Hope.
Shelbyville’s 42-21 season-opening loss at Greensburg still served as a shot of momentum for a football program that has not won a game since Sept. 14, 2018.
The 21 points on the scoreboard was the most points Shelbyville has scored since that 28-27 victory over Greenfield-Central nearly three years ago.
In its second-straight winless season (2020), the Golden Bears managed just 51 points.
“Our kids fought,” said new head coach Brian Glesing. “That was the big thing I liked, our kids fought to the end. Our kids played hard. Our kids were physical. We saw those piles moving in the right direction. That was a very good sign.
“We obviously made some mistakes here and there and got lined up wrong a few times but that was going to happen with a new program. The thing that you can control is playing hard and we did that and that’s a big positive.”
Three big plays hurt the Golden Bears in their season opener – allowing an 80-yard kickoff return, a 52-yard scoring run and a 60-yard scoring pass. Sam West’s long TD pass to Ethan Meadows was the only scoring play of the third quarter and extended the Pirates’ lead to 35-14 but the Golden Bears didn’t roll over, instead adding a Cael Lux 4-yard touchdown run that set the final score in a game where the running clock (mercy rule) was not utilized.
“We can move the football … we found that out,” said Glesing. “I thought our defensive line did a pretty good job when they were fundamentally sound. Our linebackers improved a ton from the scrimmage (at Rushville) to week one. And our defensive backs lined up better than they did in the scrimmage.
“Football is a funny game where you have to get lined up right. That’s a big part of it. If you get lined up right then you can go through your keys and do what you are supposed to do. I thought we made some big progress from the scrimmage to week one and, hopefully, we can make even more progress in week two.”
The week two challenge is new. Shelbyville dropped traditional week-two rival Franklin for Richmond, a Class 4A program that has not had a winning season since 2013. Head coach Tony Sonsini is 6-14 in his third season with the Red Devils, who produced an explosive 48-33 victory in week one over Connersville.
“They are a big play team,” said Glesing. “They got all their yards from big plays. They run their zone read and their running back is pretty good if they give it to him. Then the quarterback is real good if he keeps it. You have to be honest. You have to play sound defense and you have to be great tacklers in the open field. That will be a big, big key for us.”
Senior Demarco Owens (5-10, 215) and junior Lucas Hall (5-10, 175) combined for 21 rushing attempts, 332 yards and five TDs against Connersville.
Sophomore quarterback Jayden Shipp (5-10, 166) completed 7-of-14 pass attempts for 125 yards and two touchdowns.
Shelbyville netted 227 rushing yards on 47 attempts at Greensburg, with junior running back Cael Lux leading the way with 146 yards.
Repeating that type of performance will prove tough against Richmond’s defensive front four that averages 6-2 and 249 pounds.
“They have some big dudes up front on their defensive line,” said Glesing. “That will be a challenge for us. I’m still trying to figure out what we can and can’t do … what our strengths and weaknesses are but the kids are up to the challenge.”
Hope is alive within the Golden Bears’ program. On Monday, the junior varsity team defeated Greensburg, 20-16.
One night later, Shelbyville Middle School’s eighth-grade team lost in double overtime to New Palestine while the seventh graders defeated the Dragons, 35-6.
Glesing knows resurrecting Shelbyville football will take time – more than one game and more than one season. The players showed back up Monday after the program’s 26th-straight defeat and went back to work.
“I think the one thing that has changed is people are talking about football in the school right now,” he said. “We got beat by 21 but they are talking football and that is kind of a cool thing. And our JV team winning the other night was a big deal for us. We said all along we want to take baby steps and have successes here and there. So for our JV team to have a victory was huge for the morale of our football team.”
Glesing stated before the season opener that one goal was getting 14 first downs a game. That signaled ball control offensively, the ability to shorten a game, and defensive relief from not constantly being on the field. The Golden Bears had 16 first downs against Greensburg.
Now the program has a chance to grab a win against a program that has struggled in its own right for most of the last two decades before facing a lineup of Hoosier Heritage Conference opponents.
“I want to get better each week. I want to compete and I want the kids to enjoy the game of football,” said Glesing. “I want the school spirit to be back. I think a lot of good things are happening. We will take it and build on it and understand where we are at with our football program.
“I’m playing a lot of young kids. I’m playing a lot of sophomores. Realistically, we have our work cut out for us all year long but as long as the kids keep plugging along and keep working … good things will happen.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday at J.M. McKeand Stadium in Shelbyville.
