Shelby's historic district championship season came to an
unsatisfying end Saturday, as the top-ranked and unbeaten Menominee
Maroons rolled to a 43-0 home victory over the Tigers.
That in
itself was disappointing; coach Phil Fortier said he felt his team
could play a more competitive game than that. However, he also noted the
big picture; the 2025 Tigers now serve as the benchmark for future
generations of Shelby football, much the same way the 2010-13 teams that
had so much success did for the players that made this run happen.
"We
were able to win twice in the playoffs and put a run together and bring
back some hope and pride to Shelby football," Fortier said. "We can't
forget about that...This will be the next legendary team from Shelby
that overcame a lot of negativity and a lot of obstacles and a lot of
adversity to put together one of the best seasons in Shelby football
history. That's pretty cool."
The host Maroons dominated from
the get-go, displaying high-level execution behind quarterback Tanner
Theuerkauf, who was announced last week as player of the year in the
Upper Peninsula. Theuerkauf threw for two touchdowns in the game.
Menominee also chewed up yards on the ground, gaining over seven yards
per carry. Shelby trailed 36-0 at the half.
Shelby quarterback Jaylin Henderson (16) pitches the ball to DayDay Garcia during the second quarter of Saturday's regional championship game at Menominee.
Matt Lehmann/Courtesy of the EagleHerald
"Being able to get
good matchups was a challenge today with what they do offensively,"
Fortier said. "What they do is they execute extremely well. They're very
physical. They're a little bigger than I thought they were on film.
They can run the football and they've got some wide receivers that can
catch it, and their quarterback throws a pretty good ball."
Fortier
credited his team with a high effort level despite the outcome of the
contest and the Maroons shutting down Shelby's ground-based attack.
"We
hung in there," Fortier said. "We battled to the end. You've got to tip
your hat to the Maroons. Brody Fessenden, I thought, played with a
tremendous amount of heart. He got loose a couple times, but they kept
him bottled up. Our O-line wasn't able to get much push, and we couldn't
protect extremely well, so Jaylin (Henderson) didn't have a lot of time
back there."
The Shelby football team marches on the field for the regional championship game Saturday in Menominee. The Tigers fell, 43-0.
Matt Lehmann/Courtesy of the EagleHerald
Saturday marked the end of high school careers
for 16 Tiger seniors that went out in their final game able to hold
their heads high as the class that restored Shelby football to a
competitive level. Many of those players were at the middle school level
when Fortier first took over as head coach in 2021.
"I've
been around those guys a long time," Fortier said. "We've spent a lot of
time in the weight room together and a lot of time at camps together.
Those guys were the core of the program, the driving force. They took us
someplace. I think it's a season we won't forget.
"They've
done a lot of things to get better and I'm extremely proud of them. I
feel like we took significant steps forward as a program."
