Rushville threw a flurry of punches at the Golden Bears but did not have a powerful knockout punch. The Lions ran more than half their offensive plays on Shelbyville’s side of the field and took 20 snaps in the red zone but only scored one touchdown.

Meanwhile, Shelbyville struggled to find any offensive rhythm but ended three drives with 40-plus yard scoring strikes and salvaged a 26-14 win in the first varsity game on the new synthetic turf Friday at J.M. McKeand Stadium.

“A lot of the same things happened in both halves. It was a lot of self-inflicted wounds,” said Shelbyville head coach Scott Fitzgerald, who has the Golden Bears 2-0 for the first time since 2017. “We have got to fix those. Its two weeks in a row where way too many times we shot ourselves in the foot. We have to fix that.

“That was part of our problem where we couldn’t get into a flow. We’d go 10 yards forward then five yards back. We were not making plays when we needed to make them.”

Shelbyville’s offensive line struggled creating holes for the running backs but provided enough protection for senior quarterback Eli Chappelow to do damage. He completed 17-of 28 pass attempts for 284 yards and four touchdowns – one in each quarter against the Lions (0-2).

Shelbyville scored first on its second offensive series when Chappelow connected with Axel Conover (photo) for a 43-yard touchdown.

Chappelow set up a screen pass for Donavon Martin and the sophomore had great blocking that allowed him to score from 42 yards out late in the second quarter that set the halftime score at 13-0.

Rushville quarterback Nick Jarman used a quick passing attack to get his offense across midfield but penalties, poor execution and a stingy Shelbyville defense kept the Lions out of the end zone until very late in the third quarter.

“You see the looks on the kids’ faces as were going in between plays and you just didn’t know if they were going to make the next play,” said Fitzgerald. “Then, all of the sudden, they find that energy and busting butts and finding places to get to.”

Shelbyville scored its third touchdown on a fourth-and-six play from near midfield when the Rushville defense lost track of freshman Grantland Fitzgerald, who hauled in a long pass and raced to the end zone untouched to make it 20-0.

Rushville desperately needed a spark after having a touchdown nullified by a penalty on its next possession that ended in a punt. After a Shelbyville turnover, Jarman found Ralph Eakins, who slipped through a hole and raced 62 yards before being taken down inside the Shelbyville 10-yard line. Three plays later, Sam Pavey rumbled into the end zone to cut the Golden Bears’ lead to 20-7.

On the next possession, Martin fumbled near the line of scrimmage and Keegan Bowles scooped up the loose ball and raced 40 yards for another touchdown that cut the lead to six.

“We did a lot of failure sets this summer in the weight room,” said Fitzgerald. “We said this is why you do failure sets. This is the reason right here. You have to find it. We go play by play. Whatever happens, you have to go play the next play. We have to find that energy to make something happen and take the momentum back.”

Exhausted and frustrated, Shelbyville needed its own spark. Enter Grant Schene.

The wide receiver took a reverse pitch, stopped and fired downfield on the first play of Shelbyville’s next possession and Luke Brinkman (photo) found room to haul it in at the Rushville 20.

Four plays later, Chappelow lobbed a ball deep in the end zone for Schene, who snatched it one-handed for a touchdown.

“It was one of those times where you are trying to take a chance,” said Fitzgerald of the Schene pass. “You are trying to make something happen and get a little bit of momentum and we were able to hit it.”

Carter Dunagan intercepted Jarman on Rushville’s next possession and the Lions’ final two drives once again ended in the red zone with no points.

Fitzgerald moved Conover into the backfield for Shelbyville’s final possession and he ran for a pair of first downs with the ball secured to run out the game’s final three minutes.

“We shoot ourselves in the foot like coach is saying but we stuck it out and fought hard,” said Conover.

Conover finished with four receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 31 yards on six carries. He also had an interception for the second week in a row to secure a victory on the Golden Bears’ new playing surface.

“I just wanted to seal the win for the guys … for everybody,” said Conover of being the main ball carrier on the game’s final possession.

Jarman put the ball in the air 47 times against the Golden Bears, completing 25 passes for 312 yards. Pavey led the Rushville running attack with 72 yards on 20 carries (14 in the second half).

The Lions ran 89 offensive plays with 49 on Shelbyville’s side of the field. Rushville committed 16 penalties while Shelbyville was whistled for 14 that contributed to a three-hour game played with temperatures in the mid- to upper 80s.

Shelbyville finished with 114 hard-fought yards on the ground while the passing game of Chappelow and Schene amassed 321 passing yards.

The Golden Bears now turn their attention to their Hoosier Heritage Conference schedule. Delta (2-0 with wins over Muncie Central (35-14) and Norwell (34-16)) travels to McKeand Stadium for a week three contest. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.

Steve Bush photos.

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