“I was actually very surprised. When they came in they pretty much had their heads on their shoulders the right way,” said first-year Shelbyville head coach Scott Fitzgerald. “They were excited that we got the win but they weren’t out of control. They understood there is a new task now.”
Shelbyville turns its focus to going 2-0 for the first time since accomplishing that feat three straight seasons from 2015-2017. And, the program will enjoy its first ever game played on synthetic turf at McKeand Stadium.
The playing surface is complete after a summer-long transformation from natural grass. The Golden Bears practiced on the field for the first time Monday then watched the junior varsity team produce a 30-8 victory that night over Greensburg.
Due to excessive heat this week, Fitzgerald has moved practice time to the evenings on the artificial turf in preparation for a week two battle with Rushville (0-1).
“It was great. The kids were excited,” said Fitzgerald of the Monday practice. “The kids were walking on the field feeling the turf. It’s pretty spongy right now because (those rubber pellets) are still sitting at the top.
“It’s exciting and then to turn around and have the JV game, it was really cool to see.”
Rushville earned a 41-39 win over Shelbyville last season in the two programs’ first regular-season meeting since 2012. The 2-0 start was the first for the Lions since 2013, but no more wins followed. Rushville has lost nine straight contests.
Milan rushed for 255 yards and three touchdowns Friday in a week one win over Rushville, 27-20. Meanwhile, Shelbyville totaled more than 400 yards of offense on the ground and in the air with quarterback Eli Chappelow throwing five touchdown passes and rushing for another score.
“To do what we did … to have some big explosive plays which is a goal of ours. We want to have explosive plays and put points on the scoreboard, all that starts up front,” said Fitzgerald. “We have to have the protection and we have to be able to run the football. The offensive line did a nice job.”
Following a 16-yard scoring run by the senior quarterback, Chappelow connected on scoring strikes of 14, 46, 57, 19 and 6 yards to Luke Brinkman (3), Axel Conover and Grantland Fitzgerald.
For Brinkman (photo), a senior, his return to the football program produced four catches for 128 yards and three end zone celebrations. He played as a freshman then sat out the next two seasons, according to his head coach.
“Not a bad opening night,” said Fitzgerald with a big smile. “He was excited. He has said many times he is so thankful he came out this year. I always say that when I am trying to talk kids into coming out (for the program), I have never had a kid come back to me later in life and say they really regretted coming out.
“I have had a ton come back and say I regret quitting. I am glad he gave it a shot and is enjoying himself.”
Even in a 25-point victory, there were issues to be corrected. The offensive line was flagged for multiple false start penalties.
“Part of it was we just weren’t holding our stance,” said Fitzgerald. “We talked about making a few adjustments and letting them know. Sometimes they were unsure whether there was a motion or not because of how we are signaling some things in. So we talked about giving them a signal as far as knowing there is motion and whether they have to hold their stance just a little bit longer.
“A lot of it is just getting used to it. I think some of them were just a little bit anxious and didn’t want to make mistakes and get after it.”
The offense scored six touchdowns but missed three point-after kicks.
“On a couple of them it was the hold. The ball kind of slipped off the front of the tee,” said Fitzgerald. “We have to routinely do it and make sure it is there.”
Aidan Helfer-Vazquez missed two kicks and a third was blocked Friday after hitting 14-of-16 as a sophomore in 2022. Ben Price completed the final extra-point kick – the first of his Shelbyville career.
Rushville will again play with pace but has to be more efficient to have success against Shelbyville. New quarterback Nick Jarman completed just 4-of-22 pass attempts against Milan for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Four different ball carriers racked up nearly 200 yards rushing in the loss.
“They have that power spread run game where they will try to run the ball first,” said Fitzgerald. “They like to throw it deep. There were a few times where (Jarman) had the open under receiver and he still took that shot downfield.”
All three of Rushville’s week-one touchdowns were 40 yards or longer.
“They had two big pass plays and a big run play on an option that they were able to hit that was huge for them,” said Fitzgerald. “Give credit to Milan. I thought they did a good job of controlling the football. They didn’t give the ball to Rushville too much.”
While Shelbyville’s offense was shining, the defense was grinding. It held Greensburg running back Kaden Acton to 30 first-half rushing yards after he had 158 yards total in the 2022 meeting.
“We knew we had to stop (Acton),” said Fitzgerald. “We knew we had to tackle and we had to get a lot of guys to the ball. We did that.”
Acton finished with 121 yards rushing Friday with 47 yards coming on a cut-back run that netted the Pirates’ first touchdown of the season.
“The one big play that he broke was a toss right and he ended up going up the left sideline,” explained Fitzgerald. “When you go back and watch it on film, we are flowing so hard to the ball that we flowed a little bit over the top and don’t stay in our lanes for the cut back. I can’t blame the kids there a lot. They are working to get after it and trying to really get to the ball and they just happened to overrun it.”
Sophomore linebacker Julian Eads topped the Shelbyville defense with 10 tackles. Brayden Schultz followed with nine tackles, including three tackles for loss, a quarterback sack and a pass deflection.”
What transpired after Greensburg’s first touchdown that cut the lead to 26-7 may have been the most impressive performance from Shelbyville all game.
The Golden Bears put together a 12-play drive that culminated with Chappelow finding Conover in the end zone on a fourth-and-1 play from the 19 that shut down any momentum Greensburg was building.
“The kids didn’t panic. That was a huge thing,” agreed Fitzgerald. “There were no panicked looks on their faces. We were able to run the football and it ended up being about a 5-minute drive. That was huge just mentally for us and mentally for (Greensburg) because we took it right back down on them.”
Shelbyville converted two fourth-down plays on the drive that took 5:17 off the clock and extended the lead to 32-7.
Shelbyville and Rushville have a long history. The two schools were formerly members of the South Central Conference and the Hoosier Heritage Conference before Rushville moved on to the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference in 2013. While not on the regular-season schedule any more, the two programs maintained a healthy relationship as preseason scrimmage partners until 2022 when Rushville returned to Shelbyville’s schedule as its week two opponent.
On Friday, the Lions will be part of the dedication ceremony at McKeand Stadium for a new artificial turf playing surface, new play clocks and a new scoreboard. The new track and field surface will be added to the facility after the football season concludes.
The dedication ceremony is expected to include members of the J.M. McKeand family, the school board and the Shelbyville High School administration.
Kickoff has been moved back to 8 p.m. on a day when temperatures are expected to reach 90 degrees with a heat index pushing toward triple digits.
“We are hoping we have a great crowd with the community coming out to support us,” said Fitzgerald. “I think we will have some alumni that are going to be here to see this place get opened and see the field. It is exciting.
“You can feel the energy within the school and the community. People are excited about it. We want that excitement around the program.”
SHS football photos courtesy of Steve Bush.
QUICK FACTS
Rushville at Shelbyville
Game Time: 8 p.m. at McKeand Stadium at Shelbyville High School.
Admission: $6 cash at the gate.
Broadcast time: 7 p.m. pregame show from McKeand Stadium on GIANT fm (96.5 fm, 1520 AM, or GIANT fm app) with Johnny McCrory and Jeff Brown.
Student theme: Country. SHS student tailgate, which includes free hot dog, chips and water/pop, starts at 6:30 p.m. in front of baseball field. All students that attend the tailgate, dress the theme and stand in the student section during the game will receive a raffle ticket to win a $25 Amazon gift card.
2023 record: Rushville 0-1; Shelbyville 1-0.
Sagarin ratings: Rushville 43.58; Shelbyville 51.02. To predict off Sagarin ratings, compare ratings of the two teams and allow two additional points for the home team. Thus, Shelbyville is a 9-point favorite over Rushville Friday.
Head coaches: Isaac Sliger, 2-19 in third year at Rushville; Scott Fitzgerald, 1-0 in first year at Shelbyville.
2022 record: Rushville 2-8; Shelbyville 1-9.
Last meeting: Rushville opened the 2022 season 2-0 with a 41-39 win over Shelbyville. The Lions built an early 14-0 lead that the Golden Bears failed to overcome. Link to Shelby County Post game story at https://shelbycountypost.com/sports/649808
Series: The Golden Bears and Lions met every year from 1997 to 2012 with Shelbyville holding an 11-5 advantage. Rushville’s last win before the 2022 victory came in 2001, 20-18.
Around the HHC Friday: Franklin (1-0) at Mt. Vernon (0-1); Greenfield-Central (1-0) at Greensburg (0-1); New Castle (1-0) at Class 2A, No. 2 Triton Central (1-0); Class 4A, No. 5 New Palestine (0-1) at Class 5A, No. 7 Decatur Central (1-0); Norwell (0-1) at Delta (1-0); Pendleton Heights (1-0) at Anderson (0-1); and Yorktown (1-0) at Muncie Central (0-1).
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