17, Traise Dumas 1-9, Kelleher 1-19).