With a win, the Arabians (6-2, 4-2 Hoosier Heritage Conference) would secure a third-place finish in the HHC standings. The Golden Bears (3-5, 1-5 HHC) are trying to end a four-game losing streak before facing 4A No. 1 East Central (8-0) in their sectional opener on Oct. 20.
“We feel like this is a game where if we play a strong game, we have an opportunity to win,” said Shelbyville head coach Scott Fitzgerald. “We are going to pull out all the stops and try to get it.”
Pendleton Heights has won three straight games over Mt. Vernon, Delta and Yorktown after taking back-to-back losses to 4A, No. 3 New Palestine and 4A, No. 5 Greenfield-Central. Senior quarterback Isaac Wilson is the feature of an offense averaging 30.1 points per game.
Both Pendleton Heights quarterbacks, Wilson and junior Colton Frank, have combined to throw for 920 yards and 11 touchdowns this season.
Wilson is one of three Arabians with just under 400 rushing yards. He has run for seven touchdowns – a team high.
“They are a run-first team. The quarterback will run. They will move him to running back at times,” said Fitzgerald (photo). “They are very much a run-oriented team and will rely on their defense to hold the opponent down and grind it out a little bit more than what we’ve seen.”
Senior Dresden Roberts has matched Wilson with 371 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Junior Keaton Jones has 315 yards and three touchdowns.
“It’s kind of a spread (offense) but they will utilize the quarterback. They will use him on quarterback power and quarterback sweep. They will run just straight zone up inside with some of the running backs or they will run (Wilson) on zone,” explained Fitzgerald. “A lot of it is quarterback based off what they are doing, and they will bring in a different quarterback and put (Wilson) at running back and do some different things with him from back there too.”
Senior Caden Sims leads the team with 25 receptions and 326 yards and six touchdowns. Junior Nate DeRolf has 21 receptions for 208 yards. Seniors Reese Reddington and Drake Stevens have combined for 30 catches.
That offensive matchup with Shelbyville’s defense and a solid front seven should prove interesting to follow.
“We have to make sure we are physical with them up front,” said Fitzgerald. “They are not huge but they are quick and they get to their blocks and stay on their blocks. We have to make sure we are maintaining our gaps and doing our jobs. We will continue to bring some blitzes from some different areas and try to pad that box.”
The Arabians opened the season with three consecutive shutouts over Lebanon (15-0), Anderson (49-0) and New Castle (42-0). After eight games, they are allowing just 14.6 ppg.
Shelbyville sophomore Donavon Martin (main photo) ran for 132 yards in a 28-14 loss to Mt. Vernon last week. Senior Axel Conover had six catches for 101 yards to help the Golden Bears’ offense total 40 points in its last three games after being shut out by Greenfield-Central on Sept. 15.
Senior quarterback Eli Chappelow (photo) has completed 55% of his passes this season (116 of 211) for 1,427 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Martin is the team’s leading rusher at 376 yards. Conover (photo) is second on the team in receiving yards (402) to senior Luke Brinkman (550 yards). Brinkman has a team-leading five touchdown receptions.
Conover leads the defense with 56 total tackles and three interceptions. Avery Murnan (photo), a junior, has five quarterback sacks.
With Fall Break this week at Shelbyville, the coaching staff has moved practices to the mornings and strengthened focus on the little things that could help find another win this season.
“They have had a good week,” said Fitzgerald Wednesday morning. “We’ve been a little bit more emphasis on the team work this week, not as much on the individual work. The kids have done a good job coming in and being focused.”
QUICK FACTS
Shelbyville at Pendleton Heights
Game Time: 7 p.m. at Broughton Field at Pendleton Heights High School.
2023 record: Shelbyville 3-5, 1-5 HHC; Pendleton Heights 6-2, 4-2 HHC.
Head coaches: Scott Fitzgerald, 3-5 in first year at Shelbyville; Jed Richman, 47-36 in eighth year at Pendleton Heights, 82-66 in 14th year overall.
Sagarin ratings: Shelbyville, 50.81, No. 37 in Class 4A; Pendleton Heights, 78.04, No. 7 in Class 4A. Pendleton Heights is a 29-point favorite.
Last meeting: Pendleton Heights defeated Shelbyville, 35-7, in the 2022 regular-season finale. Link to the Shelby County Post game story can be found here: https://shelbycountypost.com/sports/657598
Series: In 28 meetings, the series is split 14-14. The Arabians have won six straight while Shelbyville had a 6-game win streak from 2012-2017 and an 8-game win streak from 2002-2009.
Around the HHC Friday: Class 4A, No. 5 Greenfield-Central (7-1, 5-1 HHC) at New Castle (1-7, 0-6); Class 4A, No. 3 New Palestine (6-2, 6-0) at Delta (5-3, 3-3); Yorktown (4-4, 2-4) at Mt. Vernon (4-4, 3-3).
Class 4A, Sectional 23 records: Class 4A, No. 1 East Central 8-0; Greenwood 4-4; Shelbyville 3-5; Silver Creek 5-3; Jennings County 3-5; Edgewood 1-7; Martinsville 5-3; Connersville 2-6.
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