There were offers to be an assistant coach at other more successful programs in central Indiana, but being a father with two sons already established in the school system meant maintaining a normal routine was more of a priority.
Fitzgerald did accept a coaching stint at Franklin College and even applied to be Shelbyville’s head coach ahead of the 2021 season. Two years later, Brian Glesing’s departure after a pair of one-win seasons with the Golden Bears opened up another opportunity for Fitzgerald to return to a program that has won just three games in five years.
“It is a challenge. I would say it’s very similar to when I came here as an assistant (coach),” said Fitzgerald, who is a physical education teacher at Shelbyville Middle School. “We were kind of in the same boat and we had to really work to get everything turned back around and it felt like we could do that. I have been here so long there is loyalty a little bit but a lot of it was I had seen the program where it was. We had gotten it to a point where things were really good and I want to see it get back to that point.
“Maybe it’s a pride thing. It is something you feel you had a big part in building before and you saw it crumble a little. I wanted to help rebuild it. And I’ve got kids coming. They are going to be here in this program and I am going to make it the best program I can make it.”
In 2016 and 2017, Shelbyville finished 7-3. Head coach Pat Parks resigned after that and much of the coaching staff, including Fitzgerald, left as well.
Now, Fitzgerald (photo) is the head coach and he brought back Parks, the program’s career wins leader, as defensive coordinator and he installed former Golden Bear John Werbe as offensive coordinator.
Fitzgerald admitted Friday’s preseason jamboree at Madison was a little surreal without having the play-calling duties.
“It was very strange,” he said. “There is enough stuff that I have to do. Sometimes I look at them and think I don’t know how these guys do it calling their offense and doing other things and setting up practices. … I am trying to allow them to do what they do because they are good coaches. You have to allow coaches to do their job.”
Shelbyville opens the 2023 season Friday at Greensburg. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
After finding some offensive success in 2022 with a wing-T offense that rarely put the ball in the air, Fitzgerald is trusting senior quarterback Eli Chappelow to direct a spread offense that features four wideouts.
Fitzgerald understands it is a gamble considering there is no great depth in a program that cannot afford quick offensive possessions that do not produce points.
“That why you get reps, reps, reps,” said Fitzgerald. “(Eli) knows it. He may have been his worst enemy at times (in the jamboree). He had some nerves getting out there for the first time. He was injured (in 2022) and not sure if he was going to get to play. He has the whole summer to work with (the new offense). It’s different when everything is firing at you on a Friday night.”
Chappelow (photo) completed 44-of-100 pass attempts last season in a run-first offense that saw six different players, including Chappelow, get between 33 and 112 carries. The rushing game averaged 4.1 yards per carry and netted 14 touchdowns – up from 3.7 yards per carry and eight touchdowns in the COVID-19 affected 2021 season.
Chappelow, a 6-1 senior, must be efficient connecting with his receivers.
“One, you are losing a down,” said Fitzgerald of the negatives of the downside of an incomplete pass. “And two, the clock stops and we don’t want to do either one of those things. We want to make sure we are continuously running that clock, running the ball, completing easy passes and then we will take our shots when the shots come open.”
Sophomore Donavon Martin (photo) opens the season as the featured running back. He had 18 carries for 60 yards in 2022.
“When he gets downhill, there aren’t too many people that want to step in front of him,” said Fitzgerald. “He can do a lot of things. … He is a big enough young man, he has to punish the tackler. He has to learn that a little bit more. He has to punish the tackler when he is finished.”
Martin has a perfect mentor in bruising runner Luke Jackson, a 5-11 senior who averaged 4.7 yards per carry in 2022 and had the second most rushing yards (308) behind fellow senior Axel Conover (485).
“You will feel it when you go to tackle him,” said Fitzgerald of Jackson. “He will see his fair share of reps too. The things with Luke is, he will be in different spots for us in different sets. He will be a tight end at times. He will be an H-back at times. They (Jackson and Martin) may be in the backfield together at times. We will use him in a lot of ways but he will also get his reps at running back.”
Chappelow’s wide-receiver corps is not impressive on paper. In fact, seniors Conover, Grant Schene, Luke Brinkman and Kohen Myers have a combined 10 career receptions. Fitzgerald believes the group just needs confidence to go with their athletic ability to be successful.
“I think they have to understand how good they can be,” he said. “They haven’t had a whole lot of success, so really understanding how to get out there and practice to win and then carrying that over to Friday nights when they get out there … playing with a little bit of cockiness and a little bit of a chip on their shoulders but knowing I am a good football player and I am going to beat that player in front of me.
“That’s the mentality I don’t think they’ve ever had because they have been beaten. So that is something we are trying to get them to understand with each play that they are going to beat that guy in front of them.”
Fitzgerald’s freshman son, Grantland, had two touchdown receptions in the jamboree and also will be a factor in the wideout group.
Protecting the quarterback on the offensive line will be senior center Jacob Harker, senior guard Connor Duncan, junior tackle Michael Creech, sophomore tackle Jack West and freshman guard Anthony Stafford.
Brayden Schultz (photo), a 5-10 junior, steps into the defensive leader role at middle linebacker.
“We wanted linebackers that were going to go one way,” said Fitzgerald. “(Schultz) played linebacker at the middle school. We saw him play at the middle school. … He does a nice job of really reading what we give him. He has a certain key and he triggers it. When he sees it, he is just going to go. And then he is not afraid to be physical.
“And I’ve really been happy with his communication with the other guys, taking that leadership role. He has done a good job with that because he has other young linebackers playing with him as well. It will take a lot of communication with them.”
In a 4-3 defensive set, Schultz will be flanked by Conover, a 5-10 senior, and 5-10 sophomore Julian Eads.
Shelbyville’s interior defensive line has two seniors, Harker and Jaylen Sturgill. The starting ends are West and junior Keagan Turner.
The starting defensive backs are Schene and sophomore Carter Dunagan at cornerback and Martin and Brinkman at safety.
Senior Ben Price takes over the punting duties with junior Aiden Helfer-Vazquez returning as the kicker. Fitzgerald anticipates using both Price and Helfer-Vazquez for kickoff duties.
Shelbyville’s first opponent is a familiar one – Greensburg has been the Golden Bears’ season-opening foe since 1997. Shelbyville holds a 17-9 advantage over that timeframe but the Pirates have won five straight in the series, including 35-21 in 2022.
Scott Moore resigned following the 2022 season in which the Pirates went 4-7. He went 80-83 in 15 seasons with the program and won a sectional title in 2012.
Veteran New Palestine assistant coach Wes Anderson is now the Greensburg head coach and Fitzgerald sees a lot of familiar looks in the 2023 game plan.
“I think he is going to try to bring that New Pal flair to it,” said Fitzgerald. “He is trying to use the same offense, the same defense. He ran their special teams so I assume their special teams will be very similar to what they did when he was at New Pal.
“He is building a program. It’s not going to be New Pal kids. He doesn’t have that luxury I guess. He will do a good job of coaching them and getting them going to where it’s not necessarily this year, but seeing that we have to get to a point and these are the steps we need to take in order to get where we want to get to.”
Anderson will start the season with a new quarterback after the graduation of Sam West (70 completions for 977yards, 143 rushes for 917 yards and 10 touchdowns). Sophomore Bryson Abplanalp will get the start against Shelbyville.
Kaden Acton had a team-leading 603 yards rushing as a freshman in 2021. Against Shelbyville as a sophomore, he ran for 158 yards and 12 carries but suffered a season-ending hip injury a few days later.
“Obviously, the running back is the one we have to stop,” said Fitzgerald. “He is the real deal. He is a good, strong runner. They are big up front. They can move you. The quarterback is hard to tell. I don’t think they want to put it in his hands too much.
“They want to run the ball first and when you go back and look at New Pal, that’s what they want to do. They want to run the ball first. So staying on that footprint, I think that’s what they are going to try to do.”
The Golden Bears host Rushville in week two and open their Hoosier Heritage Conference schedule at home in week three against Delta. The next two games are on the road at New Castle Sept. 8 and Greenfield-Central Sept. 15.
Shelbyville hosts Yorktown Sept. 22 and Mt. Vernon Oct. 6 with a road trip to New Palestine in between on Sept. 29. The regular-season schedule closes on Oct. 13 at Pendleton Heights.
The schedule sets up with winnable games early before getting into the grind of the HHC season. The Golden Bears lost 41-39 at Rushville last season and defeated New Castle, 22-20, in week four.
“1-0 is the only thing I can focus on,” said Fitzgerald. “We have to be 1-0. They will hear me say that every week. When we get to the next week, whether we’ve won or lost, the next week we want to be 1-0 that week. That has to be our focus. We can’t look ahead at anything.”
QUICK FACTS
Shelbyville at Greensburg
Game Time: 7 p.m. at Shriver Stadium, 1000 E. Central Avenue in Greensburg.
Broadcast time: 6 p.m. Pregame Show from Shriver Stadium on GIANT fm (96.5 fm, 1520 AM, or GIANT fm app) with Johnny McCrory and Jeff Brown.
SHS student section theme: Whiteout.
Head coaches: Scott Fitzgerald, 0-0 in first year at Shelbyville; Wes Anderson, 0-0 in first year at Greensburg.
2022 record: Shelbyville 1-9; Greensburg 4-7.
Last meeting: Greensburg opened the 2022 season with a 35-21 win at McKeand Stadium in Shelbyville. Link to Shelby County Post game story at https://shelbycountypost.com/sports/648740
Series: The Golden Bears and Pirates have served as the season opener for each program every year since 1997. Shelbyville won the first eight meetings and holds a 17-9 advantage over Greensburg, who has won five straight in the series.
Around the HHC Friday: Anderson (3-7 in 2022) at Yorktown (9-4); Franklin County (3-7) at New Castle (3-8); Lebanon (6-4) at Pendleton Heights (5-5); Madison (4-6) at Greenfield-Central (7-4); Muncie Central (4-6) at Delta (3-7); Class 4A, No. 2 New Palestine (12-1) at Class 6A, No. 7 Westfield (8-4); and Noblesville (4-7) vs. Mt. Vernon (6-4) at Lucas Oil Stadium.
2023 SHELBYVILLE Schedule:
Aug. 18 at Greensburg 7 p.m.
Aug. 25 RUSHVILLE 7 p.m.
Sept. 1 DELTA** 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 8 at New Castle** 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 15 at Greenfield-Central** 7 p.m.
Sept. 22 YORKTOWN** 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 29 at New Palestine** 7 p.m.
Oct. 6 MT. VERNON** 7 p.m.
Oct. 13 at Pendleton Heights** 7 p.m.
** Denotes Hoosier Heritage Conference contest
Get the most recent Shelby County Post headlines delivered to your email. Go to shelbycountypost.com and click on the free daily email signup link at the top of the page.
