PENDLETON – Shelbyville’s penchant for self destruction has made the second half of the football season tough on the Golden Bears. Making mistakes against equal or lesser opponents can be overcome. Those same mistakes against the best in the Hoosier Heritage Conference prove deadly.

Trailing 14-0 Friday at Class 4A, No. 12 Pendleton Heights, Shelbyville had a grand opportunity to cut the lead in half when the Arabians first punt attempt went awry. The snap sailed high over the punter’s head and was downed at the 11-yard line.

Shelbyville quarterback Eli Chappelow went for a quick throw out to a receiver on the very next play but Pendleton Heights’ Drake Stevens intercepted the ball at the 10 and raced 90 yards for a touchdown and a 21-0 advantage the Golden Bears never recovered from.

The Arabians finished off Shelbyville, 28-6, to close out the regular season with a 7-2 record (5-2 HHC). Shelbyville finishes 3-6 (1-6 HHC).

“They were so many opportunities for us out on the field tonight,” said Shelbyville head coach Scott Fitzgerald. “I’m a little more disappointed tonight than I have been all year long just because there were so many opportunities out there for us to make plays to get them off the field. It just wasn’t there. Our body language wasn’t great all night long.

“We, obviously, still have a lot to do and a lot to work on. We have to make sure when there are plays to be made on the field, we have to make those plays and far too often this season we haven’t made those plays when they’ve been available.”

The opening series of the game was a perfect example. Shelbyville twice had Pendleton Heights in third-and-long situations and both times it converted. Quarterback Isaac Wilson scrambled 11 yards on a third-and-8 and then hit Caden Sims on a slant route that went 28 yards on a third-and-13.

Wilson gained another 28 yards through the air with a pass to Nate DeRolf who took the ball down to the Shelbyville 4. Three plays later, junior quarterback Colton Frank completed a 10-play, 70-yard drive with a 1-yard scoring run.

“That was the epitome of what I am talking about. We had two opportunities right there,” said Fitzgerald. “We let a slant get us for over 14 yards and the quarterback scrambled on the other one. There is an opportunity right there. We should have been off the field and they should have been punting. We should have been going and instead it ends up being points on the scoreboard.”

On the Arabians’ second possession, Wilson, a senior, guided a 10-play, 69-yard drive that ended with his own 1-yard run.

Meanwhile, Shelbyville’s first two drives netted 12 yards and ended with a pair of Ben Price punts.

Once Shelbyville’s defense settled in, it kept the Arabians in check but missing on a prime opportunity to apply pressure back on Pendleton Heights was exasperated by the 14-point swing that came with the pick-six at the end of the first quarter.

The 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter held until halftime as a steady rain started to fall. The Arabians scored on their first possession of the second half when Wilson finished off a drive with a 5-yard scoring run.

Shelbyville’s lone touchdown came as time expired when Chappelow connected with Grantland Fitzgerald from 15 yards out.

Shelbyville’s defense limited Pendleton Heights to 64 yards rushing on 27 attempts but Wilson operated a quick, short passing game that gashed the Golden Bears. He completed 12-of-18 attempts for 158 yards.

The Golden Bears’ running game was only slightly more effective, collecting 97 yards on 29 attempts. Chappelow led the team with 67 yards rushing. He completed 11 of 25 pass attempts for 150 yards but threw a season-high four interceptions.

Once 3-1 this season, Shelbyville now turns its attention to the postseason with a clash with Class 4A, No. 1 East Central (9-0) on tap in St. Leon.

“It just boils down to execution,” said Fitzgerald of the game plan at practice next week. “We have to tackle. We have to try and force some turnovers where we can. And we have to execute offensively. When opportunities to make plays are there, we have to make those plays.”