Shelbyville football is a confounding 2-0.
Senior quarterback Eli Chappelow had completed 62% of his 50 pass attempts for 590 yards and nine touchdowns to provide his team with a strong offensive punch.
Defensively, the Golden Bears have allowed three touchdowns and have 10 players on the stat sheet with at least eight total tackles.
Shelbyville is indeed 2-0 for the first time since starting 3-0 in 2017 but its first two opponents – Greensburg and Rushville – are a combined 0-4. And the program has been flagged for a staggering 23 penalties in those two wins that have created a noticeable buzz within the school.
On Friday, Delta (also 2-0) will attempt to be a “buzzkill” at Shelbyville’s McKeand Stadium in the two teams’ first Hoosier Heritage Conference game of the season.
“It’s like playing a basketball team,” said Shelbyville head coach Scott Fitzgerald with a chuckle. “Its six-foot-four, six-foot-four, six-foot-five, six-foot-three, six-foot-two. I think they have one kid under six foot and I think he is a 100-meter champion (sprinter). He is very fast.”
Delta quarterback Bronson Edwards has completed 27-of-50 pass attempts for 398 yards. Of the Eagles’ 10 touchdowns in their two wins, only one has come through the air.
Delta’s rushing attack is quick and powerful, according to Fitzgerald. Junior Nolan Carpenter leads the team with 321 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Senior Kaiden Bond has 77 rushing yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns.
“They are big, physical kids and we are going to have to be ready to get after it,” said Fitzgerald (photo). “They are a good team. It’s going to be a tough task.”
Shelbyville will need to find its rushing game that was held in check by Rushville. The Golden Bears’ four touchdowns against the Lions came on the strength of Chappelow’s right arm.
“It was about the execution of things we were doing up front,” said Fitzgerald. “We were making some mistakes and missing some blocking assignments … things we have to clean up. And it’s going to be tough this week.
“(Delta) has a big (defensive) line and they have two nice inside linebackers, who are both seniors and are good players. They are going to put seven (players) in the box and try to make it difficult on us.”
After two seasons of executing a run-heavy offense, Chappelow has been stellar leading the Golden Bears as both a runner and a passer.
“He has been very efficient,” said Fitzgerald. “He is making very good decisions and we told him if he keeps making very good decisions we will keep giving him a little more leeway on certain things. He is continuing to get better each week, learning what to read defensively and again making good decisions and putting the ball in good spots.”
Shelbyville passed for 746 yards last season in 11 games. In its 2-0 start this season, the offense has generated 633 total yards passing and nine touchdowns on the strength of seven different players with at least one reception.
Seniors Axel Conover (photo) and Luke Brinkman each have 10 catches and have combined for five touchdowns. Freshman Grantland Fitzgerald follows with four catches (two for touchdowns) while senior Luke Jackson and sophomore Donavon Martin each have three catches.
Chappelow is Shelbyville’s leading rusher through two games at 92 yards. Jackson has 84 yards rushing with Martin following at 68.
Fitzgerald won’t allow his Golden Bears to think about being 3-0 at this point in the season. The message is still about going 1-0 this week – which would have extra meaning getting a Hoosier Heritage Conference win so early in the schedule.
“I try to make sure I am focusing on this week,” he said. “We can’t look back at what we’ve accomplished. We will have that chance at the end of the season. We want to build on the confidence. We want to have the confidence going into (this week).
“I know there are still people out there saying wait until Shelbyville gets into conference play. We can’t have that mentality. We are going out on the field to try and beat Delta. That’s our job. We have to have that energy and that mentality as we go into it.”
QUICK FACTS
Delta at Shelbyville
Game Time: 7:30 p.m. at McKeand Stadium at Shelbyville High School.
SHS Student theme: Beach/Hawaiian.
2023 record: Delta 2-0; Shelbyville 2-0.
Head coaches: Chris Overholt, 45-33 in eighth year at Delta; Scott Fitzgerald, 2-0 in first year at Shelbyville.
Sagarin ratings: Delta, 71.79, No. 7 in Class 3A; Shelbyville, 51.65, No. 42 in Class 4A. Delta is an 18-point favorite.
Last meeting: Delta won its fourth straight in the series, 42-7, at Delta.
Here is the link for the Shelby County Post’s recap of the 2022 meeting: https://shelbycountypost.com/sports/650943
Series: The two programs have played every year since 1997 with the exception of 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the week three meeting. Delta currently holds a 19-6 advantage over the last 25 games.
Around the HHC Friday: Mt. Vernon (1-1) at Class 4A, No. 10 Greenfield-Central (2-0); New Castle (1-1) at Pendleton Heights (2-0); and Yorktown at Class 4A, No. 7 New Palestine (0-2).
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