Shawnee’s JJ Spyker runs the ball in for a touchdown followed by Elida’s Larry Smith and Shawnee’s Reese Davidson on Friday night at Elida High School.
ELIDA – First-year Shawnee head coach Shane Wireman wants to change the mindset of his new team.
After leading Waynesfield-Goshen to back-to-back Northwest Central Conference championships, Wireman took over a Shawnee program that went 0-10 in 2023.
On Friday night, Shawnee held off Elida for a hard-fought 21-14 victory at Kraft Stadium to move to 2-0 on the season and 1-0 in the Western Buckeye League. Elida slipped to 1-1 overall and 0-1 in league play.
Shawnee scored the go-ahead touchdown with 5:06 left in the game on a 1-yard run by quarterback JJ Spyker.
Then, the Indians held off Elida down the stretch for the WBL victory.
“It’s always about getting your feet wet,” Wireman said about coaching a new team. “We knew Elida was going to come after us. It’s been a rivalry that my guys let me know about, first-hand. … Man, this feels good to come out on the good side of it.
“You grow so much in games like this when you have to go through adversity and you’re playing literally until the final seconds on the clock. That was a great performance. I give Elida a lot of credit. They were well-prepared. They hit some big plays on us, and it was a back-and-forth game. We came away with maybe one more play tonight than they did. And I’m happy we did.”
Shawnee’s offense rolled up 366 total yards on Friday.
Spyker did damage with both his arm and his legs. The junior quarterback was 13 of 26 passing for 193 yards and had two touchdowns.
Spyker also rushed for 115 yards on 15 carries and had a TD run.
Wireman was especially pleased with how Spyker took care of the football on Friday.
“Last week, we talked about how we love his (Spyker) playmaker ability, but he had some blunders (in the win over Lima Central Catholic). But tonight, he took care of the football. That was huge. You have a one-score game. If you put the ball in jeopardy at the wrong time, it can swing back the other way. I thought JJ did a great job and made the plays we needed. He’s a hard-nosed kid. It was a nice game by him,” Wireman said.
Spyker connected with five different receivers on Friday.
Michael Garlock hauled in four passes for 81 yards. Reese Davidson made six catches for 55 yards and had one TD. Chase DePalma had one catch on the night – a 10-yard TD pass early in the fourth quarter that knotted the game at 14.
The game was tied 7-7 at halftime. It was knotted at 14 apiece, early in the fourth quarter.
Shawnee scored first. At the 10:03 mark of the second quarter, Spyker connected with Davidson for a 14-yard scoring strike.
Elida had an answer.
With 4:38 left in the first half, Cameron Kaufman broke loose for a 43-yard TD run. Kaufman ended the game with 67 rushing yards on 14 carries.
For the game, Elida quarterback Ryan McGue was 9 of 25 passing for 110 yards.
A’mari Wash was McGue’s favorite target on Friday. Wash had six receptions for 84 yards. Wash had a 3-yard rushing TD in the third quarter that gave the Bulldogs a 14-7 advantage.
For the contest, Elida rushed for 99 yards.
Elida was whistled for eight penalties for 55 yards. Shawnee had 11 penalties for 95 yards.
Wireman said that it all comes down to having the right mindset.
“They can talk about new coaches, new plays, but what it really comes down to is a new belief and a new mentality from our players,” he said. “There is talent here. … Nobody is going to say there’s not. I believe it’s obvious to see. It is getting them to grow and come together. We still have those little moments – those little hiccups when we want to hang our heads and point a finger. We just have to completely do away with that mindset and move on to the next play. I think we did a good job of it tonight, but we want to keep growing on that. These kids are growing on us already. As a new coach, and guys not knowing me that well – to come out and lay it on the line like that for four quarters for a new coaching staff – I could not be prouder of our guys tonight.”
Score by Quarters
Shawnee 0 7 0 14 – 21
Elida 0 7 7 0 – 14
Rushing yards
Elida – 99
Shawnee – 173
Passing yards
Elida – 110
Shawnee – 193
Receiving
Elida – A’mari Wash: 6 catches, 84 yards,
Shawnee – Michael Garlock: 4 catches, 81 yards
Rushing
Elida – Cameron Kaufman: 14 carries, 67 yards 1 TD
Shawnee – JJ Spyker: 15 carries, 115 yards, 1 TD
First downs
Elida – 9
Shawnee -14
Penalties
Elida – 8 for 55 yards
Shawnee – 11 for 95 yards
