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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Select any superlative you want and it will still not describe the magnitude of Friday’s clash between Class 2A, No. 1 Triton Central and Class A, No. 1 Indianapolis Lutheran.

Head coach Dave Pasch’s Saints have been the top-ranked team in Class A for 21 straight weeks in the Indiana Football Coaches Association state poll. Triton Central has been consistently ranked in the top 10 in Class 2A during head coach Tim Able’s decade-long tenure but rose to No. 1 in this week’s poll after a pair of convincing wins to start the season.

“Those are nice things to have in the beginning of the season,” said Able of the No. 1 ranking. “It’s much more enjoyable to be up there at the end of the season.”

Lutheran enters Friday’s game sporting a 32-game win streak. The Saints also have four straight wins over the Tigers, which means no current rostered player at Triton Central has a win over Lutheran.

“How many times do you get to play against the No. 1 team in the state,” said Able (photo). “And if you win against the No. 1 team at their own place, they don’t have anything to come back at you with.”

Friday night’s victor also takes early control in the race for the Indiana Crossroads Conference championship. Class 2A, No. 3 Indianapolis Scecina also will be in that hunt.

The two head coaches have a combined 422 career wins and three state championships. And there are marquee players on both rosters.

“We cannot get caught up in the hype,” said Able. “We have to get caught up in doing things the right way longer than we did last week.”

Triton Central raced out to a 36-0 lead on New Castle and coasted to a 36-7 victory, much as it did in week one’s 41-13 win at Cascade.

“The first team defense has not allowed a touchdown yet,” said Able. “I feel really good about that but it will be a real challenge this week. We match up well. We are very similar teams in how we scheme things.”

In the 2022 meeting, Lutheran got out to a 14-0 lead then responded to Triton Central’s first score with three more touchdowns to take a 35-7 lead into halftime. The Tigers closed the gap in the third quarter which led to a fourth quarter where the two teams traded scoring five touchdowns.

Lutheran returns junior quarterback Jackson Willis, who threw for 434 yards and four touchdowns at Mendenhall Field. Graduation took wide receiver Micah Mackay (14 catches, 245 yards, 3 TDs against TC) and running back Joe Davis (25 rushes, 126 yards, 3 TDs) but the program has continued to reload, producing double-digit win seasons in six of the last seven years.

“They have great players. It seems like they reload every year,” said Able. “It’s tradition and when it gets rolling, the next group tries to out (perform) the one before.”

Willis completed 217 of 307 pass attempts for 4,186 yards and 55 touchdowns in Lutheran’s state championship 2022 season.

“He has a quick release. He puts it in there. He really threads the needle,” said Able. “He is hard to get to. We have to control the run game, the spread game.”

In other words, Triton Central wants to make Lutheran’s offense one dimensional. And even then, it will still be challenging to slow down the Saints.

Triton Central is the only team on Lutheran’s schedule that can match quarterback talents. Jace Stuckey (photo) threw for 2,657 yards and 23 touchdowns as a junior. He is part of a senior class that has helped produce 30 varsity wins and three straight sectional titles but never a win over Lutheran.

“He is definitely prepared. Nobody prepares harder than Jace,” said Able of his Eastern Michigan commit quarterback who will graduate with nearly every passing record at Triton Central.

For Triton Central to end Lutheran’s 32-game win streak Friday, it will need strong performances around Stuckey. Running back Ray Crawford (photo) (20 rushes, 100 yards, 2 TDs) and receiver Brayden Wilkins (5 catches, 165 yards, 2 TDs) will be focal points for the Saints defense which could open up opportunities for Mason Compton (main photo) (6 catches, 78 yards, 1 TD), Zeke Robertson (6 catches, 68 yards, 2 TDs) and Chase Chandler (6 catches, 94 yards).

“We have a lot of weapons … a lot of quick kids that come out of cuts,” said Able.

Friday’s date has been circled on the Triton Central schedule for months. It’s the first big test for a program looking to elevate itself into a true state title contender – much as Lutheran has done in recent years.

“They know how to be state champions,” said Able of the Saints. “We have kids still learning that.”

The end game in 2023 is for both programs to be playing Thanksgiving weekend at Lucas Oil Stadium in state championship game.

QUICK FACTS:

Class 2A, No. 1 Triton Central at Class A, No. 1 Indianapolis Lutheran

Game time: 7 p.m. at Meyer Field at Lutheran High School, 5555 South Arlington Avenue in Indianapolis.

Broadcast time: 6 p.m. pregame show from Meyer Field on GIANT fm (96.5 fm, 106.3 fm, 1520 am and the GIANT fm app) with Johnny McCrory and Jeff Brown.

TC Student theme: Fraternity.

2023 record: Triton Central 2-0; Lutheran 2-0.

Head coaches:  Tim Able, 92-35 in 11^th year at Triton Central; 217-133 in 30th year overall; Dave Pasch, 140-53 in 16^th year at Lutheran, 205-110 in 27^th year overall.

Sagarin ratings: Triton Central 75.95, No. 1 in Class 2A; Lutheran 77.53, No. 2 in Class A. Lutheran is a 4-point favorite.

Last year: Lutheran won 54-41 at Mendenhall Field in Fairland. Here is the link to the Shelby County Post’s game story from the 2022 contest: https://shelbycountypost.com/sports/650946

Series: The two programs have played 11 straight seasons with Lutheran holding a 6-5 advantage. The Saints have won the last four meetings.

Around the ICC Friday: Covenant Christian (1-1) at Class 2A, No. 3 Indianapolis Scecina (2-0); Edgewood (1-1) at Cascade (1-1); Indianapolis Ritter (0-2) at Purdue Poly (1-1); Class 2A, No. 5 Linton-Stockton (2-0) at Monrovia (2-0); and Speedway (1-1, 0-1 ICC) at Beech Grove (0-2, 0-2 ICC).

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Triton Central’s Kennedy Hall earned her first medalist honor this season, posting a 52 Wednesday at the Brickyard Crossing in a three-team match with North Central and Speedway.

North Central won the match at 223. Triton Central was runner-up at 232 while Speedway did not have enough golfers to post a team score.

Hall’s 52 was backed by Olivia Williams’ 58, Jaylee Davis’ 61 and Hanna Fink’s 61.

In another prep event Wednesday:

Boys tennis

Triton Central 3, Knightstown 2

At Triton Central, the host Tigers (6-3) won both doubles matches and got a win from Max Crouse at No. 3 singles to defeat the Panthers.

Crouse defeated Daniel Gross, 6-4, 6-0.

At No. 1 doubles, Eli Sego and Joey Brosnan dominated the Knightstown pairing of Isaac Livesay and Leeland Galien, 6-1, 6-0.

Ben Toth and Caleb McGuire did not lose a game at No. 2 doubles, going 6-0, 6-0 over Grey Williams and Jacob Specht.

At No. 1 singles, Hunter Steimel needed three sets to defeat Triton Central’s Tucker Hutchinson, 6-1, 6-7 (4), 10-2.

And Braydon McDaniel bested TC’s Janssen Capps at No. 2 singles, 6-0, 6-3.

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Waldron tennis improved to 7-1 this season with its fourth consecutive victory against a Class 4A opponent – 3-2 over New Palestine Tuesday.

Waldron’s Charlie Fischer and Caiden Young won singles matches in straight sets. At No. 1 doubles, Jacob Lindsey and Jack Fischer defeated New Palestine’s Max Havel and Joey McPike, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.

Lucas Shaw was defeated for the first time this season by New Palestine’s Arjomand Khokhar, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 1 singles.

New Palestine’s Nick Parrett and Eli Sloan defeated Jackson Kuhn and Matthew Thomas at No. 2 doubles, 6-1, 6-4.

In other prep events Tuesday:

Girls golf

Indiana Crossroads Conference Tournament

At Deer Creek Golf Course, Indianapolis Ritter secured the team title, defeating Cascade by two strokes, 422-424.

Triton Central finished fifth at 473.

Cascade’s Navaeh Hubner was crowned the ICC champion with the low round of 86.

Olivia Williams led Triton Central at 116. Lindsay Huxford was one shot back at 117. Hanna Fink posted 119. Kennedy Hall shot 121 and Jaylee Davis finished at 131.

Columbus North 215, Southwestern Inc.

At Harrison Lake Country Club, Lindsey Hartwell was the medalist with a 42 to lead the Bull Dogs to the win over the shorthanded Spartans.

Sydney Griffin led the Southwestern scorecard with a 55. Aurora Belton followed at 58 and Taryn Hoeing shot 66.

Boys soccer

Southwestern 4, Greensburg 3

At Southwestern, the two teams traded first-half goals before Greensburg took the lead on a Cy Miller goal, his second of the game, early in the second half.

The final two goals came from Southwestern’s Benjamin Kahler and Tucker Simmons off Jaime Gutierrez DeMessa assists and kept the Class A, No. 16 Spartans unbeaten at 5-0.

Michael Clements was credited with three saves for Southwestern.

Ethan Sipes had the game’s first goal and put Southwestern up 1-0. Miller answered back for Greensburg with his first goal of the contest.

Cecil Newton scored in the 28^th minute to give Southwestern the lead once again. DeMessa had the assist.

John Robbins scored late in the first half to tie the match again.

The Pirates are 2-3 this season.

Girls soccer

Triton Central 3, Rushville 0

At Rushville, Triton Central goalkeeper Cheyenne Allen secured her third-straight shutout to improve the Tigers to 4-0 this season.

Ariel Walker scored two goals and Elaina Maurice added a third goal. Assists on the three goals came from Lucy Spall, Vivian Blye and Ava Bedwell.

Rushville dropped to 2-3.

Mt. Vernon 5, Shelbyville 3

At Shelbyville, the host Golden Bears fell behind 3-1 at halftime and never recovered in the Hoosier Heritage Conference loss to the Marauders (4-2, 2-0 HHC).

Mattie Isger scored a pair of goals for Mt. Vernon with the other three goals coming from Esther Isger, Lily Mohlenkamp and Hannah Monroe. Kylie Brandes had three assists.

For Shelbyville, Ava Wilson scored Shelbyville’s first goal. Cyanne St. Bernard scored twice.

Shelbyville is 3-2 (1-1 HHC).

Boys tennis

Shelbyville 4, Pendleton Heights 1

At Shelbyville, the host Golden Bears won both doubles matches and were successful at No. 1 singles and No. 2 singles against the Arabians.

Reece Prickett and Caden Claxton won singles matches in straight sets.

Shelbyville’s No. 1 doubles pairing of Karson Schaf and Aiden Smith also won in straight sets.

At No. 2 doubles, Alex Bunton and Gavin Reed needed three sets to secure their victory.

Shelbyville is 5-5 (2-1 HHC).

Triton Central 5, Brown County 0

At Triton Central, the host Tigers (5-3) won all five matches in straight sets.

At No. 1 singles, Tucker Hutchinson defeated Jack Sichting, 6-0, 6-0.

Janssen Capps bested Owen East at No. 2 singles, 6-1, 6-3.

And Max Crouse topped Brando Saecho, 6-2, 7-5.

At No. 1 doubles, Eli Sego and Joey Brosnan defeated Jon Kirchofer and Jax Burt, 6-0, 6-0.

Caleb McGuire and Ben Toth rolled past Sawyer Gore and Cord Smith at No. 2 doubles, 6-2, 6-1.

Oldenburg Academy 4, Morristown 1

At Morristown, the Yellow Jackets’ Eli Graves secured his team’s only win – 6-1, 6-1 at No. 3 singles.

Volleyball

Triton Central def. Waldron, 25-19, 25-18, 25-14

At Triton Central, the host Tigers upped their record to 6-5 with nine kills from Brooklyn Bailey and six kills each from Gwyn Williams and Lucy May.

Madi Peterson notched a team-high 22 digs. Williams added 12 digs. Kate Isley finished with 11 assists.

The Mohawks are 1-5.

Guerin Catholic def. Shelbyville, 25-9, 25-13, 25-16

At Shelbyville, Paige Mascari had a team-high 15 kills, four aces and three digs to improve Guerin Catholic to 4-5.

Natalie Laughon had four aces and 20 digs while Hailey Lytle finished with 20 assists.

Shelbyville fell to 1-7 this season.

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Class A, No. 16 Southwestern needed penalty kicks to defeat Morristown Monday at the Spartans’ soccer complex.

After a scoreless first half, each team scored early in the second half and no winner was determined in regulation or overtime periods.

Southwestern connected on its first four penalty kicks and a Michael Clements save on a Parker Theobald shot ended the contest and kept the Spartans (4-0, 2-0 Mid-Hoosier Conference) unbeaten this season.

Southwestern’s Michel Weisser broke the scoreless tie in the 48^th minute. Theobald scored off an assist from Kade Rogers approximately two minutes later.

Weisser converted Southwestern’s first penalty kick and Tucker Simmons put the Spartans ahead 2-1. Following a Kade Rogers make, Matthew Carlton missed off the post and the Yellow Jackets were now trailing.
Southwestern’s Jaime DeMessa extended the lead to 3-1. Morristown countered with a Kilyn Gaines conversion to stay in contention.

Josh Karr hit for Southwestern then Clements provided the game-ending save.

In other prep events Monday:

Girls golf

Southwestern 229, Triton Central 235, Jac-Cen-Del 259

At Timbergate, Triton Central’s Olivia Williams earned the medalist honor with the low round of 51.

Southwestern earned the team victory with Sydney Griffin shooting 54. Taryn Hoeing followed at 55. Aurora Belton (59) and Olivia Lahey (61) completed the Spartans’ scorecard.

Also playing for Triton Central were Kennedy Hall (56), Hanna Fink (64), Lindsay Huxford (64) and Jaylee Davis (66).

Julia Meyer led Jac-Cen-Del with a 61.

Boys soccer

Shelbyville 3, Triton Central 2

At Triton Central, Osvaldo Reyes scored twice and Aiden Helfer-Vazquez converted a penalty kick to get the Golden Bears the victory in their first meeting with the first-year Tigers program.

Both of Triton Central’s goals came late in the contest.

Girls soccer

Shelbyville 1, Lawrence Central 0

At Lawrence Central, Ava Wilson’s second-half goal off an assist from Ella Johnson propelled the Golden Bears to the win.

Macy Cooley was credited with 13 saves in goal for Shelbyville (3-1).

Lawrence Central dropped to 3-2-1.

Boys tennis

Waldron 3, Shelbyville 2

At Shelbyville, the visiting Mohawks won all three singles matches to defeat the Golden Bears.

At No. 1 singles, Lucas Shaw defeated Reece Prickett, 6-1, 0-6, 6-4.

Charlie Fischer bested Caden Claxton at No. 2 singles, 6-0, 7-5.

And Caiden Young topped Wyatt Armstrong at No. 3 singles, 6-0, 6-0.

At No. 1 doubles, Shelbyville’s Karson Schaf and Aiden Smith prevailed, 6-4, 6-4 over Jack Fischer and Jacob Lindsey.

Alex Bunton and Gavin Reed gave Shelbyville a sweep of the doubles matches with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Waldron’s Conner Hinchman and Matthew Thomas.

Volleyball

Southwestern def. Medora, 25-15, 24-26, 25-17, 25-22

At Medora, Jenna Bowers and Laykin Hinderlider each had four kills to lead Medora (2-4). Hinderlider also has four service aces.

Southwestern improved to 3-8.

Triton Central def. Indianapolis Ritter, 25-12, 25-19, 25-21

At Ritter, Brooklyn Bailey had a team-high five kills and four blocks while Gwyn Williams and Gracie Miller each had four kills to lead Triton Central to the Indiana Crossroads Conference victory over Ritter (5-2, 1-1 ICC).

Williams also had three aces and 10 digs to improve the Tigers to 5-5 (2-1 ICC).

Columbus East def. Shelbyville, 25-21, 25-21, 25-14

At Shelbyville, the host Golden Bears lost their sixth straight to fall to 1-6 this season.

With the win, Columbus East improved to 4-5.

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Triton Central is the new No. 1 ranked football team in Class 2A.

With the Tigers’ 36-7 win Friday over New Castle and Evansville Mater Dei’s 49-7 loss at Castle, Triton Central has ascended from No. 2 to No. 1 in this week’s Indiana Football Coaches Association’s state coaches poll.

Evansville Mater Dei, the reigning Class 2A state champions, dropped to No. 4 in the week two poll. Eastbrook rises to No. 2 behind Triton Central. Indianapolis Scecina moves up to No. 3.

The rest of the 2A top 10 includes Linton-Stockton at No. 5 followed by Lafayette Central Catholic, Brownstown Central, LaVille, Heritage Christian and Andrean.

Triton Central’s hold on the top spot is precarious with the top-ranked team in Class A up next for the Tigers. Indianapolis Lutheran has won 32 straight games and hosts Triton Central Friday.

Following the Saints in the Class A poll are Adams Central, Carroll (Flora), North Judson, South Putnam, Park Tudor, South Adams, Providence, Sheridan and North Decatur.

Indianapolis Bishop Chatard is the No. 1 team in Class 3A. Guerin Catholic is No. 2 ahead of Lawrenceburg, West Lafayette, Gibson Southern, Hanover Central, Western Boone, Tri-West, Heritage Hills and Oak Hill.

East Central, the defending Class 4A state champions, remains atop the 4A poll this week. Kokomo is No. 2 ahead of Evansville Reitz, Evansville Memorial, NorthWood, Roncalli, New Palestine, Northridge, Columbia City and Greenfield-Central.

In Class 5A, Fort Wayne Snider is No. 1 followed by Merrillville, Bloomington South, Decatur Central, Valparaiso, Whiteland, Concord, Plainfield, Mishawaka and Bloomington North.

Ben Davis holds the top spot in Class 6A. Center Grove is No. 2 with Hamilton Southeastern, Brownsburg, Westfield, Fishers, Cathedral, Penn, Carroll (Allen) and Franklin Central completing the top 10.

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The Indiana University Kokomo volleyball team won three of four matches in its season-opening volleyball invitational Friday and Saturday in Kokomo, Indiana.

The Cougars defeated Cornerstone University (29-27, 25-11, 25-13) and Mt. Vernon Nazarene University (25-21, 25-17, 25-20) Friday and rebounded from a three-set loss to Bethel University (25-17, 25-18, 25-12) Saturday with a 15-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-23 win over Campbellsville University.

IU Kokomo sophomore Julia Sanders (main photo), a Triton Central graduate, had 20 digs, six assists and two service aces in the invitational.

Here is a look at other Shelby County graduates competing at the collegiate level.

Brooklyn Schiffli

The Triton Central graduate had one assist and one dig Saturday in Jacksonville State’s 25-12, 25-11, 26-24 loss at Auburn in the finale of the War Eagle Invitational in Auburn, Alabama.

Jacksonville State opened the invitational Friday with a 25-21, 24-26, 22-25, 25-16, 15-8 victory over McNeese. Schiffli had one kill and three digs in the season opener.

The Gamecocks began Saturday with a 25-18, 25-20, 25-16 loss to Coppin State. Schiffli finished with six digs.

Rachel Dewey

The Triton Central graduate played 55 minutes Sunday for Western Kentucky against her former school – No. 17 Xavier University.

Dewey is a graduate student transfer at Western Kentucky utilizing her final year of eligibility after completing her undergraduate degree at Xavier.

Xavier defeated the Hilltoppers, 5-1, to drop Western Kentucky to 1-1-2 this season.

Eddie Carrizalez

The Indiana University East men’s soccer program opened the season 0-2 with losses to Lawrence Tech (3-1 Wednesday) and Holy Cross (3-0 Saturday).

Carrizalez, a Shelbyville graduate, played 61 minutes in IU East’s season-opening loss and 37 minutes Saturday against Holy Cross.

Drew Hassebroek and Al Hernandez

Indiana University Purdue University Columbus’ inaugural men’s soccer season debuted on Aug. 22 and secured a 4-1 win over Boyce College.

The Crimson Pride improved to 2-0 Saturday with a 3-2 win at Pikeville. Hassebroek and Hernandez, both Shelbyville graduates, logged 36 and 45 minutes, respectively, in the win over Pikeville.

The IUPUC roster also includes Shelbyville graduates Zavier Leon and Christian Haas.

Sophie Parker

The Shelbyville graduate is a roster member of IUPUC’s inaugural women’s soccer program.

Parker was credited with a shot on goal in each of IUPUC’s first two matches – a 2-1 loss to IU South Bend on Aug. 18 and a 2-0 loss at Franklin College Saturday.

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Shelbyville's 2022 football season ended with a sectional quarterfinal loss to Bedford North Lawrence.

Recent announced changes by the IHSAA have placed Connersville into Sectional 23 with the Golden Bears and removed the Stars from that postseason field.

With one fell swoop, sizeable changes are coming to Indiana high school football sectionals this season despite the fact the season has already begun. 

The move is fallout to a 2022 decision that the eight schools who earned at least a point during the 2021-22 school year would continue playing in a higher classification due to the Tournament Success Factor while being re-evaluated after the 2022-23 school year. 

Schools that failed to earn a point while playing in a higher class would return to the next lower class for the next two years. 

And now there is fallout from that decision, as the executive committee has moved Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger from Class 5A to its enrollment class of Class 4A as Dwenger's football team did not earn a point. 

The move means a shakeup to both Class 5A and 4A beginning this season as Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger is leaving Class 5A, Sectional 12 for Class 4A, Sectional 19. Furthermore, the ripple effect has extended to Columbia City, Muncie Central, Connersville and Bedford North Lawrence, all of whom have been reassigned to new sectionals. 

As a result of Dwenger leaving Class 5A, Sectional 12 now becomes a three-team sectional amongst Fort Wayne Snider, Anderson and Fort Wayne North Side. Dwenger's new sectional will include Angola, DeKalb, East Noble, Fort Wayne South Side, Fort Wayne Wayne, Leo and New Haven. 

In Class 4A, Bedford North Lawrence is leaving Sectional 23, which included Martinsville, Edgewood, Jennings County, East Central, Greenwood, Shelbyville and Silver Creek. The Stars will now be in Sectional 24 with Boonville, Evansville Bosse, Evansville Central, Evansville Reitz, Evansville Harrison, Evansville Memorial and Jasper. 

Connersville leaves Sectional 22 which included Pendleton Heights, Greenfield-Central, New Castle, Beech Grove, Mt. Vernon, New Palestine and Richmond for Sectional 23. The new sectional will feature the Spartans, East Central, Edgewood, Greenwood, Jennings County, Martinsville, Shelbyville and Silver Creek. 

Columbia City leaves Sectional 19, which included DeKalb, Fort Wayne Wayne, East Noble, New Haven, Fort Wayne South, Leo and Angola for Sectional 20. The new sectional includes Columbia City, Frankfort, Huntington North, Jay County, Kokomo, Marion, Mississinewa and Western. 

Muncie Central had been in Sectional 20 with Kokomo, Marion, Frankfort, Jay County, Mississinewa, Huntington North and Western and will move to Sectional 22. The new sectional will include Beech Grove, Greenfield-Central, Pendleton Heights, Mt. Vernon, New Palestine, New Castle and Richmond. 

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Shelbyville had two runners earn personal-best times in the boys race and senior Hannah Wright finished 18^th in the girls race Saturday at the Franklin Invitational.

Wright crossed the finish line in 21 minutes, 12 seconds to just miss a podium finish. Also running for Shelbyville were Aerin Garcia-Santiago (24:33), Angel Kreider (26:48), Haylee Barnes (26:58) and Sonora O’Connor (27:35).

The Golden Bears finished 13^th in the team standings.

Logan Reinhart was the top Shelbyville finisher in the boys race. The sophomore placed 87^th overall in 19:24.

Gavin Harker (photo) produced a personal-best time of 20:35. Shia Veach was close behind at 20:47. Ben Hinojosa finished in 21:01 and Christian Powell earned a personal-best time of 21:31.

The Golden Bears were 14^th in the team standings.

In other prep events Saturday:

Cross country

Mt. Vernon Invitational

Morristown finished eighth in the boys’ race won by the host Marauders with 34 points.

Morristown was led by Lexi Singh’s 57^th-place finish in 20:41. Also competing for Morristown were Thane Cole (21:00), Luke Pearcy (21:06), Bradley Theobald (22:39) and Levi Stoddard (25:53).

Morristown had three participants in the girls’ race. Grace McLaughlin placed 44^th in 24:35. She was followed by Audrey Van Dyke (26:48) and Remi Spicklemire (32:21).

Rushville Classic

Southwestern’s Dakota Claiborne finished eighth in the Division II boys race in Rushville. He crossed the finish line in 19:19.

Also competing for Southwestern were Jackson Bentz (20:07), Chris Claiborne (21:47) and Ryan Wildman (33:37).

Southwestern’s Kyndra King finished the girls’ race in 37:03.

Running in the Division I boys race, Triton Central’s Liam Thompson placed 34^th with a time of 20:31. Nicholas Straber completed the course in 23:36.

Girls golf

Columbus East Invitational

Shelbyville placed sixth in the 11-team invitational at Otter Creek Golf Course after posting a team score of 458.

Bloomington South won the invitational with a 363. New Albany was runner-up at 364.

Playing for Shelbyville were Emmie Higgins (97), Riley Everette (107), Ava Essex (120) and Kylie Stader (134).

Boys soccer

Shelbyville Invitational

Aidan Helfer-Vazquez scored three goals to lead Shelbyville to a 4-3 victory over Indianapolis Shortridge to earn a berth in the championship game.

The Golden Bears scored three goals in the second half to get the victory. The only other goal scored came from Cris Tellez.

In the other semifinal, Tri-West defeated Batesville, 4-2.

Shortridge defeated Batesville, 4-3, in the consolation match to improve to 2-3 this season. Batesville is 3-2.

In the championship, Tri-West scored a goal in each half to secure a 2-1 victory over the Golden Bears (1-3). Rory O’Connor scored Shelbyville’s only goal.

Clark Marti and Cortland Williams each scored for Tri-West (2-4).

Nathan Tweedy took the loss in goal for the Golden Bears.

Morristown 6, Wapahani 1

At Morristown, the host Yellow Jackets scored three goals in each half to secure their first win of the season.

Wapahani’s lone goal in the first half came from Gabe Peters off an assist from Riley Swift.

Boys tennis

Delta 5, Shelbyville 0

Shelbyville suffered its first Hoosier Heritage Conference loss of the season to the Eagles.

Delta swept all five matches in straight sets.

Shelbyville’s Aiden Alton secured Shelbyville’s lone junior varsity match win.

Franklin Invitational

Waldron knocked off Martinsville, 5-0, then defeated Franklin in the championship match, 3-2.

Waldron got singles wins from Lucas Shaw and Charlie Fischer and a doubles victory from Jack Fischer and Jacob Lindsey to topple the Grizzly Cubs in the championship match.

Volleyball

Rising Sun def. Morristown, 25-9, 25-15, 25-20

At Rising Sun, Jenna Peelman led the Shiners (4-2) with eight kills and Alyssa Simpson and Tamryn Miller each had seven kills.

Kennedy Streeval topped Morristown (4-4) with four kills. Kindall Dorsey had a team-high nine digs.

Hagerstown Invitational

Triton Central split two matches at the Hagerstown Invitational.

The Tigers lost to Richmond, 25-18, 25-19. Abby Necessary had nine kills and Hannah Johnston and R’Javia Segrest each had seven kills to lead Richmond.

Audrey Chadwick had a team-high four kills for Triton Central. Kate Isley had eight digs and Hailey Harris finished with five assists.

Triton Central followed with a win over Hagerstown, 25-18, 25-22.

Brooklyn Bailey led the Tigers (4-5) with six kills. Gwyn Williams and Gracie Miller each had five kills. Harris and Isley combined for 17 assists.

Wapahani Invitational

Southwestern finished 1-2, winning its final contest over Muncie Central, 14-25, 25-22, 17-15. The Spartans improved to 2-8.

Southwestern opened against Wapahani and lost, 25-4, 25-8. Seton Catholic defeated the Spartans, 25-19, 16-25, 15-13.

Morristown def. Southwestern, 25-23, 26-24, 15-25, 28-26

At the Bee Hive Friday, Madison Espich had a team-high nine kills and added two service aces and had seven digs to lead Morristown to the Mid-Hoosier Conference victory.

Maycee Cole, Olivia Rude and Zoey Coons combined for 16 more kills to improve the Yellow Jackets’ record to 4-3 (1-1 MHC). Katie Theobald finished with 24 assists.

Southwestern dropped to 1-6 (0-1 MHC).

Steve Bush photo

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WALDRON – Waldron’s defense produced five turnovers and denied a pair of two-point conversions following touchdowns Saturday night to defeat Rock Creek Academy, 22-20.

The Mohawks improved to 2-0 in their second season playing 8-man football – a grass roots movement that is being tracked by the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA). There are seven teams from around the state of Indiana playing 8-man football this fall.

In its home opener Saturday, Waldron’s offense committed eight first-half penalties but its defense kept Rock Creek Academy (1-1) – also a second-year 8-man football program – off the scoreboard.

“(The first half) was rough but our defense was good,” said Waldron coach Corey Barton. “The offense was not so good with tons of penalties.”

Hunter Dodson had the first of three Waldron interceptions on Rock Creek Academy’s first offensive play of the game. Tad Crosby added an interception midway through the second quarter.

Despite the struggles, the visiting Lions took the lead in the final seconds of the first quarter when Jamarcus Hamilton scooped up a Waldron fumble and raced 45 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. The 2-point pass attempt from quarterback Zachary Clark to Zion Barnes was good and Rock Creek Academy had an 8-0 lead.

Following Crosby’s interception, Waldron’s offense took over at the Rock Creek Academy 23-yard line. Four plays later, Brandon Palmer (main photo) raced into the end zone for the Mohawks’ first touchdown. Walker Dodson was stuffed on the two-point conversion attempt.

Another turnover created by Waldron’s defense proved fruitful for the offense. Dodson, Waldron’s junior quarterback, connected with Crosby for a 24-yard gain that sparked a five-play drive that ended with fullback Trent Case catching a short pass from sophomore Hunter Dodson that gave Waldron its first lead of the game. Case rumbled into the end zone for the two-point conversion to make it 14-6.

Rock Creek Academy answered right back with a five-play, 65-yard drive that ended with Dylan Parente reaching the end zone from five yards out. Clark’s two-point attempt pass fell incomplete and the game was tied 14-all.

Waldron’s first possession of the fourth quarter went nowhere but a 59-yard punt pinned Rock Creek Academy down at its own 7. Parente, a bruising runner, took the handoff and battled for yardage, only to lose the ball that ended up under the six-foot-seven frame of Waldron’s Carson Smith.

Palmer (photo, with ball) scored his second touchdown of the game on the very next play and he added the two-point conversion with a scamper into the end zone for a 22-14 advantage.

“We just stuck with our senior Brandon Palmer. He was running hard and moving the chains,” said Barton, who is Waldron’s offensive coordinator.

Rock Creek Academy scored on a 40-yard pass from Clark to Barnes but Kylan Callahan knocked down the two-point pass attempt to keep the Mohawks in the lead, 22-20, with 4:10 to go.

Waldron pushed its way down the field with the clock running but was left with a fourth-and-1 play with just over one minute left on the scoreboard clock.

Case lined up for the snap at the Rock Creek Academy 8. One more first down would seal the win – but the snap sailed well over his head and resulted in a 21-yard loss and gave Rock Creek Academy one more chance.

Clark found Barnes again for a 20-yard gain to get to midfield. Clark’s next pass attempt, his 25^th of the game, fell incomplete.

On the next snap, Clark heaved the ball down the sideline but Hunter Dodson came down with the ball to seal the win.

“It was emotional but a win is a win,” said Barton. “We’re 2-0 and that’s something new at Waldron. We are undefeated going to the big fireworks night here next Saturday.”

Clark finished the game 9 of 26 passing for 138 yards and three interceptions. Parente carried the ball 19 times for 94 yards. Barnes had eight catches for 128 yards.

Waldron’s offense did just enough to win. Walker Dodson and Hunter Dodson combined to complete 4 of 13 pass attempts for 48 yards but the ground attack rolled up 218 yards.

Walker Dodson finished with 90 yards on 11 attempts. Palmer, who had two rushing touchdowns, had 62 yards rushing on 13 attempts. Hunter Dodson added 57 yards on 12 carries.

Waldron will host Purdue Poly at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Waldron Freedom Festival fireworks show that was postponed in July will follow the conclusion of the game.

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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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Class 2A, No. 2 Triton Central scored five first-quarter touchdowns Friday and cruised to a 36-7 victory over New Castle at Bud Mendenhall Field in Fairland.

Senior quarterback Jace Stuckey ran for a touchdown and passed for two more while senior Levi Dewey added a long punt return touchdown to improve the Tigers to 2-0.

Stuckey completed 17-of-24 pass attempts for 184 yards. He finished off TC’s first scoring drive with a one-yard run.

Ray Crawford reached the end zone from 14 yards out to extend the lead to 14-0. The senior running back had 33 yards rushing on six attempts.

Stuckey connected with Zeke Robertson on a three-yard touchdown strike to make it 21-0.

Dewey followed with a 60-yard punt return for a touchdown and completed his fourth extra-point kick attempt of the game for a 28-0 lead.

Brayden Wilkins delivered his second long-touchdown of the season with a 68-yard reception and score. Dewey ran in the two-point conversion. Wilkins finished the game with three catches for 86 yards.

Chase Chandler led the Tigers with five reception for 22 yards. Robertson had four catches for 29 yards.

New Castle’s lone score came in the fourth quarter on a 50-yard touchdown pass.

With the win, Triton Central’s week three matchup with Indianapolis Lutheran got even bigger. With Evansville Mater Dei’s 49-7 loss at Castle Friday, Triton Central should rise to the No. 1 team in Class 2A.

Indianapolis Lutheran, the top-ranked team in Class A, defeated Indianapolis Ritter, 49-12, Friday and will host Triton Central in week three.

The Saints have won 32 consecutive games.

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Waldron tennis celebrated its first home win of the season Thursday, 5-0 over a short-handed Morristown squad.

The Yellow Jackets forfeited both doubles matches and the Mohawks swept all three singles matches.

At No. 1 singles, Lucas Shaw improved to 4-0 this season with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Dalton McMichael.

Charlie Fischer also upped his record to 4-0 at No. 2 singles with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Eli Graves.

At No. 3 singles, Cash Young defeated Jacob Robey, 6-0, 6-0.

In other prep events Thursday:

Boys tennis

Triton Central 5, Southwestern 0

At Triton Central, the host Tigers (4-3) swept all five matches in straight sets.

At No. 1 singles, Tucker Hutchinson topped Kyle Beck, 6-0, 6-0.

Janssen Capps bested James Oliver at No. 2 singles, 6-1, 6-1.

And Max Crouse completed the singles matches sweep at No. 3 singles, 6-1, 6-0 over Josh Wenger.

At No. 1 doubles, Eli Sego and Joey Brosnan defeated Carter Snepp and Chris Cecil, 6-1, 6-0.

Ben Toth and Caleb McGuire secured a 6-1, 6-0 win over David Coulston and Caleb McDonald.

In the only junior varsity match, Triton Central’s Jett Sadler defeated Andrew Pile, 8-0.

Volleyball

North Central def. Shelbyville, 25-4, 25-8, 25-11

At Shelbyville, the host Golden Bears (1-5) dropped their fifth straight contest since a season-opening win at Southwestern.

Daya Vestal topped North Central (9-4) with 10 kills and two service aces. Alaleh Tolliver had eight kills and four aces.

With its third-straight win, North Central improved to 9-4.

Cascade def. Triton Central, 25-23, 25-21, 25-19

At Cascade, Gwyn Williams and Brooklyn Bailey each had five kills to lead Triton Central (3-4, 1-1 Indiana Crossroads Conference). Gracie Miller and Brylie Couch each had four kills.

Madi Peterson produced a team-high 20 digs while Kate Isley finished with 10 assists.

Cascade, led by Lilly Hall’s nine kills, improved to 6-4 overall and 1-1 in ICC contests.

Morristown def. Providence Cristo Rey, 25-2, 25-4, 25-14

At Morristown, the host Yellow Jackets ended a two-match losing streak with a dominant performance against the Wolves (0-2).

Morristown evened its season record at 3-3.

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Nestled snugly between Triton Central’s season-opening conference game and a marquee week three matchup against one of the state’s top football programs is New Castle.

The Class 3A Trojans made Triton Central earn a 21-14 road victory in 2022 and now travel to Fairland for the first time in program history for a rematch that will mark the end of the two-game series.

“You have to take them one at a time,” said Triton Central head coach Tim Able of keeping his team from looking ahead to the Sept. 1 game at Class A, No. 1 Indianapolis Lutheran. “If you overlook a team you don’t want to look back and regret it.”

Class 2A, No. 2 Triton Central rolled over Cascade one last time Friday, 42-13, in the season opener for both teams. Cascade is leaving the Indiana Crossroads Conference after the 2023-2024 school year. The Tigers won all five meetings with the Cadets since 2019.

Quarterback Jace Stuckey (photo) completed 15-of-21 pass attempts for 406 yards and five touchdowns in his senior season debut. He surpassed Jordan Crouse’s career passing yards mark of 4,226 yards to move up to No. 2 all-time at Triton Central. Stuckey, now at 4,554 yards trails only Luke Stephenson (5,116) in the record book.

The Tigers built a 35-0 lead before Cascade reached the end zone in the third quarter on a Toby Savini 2-yard run.

“We shut them down,” said Able. “Once we put in the second unit defense then they scored.”

New Castle quarterback Tyson Lewis threw for 142 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 126 yards and another score to lead the Trojans to a 26-21 season-opening win over Franklin County.

“Run and pass is always an option for him,” said Able. “We have to keep him in the pocket. We have to be aware he may scramble.”

Sophomore Tylin Thrine rushed for 39 yards and a touchdown and caught four passes for 35 yards. As a freshman, Thrine won the 126 pound state wrestling title for New Castle.

“They are trying to get their athletes the ball,” said Able.

Triton Central’s preseason opponent, Milan, and week one opposition Cascade operate run-heavy wing-T offenses. That won’t be the case with New Castle, which makes the matchup even more harrowing for Triton Central.

“We better be ready to match their intensity,” said Able (photo).

And not be thinking about a showdown with Lutheran, winners of 31 straight games and the last two state championship games in Class A. The Saints are at Indianapolis Ritter Friday. The Raiders have won just two of their last 19 games.

Lutheran defeated Triton Central, 54-41, in the 2022 contest at Mendenhall Field in Fairland.

QUICK FACTS:

New Castle at Class 2A, No. 2 Triton Central

Game time: 7 p.m. at Bud Mendenhall Field at Triton Central High School.

2023 record: New Castle 1-0; Triton Central 1-0.

Student theme: Hawaiian. Also, FTA football and cheer night with FTA players and cheerleaders in uniform admitted free as well as introduced on the field at halftime.

Sagarin ratings: New Castle 55.73, Triton Central 74.92. To predict off Sagarin ratings, compare ratings of the two teams and allow two additional points for the home team. Thus, Triton Central is a 21-point favorite Friday.

Head coaches: Kyle York, 26-39 in seventh year at New Castle; Tim Able, 91-35 in 11^th year at Triton Central; 216-133 in 30th year overall.

2022 record: New Castle 3-8; Triton Central 10-3.

Last year: Triton Central defeated New Castle in a first meeting for the two programs, 21-14. Link to Shelby County Post game story at https://shelbycountypost.com/sports/649805

Series: Triton Central leads the series 1-0. New Castle will make its first appearance at Bud Mendenhall Field Friday.

Around the ICC Friday: Cascade (0-1, 0-1 ICC) at Beech Grove (0-1, 0-1); Class A, No. 1 Indianapolis Lutheran (1-0, 1-0) at Indianapolis Ritter (0-1, 0-1); Class 2A, No. 5 Indianapolis Scecina (1-0) at Speedway (1-0); Phalen Academy (1-0) at Monrovia (1-0, 1-0).

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Shelbyville’s No. 1 doubles team stayed undefeated this season and the Golden Bears secured their first Hoosier Heritage Conference win of the season.

On Wednesday at Mt. Vernon High School, Shelbyville swept the singles matches against Yorktown while Karson Schaf and Aiden Smith improved to 7-0 as doubles partners this season.

Schaf and Smith prevailed 7-5, 6-2 at No. 1 doubles.

At No. 1 singles, Reece Prickett was victorious 6-4, 6-2 to improve his record to 4-3 this season.

Caden Claxton also improved to 4-3 with a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles.

Wyatt Armstrong secured his first varsity win of the season at No. 3 singles, 5-7, 6-0, 10-7.

Yorktown’s lone match win came at No. 2 doubles over Alex Bunton and Gavin Reed, 5-7, 6-3, 10-8.

In other prep events Wednesday:

Girls golf

Triton Central 245, Oldenburg Academy Inc.

At Hawk’s Tail Golf Course, Kennedy Hall scored a 58 to lead Triton Central to the win.

Also competing for TC were Hanna Fink (62), Olivia Williams (62), Lindsay Huxford (63) and Jaylee Davis (65).

Volleyball

Connersville def. Shelbyville 24-26, 25-17, 25-20, 25-18

At Connersville, the host Spartans lost the first set but rallied to finish off Shelbyville in four sets.

Connersville improved to 3-5 while the Golden Bears lost their fourth straight to fall to 1-4.

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The celebration Friday after Shelbyville’s 39-14 win at Greensburg was well earned. On Saturday, the Golden Bears, who have not won more than one game in a season since 2017, arrived at McKeand Stadium and went right back to work.

“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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Strong Tide made a strong move through traffic in the stretch and rallied home for another win in the $100,000 Bucchero Wednesday at Horseshoe Indianapolis in Shelbyville.

Guided by Joe Ramos, the six-year-old earned his fourth career stakes win and his second in the Bucchero run at one and one-sixteenth miles over the turf.

Starting from post four, Strong Tide (photo) got away in mid pack as Akamai and Rodney Prescott established themselves as the early leaders. Horses were bunched up tight in the first turn, causing Strong Tide to take it up a notch and get a better position inside to run. Down the backstretch, Mansfield Tiger and Sammy Bermudez were pressing the pace along the outside of Akamai with the remainder of the field staying close heading into the final turn.

In the stretch, Jeopardy Theory and Fernando De La Cruz had made their way from the inside path to the outside to make one final run. That opened up some room along the inside for Strong Tide to move through horses. Midway through the stretch, three horses were across the turf course vying for the lead. Strong Tide dug in a little deeper in the final strides for the win by a half length over Jeopardy Theory for second. Cash Logistics and James Graham finished third in the three-horse photo.

Strong Tide paid $3.40 to win as the race favorite. He is a homebred horse from the Mike and Penny Lauer operation. He earned his 10^th career win and now has more than $760,000 on his card to move himself up into the top five all-time leading Indiana breds by earnings in state history.

“This horse is as easy and laid back as can be,” said Mike Lauer, who also conditioned his mother, Dreamin Big, to numerous stakes wins in Indiana. “A five-year-old could walk him around. He’s very easy to work with.”

Strong Tide is well traveled and has wins at three different racetracks, including Churchill Downs and Oaklawn Park. The Graded Stakes placed turf specialist came into the race from competing in the Grade 1 $1 million Arlington Million, which was moved to Colonial Downs. It was the first time Ramos, 2022 Leading Jockey at Horseshoe Indianapolis, had been aboard the veteran racehorse.

“I thank God for this, and I thank Mr. Mike (Lauer) for giving me this opportunity on such a nice horse,” said Ramos. “We got a beautiful trip today. In the first turn, we were in a tight position, and I grabbed him a little to put him in the clear, but at the half, he was dragging me wanting to go on. When we got to the three-quarter pole, I was looking where to go. Once we found a way to go, he took off and did his thing. He’s such a classy horse. He knows where the wire is. He knows how to win.”

Louder Than Words

Louder Than Words earned her first career stakes win Wednesday in the 20^th running of the Peony at Horseshoe Indianapolis. The four-year-old filly has become a seasoned racehorse this year and is now on a four-race win streak with jockey Sammy Bermudez aboard.

Starting from post three in the one and one-sixteenth mile turf event, Louder Than Words (photo) held her ground early in the bulky field of 11 along the inside and got away in fifth as Sassy Katie and Eddie Perez moved out to lead the way through the first turn. Buried along the inside, racing room seemed to be the theme for Louder Than Words during the event. Around the final turn, she was still locked in along the inside, but Bermudez kept calm, waiting for the right opportunity to get out and get going.

In the stretch, that opportunity appeared and Bermudez was able to move Louder Than Words out and around opponents. Once clear, the Puerto Rican-born jockey asked her for a late kick and the filly gave it, striding by the last two horses late in the race to win by two and one-half lengths. Sassy Katie held her ground inside for second while Timeless Rose, a stablemate to Louder Than Words, moved in between horses for third for Fernando De La Cruz.

“This filly has been running great this year,” said Bermudez. “The first time out, she got outrun but it was by a nice horse (Bluelightspecial). After that, she woke up and she’s been great. Early on today, I was just trying to keep her up there, but we were inside the whole way. Around the turn, I was looking to for a spot to open up. Just past the quarter pole, we had a shot to get out and she took off. She raced really great today.”

Louder Than Words paid $16 for the win. The daughter of Mr Speaker, who was purchased for $4,700 in 2020 from the Indiana Mixed Fall Sale now has in excess of $350,000 on her card for owners Michael J. Wern, Bob Dhondt and Tony Granitz, who oversees the training duties of the filly.

“She put it all together today,” said Granitz. “I felt Timeless Rose was the one to beat, but today it was Louder Than Words’ day. She has really matured this year and she just keeps getting better and better with every start. I told Sammy (Bermudez) she was going to come rolling so to save her for the end. He timed it perfect. The race set up with a good pace today, too, for her to close.”

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Six different Triton Central players combined for 30 kills Tuesday to lead the Tigers to their first Indiana Crossroads Conference win of the season.

Gwyn Williams (six kills), Brooklyn Bailey (6), Brylie Couch (6), Audrey Chadwick (4), Lucy May (4) and Gracie Miller (4) led a balanced offensive attack that produced a 25-14, 25-13, 25-13 win over Beech Grove.

Triton Central improved to 3-3 (1-0 ICC) while Beech Grove dropped to 0-3 (0-2 ICC).

Hailey Harris had a team-high five service aces. Bailey added four aces. Williams finished with a team-high 11 digs. Kate Isley netted 13 assists.

In other prep events Tuesday:

Boys soccer

Martinsville 5, Shelbyville 0

At Martinsville, four different Artesians scored goals to drop Shelbyville to 0-2 this season.

Martinsville improved to 3-0.

The Artesians won the junior varsity contest, 3-0.

Girls soccer

Lawrenceburg 3, Shelbyville 1

At Shelbyville, Ella Johnson scored Shelbyville’s lone goal in its first loss of the season.

The Golden Bears are 2-1.

Boys tennis

Seymour 4, Shelbyville 1

At Seymour, Shelbyville’s No. 1 doubles pairing of Karson Schaf and Aiden Smith produced the only match win, 6-4, 6-1.

Reece Prickett lost a No. 1 singles match in three sets, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

Wyatt Armstrong and the doubles pairing of Jack VanWye and Kashton Laycock scored junior varsity match victories.

Shelbyville is 3-3 this season.

Heritage Christian 3, Triton Central 2

In a tightly-contested match, Triton Central could not secure a third win.

Janssen Capps defeated Heritage Christian’s James Vandeventer at No. 2 singles, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 10-8.

At No. 2 doubles, Triton Central’s Ben Toth and Caleb McGuire bested Carson Wilhite and Ian Harney, 6-1, 6-3.

Max Crouse and Tucker Hutchinson lost singles matches with Hutchinson falling at No. 1 singles to Zach Lemming, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.

At No. 1 doubles, TC’s Joey Brosnan and Eli Sego retired in the third set with the match score at 3-6, 7-5 (5), 1-1.

Triton Central got junior varsity wins from Connor Evans and the doubles teams of Brayden Hoover and Connor McGuire, Drayton Kermode and Derreck Uhls, and Colton Ayres and Owen Rice.

Triton Central is 3-3 this season.

Waldron 5, Milan 0

At Milan, the trio of Lucas Shaw, Charlie Fischer and Caiden Young lost a total of seven games while sweeping the singles matches.

At No. 1 doubles, Jacob Lindsey and Jack Fischer topped Ben Miller and Carson Doolittle, 6-0, 6-0.

Conner Hinchman and Matthew Thomas defeated Wyatt Phelps and Langston Huneke, 6-3, 6-1 at No. 2 doubles.

Volleyball

Edinburgh def. Morristown, 25-8, 27-25, 26-24

At Edinburgh, the host Lancers (4-6, 1-1 Mid-Hoosier Conference) avenged a loss to the Yellow Jackets from earlier this season.

Morristown defeated Edinburgh on Aug. 12 in the season-opening invitational for both programs.

Morristown won the junior varsity match, 19-25, 25-17, 18-16.

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Indiana high school athletics has more than its share of well-known traditions, though the pursuit of game officials tends to settle quietly into the background.

However, it, too, remains a most vital component in order for every one of the 22 sports sanctioned by the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) to complete its season as seamlessly as possible.

The IHSAA in an effort to not only expand its pool of officials, but broaden each individual’s knowledge, is working with RefReps, which offers comprehensive online officiating education courses that include an interactive training video, instructor guides, assessments and more.

RefReps’ mission is to educate the next generation of high school sports officials so that he or she is best equipped with the skills necessary before confidently setting foot on the football field, wrestling mat, softball diamond, etc.

“What is unique about Indiana is it was the first state to pilot this in the high schools,” said Kyle Armstrong, founder and CEO of RefReps, which is now in its third year. “In the spring of 2022, we had seven high schools pilot this, and, if you fast-forward to today, we’ll be in around 500 schools in 33 different states.”

Representing Indiana on the ground floor of this effort were, in alphabetical order, Avon, Bedford North Lawrence, Brownsburg, Kokomo, Mitchell, Pioneer and South Bend Adams.

The number grew to 51 Indiana high schools incorporating RefReps during the 2022-2023 school year; in excess of 100 are expected to take part this school year.

“If you look at the trajectory of licensed officials in Indiana from the 2015-2016 school year to 2016-2017, it went up by 43 officials,” said Armstrong. “That was the last year the number went up, and every year up to 2021-2022, it had dropped by over 1,000 officials.

“It had gone down, down, down, down, down, and, boom, we do the pilot program, and it goes up by over 300 officials,” said Armstrong.

The global outbreak of COVID-19 eliminated all high school sports in Indiana during the 2020 spring season, decreasing the number of officials to 5,829 during the uncertain times surrounding the 2021-2022 school year.

A comeback of sorts took place in 2022-2023 with the number rising to 6,158.

Compare this to the 2016-2017 school year in which there were 6,907 officials. There was a time, according to IHSAA Assistant Commissioner Brian Lewis, where that total regularly exceeded 7,000 officials.

RefReps is helping push these numbers back up.

“The two years following COVID, we saw a big drop. Many officials paused during COVID and then never returned. We are beginning to see an increased number of officials, but we must continue to get the next generation of officials started,” said Lewis. “There is a myriad of reasons for the official shortage across the country.”

We have a shortage of officials because there are more contests being played, whether it’s travel ball or something else. The average age of officials is upwards of 54 years old, so as they retire, are we getting enough of the next generation involved?”

The uncertainty brought on by a pandemic played a role in the decrease in officials.

However, other factors trickled in. One being persons no longer wanting to subject themselves to hostile fan bases.

“I think part of it is we went through a two-year span of contests not being played or fans being limited,” said Lewis. “People were at home. They were sitting in their house. We come out of that, and sportsmanship, egregious behavior has just been off the charts. We are seeing it more in the travel world, and in the AAU world, but it’s starting to sneak into education-based athletics. Officials, prefer to officiate in an education-based system because we have administrators and staff who can control that atmosphere a little bit.”

Using RefReps in state high schools and colleges enables Indiana to cast a wider net than before in gauging the interest of young people interested in becoming a high school official.

According to Armstrong, the program is extremely flexible in that it can be taught.

“Most high schools will have an actual stand-alone sports officiating class,” he said. “The second option is to take our materials and use them in the pre-existing physical education classes.”

For more information, prospective high school officials can go to refreps.com.

“We want to increase the number of new officials, but I’ll get calls all the time saying you need to lower your expectations, or you need to lower your standards, and we’re not going to do that,” said Lewis. “We hold our officials to a very high standard, and we are not going to sacrifice those standards to increase numbers. We are in the business of education-based athletics and the business of kids.”

“We have different requirements when it comes to tournament eligibility, but we’re looking at ways to give younger officials the ability to advance in the officiating world to make that a little bit easier.”

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Four different Tigers scored to lead Triton Central to its first Indiana Crossroads Conference win of the season.

Brynne Aukerman, Lucy Spall, Elaina Maurice and Kennedy Brown each scored goals in the first half to propel Triton Central to a 4-0 victory Monday at Beech Grove.

Vivian Blye and Ariel Walker had assists and goalkeeper Cheyenne Allen was credited with five saves to preserve the shutout and push Triton Central’s record to 2-0 (1-0 ICC).

Beech Grove is 1-2 (0-2 ICC).

In other prep events Monday:

Boys Tennis

Edinburgh 5, Morristown 0

At Edinburgh, the visiting Yellow Jackets were forced to forfeit both doubles matches due to lack of eligible players while the Lancers swept the singles matches.

At No. 1 singles, Austin Brockman defeated Morristown’s Dalton McMichael, 6-4, 6-0.

Milan Burkman secured a No. 2 singles victory, 6-2, 6-2 over Michael Ballinger.

And Bailey Totten swept Eli Graves, 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3 singles.

Morristown’s Jacob Robey won three junior varsity matches against three different Lancers.

Waldron 5, Tri 0

At Tri, Lucas Shaw completed a comeback to win the No. 1 singles match and preserve the sweep for the Mohawks.

Shaw rallied to top Caleb Steele, 6-2, 2-6, 10-8.

Charlie Fischer and Caiden Young each won singles matches, 6-0, 6-0.

At No. 1 doubles, Jacob Lindsey and Jack Fischer defeated Jacob Beckendohl and Charlie Moffett, 7-5, 6-0.

And Conner Hinchman and Jackson Kuhn bested Mason Cole and Jacob Hamelton at No. 2 doubles, 6-1, 6-1.

Triton Central 5, Speedway 0

At Speedway, the visiting Tigers only lost a total of seven games in sweeping the Sparkplugs.

At No. 1 singles, Tucker Hutchinson defeated Hunter Woodlock, 6-1, 6-0. Janssen Capps was successful at No. 2 singles over Ryan Hutchek, 6-0, 6-2. And Max Crouse dominated Alasdair Curts at No. 3 singles, 6-0, 6-0.

At No. 1 doubles, Eli Sego and Joey Brosnan bested Camden Outlaw and Corbin Woodlock, 6-2, 6-1.

Caleb McGuire and Connor Evans defeated Alex Burgos and Ethan Lowe at No. 2 doubles, 6-0, 6-1.

Winning junior varsity matches for Triton Central were Bryce Toth and the doubles pairings of Brayden Hoover and Connor McGuire, Wyatt Fisher and Derreck Uhls, and Drayton Kermode and Jett Sadler.

Triton Central is 3-2 this season.

Volleyball

Yorktown def. Shelbyville, 25-10, 25-8, 25-7

At Yorktown, the visiting Golden Bears struggled to get the offense in gear and suffered their first Hoosier Heritage Conference loss of the season.

Charlotte Vinson led the Tigers (4-1, 1-0 HHC) with 13 kills and two service aces. Marin Hopkins finished with eight kills while the setters – Maddie Cabrera (19 assists) and Kynnadi Ball (15) – combined for 34 assists.

Yorktown won the junior varsity match, 25-6, 25-17.

Shelbyville is 1-3 (0-1 HHC).

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Triton Central remains the No. 2 ranked team in Class 2A.

The Indiana Football Coaches Association’s weekly football poll was released Monday and the Tigers held steady at No. 2 following a 41-13 season-opening win at Cascade.

Evansville Mater Dei, the defending Class 2A state champions, opened the season with a 35-12 win over Evansville Central to maintain the top ranking in the class.

Lafayette Central Catholic is third in the 2A poll ahead of Eastbrook, Indianapolis Scecina, Andrean, Linton-Stockton, Brownstown Central, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers and LaVille.

Three of the top 10 teams – Triton Central, Scecina and Brownstown Central -- will compete in Sectional 39 at the conclusion of the regular season.

Indianapolis Lutheran, winner of 31 straight games, stayed on top of the Class A poll with a 50-0 win over Beech Grove Friday. The Saints host Triton Central on Sept. 1.

Adams Central is No. 2 in Class A followed by North Judson, North Decatur, Carroll (Flora), South Putnam, Park Tudor, Sheridan, Providence and South Adams.

Chatard is No. 1 in Class 3A followed by Guerin Catholic, Lawrenceburg, West Lafayette, Gibson Southern, Tri-West, Hanover Central, Western Boone, Heritage Hills and Oak Hill.

East Central, the defending Class 4A state champions, rolled over 3A No. 3 Lawrenceburg Friday, 42-7, to maintain the top ranking.

Roncalli is No. 2 ahead of Evansville Reitz, Kokomo, New Palestine, Evansville Memorial, Northwood, Columbia City, Northridge and Brebeuf Jesuit.

The top-ranked team in Class 5A is Fort Wayne Snider. In pursuit are Merrillville, Bloomington South, Valparaiso, Mishawaka, Decatur Central, Harrison (West Lafayette), Concord and Bloomington North.

Center Grove’s 27-10 season-opening loss to St. Edward (Ohio) knocked the Trojans from the top spot in Class 6A.

Ben Davis is the new No. 1 with Center Grove at No. 2 followed by Cathedral, Hamilton Southeastern, Brownsburg, Westfield, Carmel, Fishers, Penn and Carroll (Allen).

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Waldron dominated the fourth quarter Saturday night to score a season-opening 44-22 victory over Faith Christian in the debut of the 8-man football season.

The Mohawks built a 14-0 lead at halftime at Lafayette Jefferson High School, site of Faith Christian’s first-ever 8-man football game. The hosts rallied in the third quarter to tie the game at 22-all before allowing Waldron, in its second season of 8-man football, to score 22 unanswered fourth-quarter points.

Waldron quarterback Walker Dodson completed four passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns while running backs Hunter Dodson and Brandon Palmer each went over the 100-yard mark.

Hunter Dodson rushed for 130 yards and three touchdowns while receiver Tad Crosby had four catches for 148 yards and three touchdowns.

“We had some big plays,” said Waldron coach Corey Barton. “We had good balance between passing and rushing.”

Waldron rotated a trio of quarterbacks under center in the first half with both Dodsons and Trent Case taking snaps.

“They all offer something a little different,” said Barton, who serves as offensive coordinator for Waldron. Chandler Miller returned for a second season as defensive coordinator.

The three-headed quarterback platoon finished 6-of-9 passing for 177 yards and four touchdowns Saturday.

Walker Dodson, a junior, played quarterback in Waldron’s inaugural season and is the most experienced of the three.

“Walker is a playmaker,” said Barton. “He makes things happen.”

Hunter Dodson, a sophomore, and Palmer, a senior, along with Walker Dodson netted 273 yards rushing in their 2023 debut.

“Once we got going, we couldn’t be stopped on offense,” said Barton.

Waldron’s three-man starting offensive line Saturday included sophomore Dom Bonar at center and senior R.J. Fleener and freshman Luke Meyer flanking him.

“Our pass protection is a lot better than last year,” said Barton.

Waldron played without sophomore wide receiver J.D. Smith Saturday, who missed the game with an illness. New this year to the program is Shelbyville transfer Kylan Callahan. The junior had two catches for 29 yards against Faith Christian, one of seven teams fielding 8-man football programs in 2023.

Other schools competing at the 8-man level are Rock Creek Academy, Purdue Poly, Traders Point Academy, Dugger Union and Indiana Deaf – who finished 8-2 in 2022 playing IHSAA traditional 11-man football.

The teams with the four best records at the end of the regular season will meet in postseason semifinal contests in mid-October. An 8-man football champion will be crowned on Oct. 21.

Waldron’s next three games are at home against Rock Creek Academy Saturday at 6 p.m. (Admission is $5 for adults); Purdue Poly on Sept. 2; and Traders Point Academy on Sept. 9.

Road games follow at Dugger Union (Sept. 16), Indiana Deaf (Sept. 23) and Rock Creek Academy (Sept. 30).

The Mohawks’ final game of the regular season is at home Oct. 7 against Dugger Union.

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Shelbyville girls soccer opened its Hoosier Heritage Conference schedule Saturday with an impressive 11-0 victory at New Castle.

Ava Wilson scored four goals and Hannah Baker had three goals as the Golden Bears improved to 2-0 this season. Also scoring for Shelbyville Saturday were Cyanne St. Bernard (two goals), Lilly Marshall and Ella Johnson.

Macy Cooley was credited with four saves in goal to preserve the shutout against New Castle (1-2, 0-1 HHC).

In other prep events Saturday:

Girls Golf
Mooresville Invitational

At The Links at Heartland Crossing, the pairs format required two golfers working together for one score.

For Shelbyville, Emmie Higgins and Kylie Stader combined to shoot 103 over 18 holes. Riley Everette and Ava Essex matched that effort at 103.

Boys Soccer

Southwestern 7, Hauser 1

At Southwestern, Jaime Gutierrez DeMessa scored three goals to propel Class A, No. 16 Southwestern to its first Mid-Hoosier Conference win of the season.

DeMessa scored twice in the first half to give the Spartans a 4-0 halftime advantage. His third goal came in the game’s 51^st minute just after Hauser’s Lakota Robbins scored on a penalty kick.

Also finding the back of the net for Southwestern (3-0) were Tucker Simmons, Eli Stone, Benjamin Kahler and Cecil Newton. Simmons also had a pair of assists in the win.

Girls Soccer

Triton Central 3, Connersville 1

At Triton Central, Elaina Maurice scored twice and Abby Byrd scored to lead the Tigers to a win in their season opener.

Boys Tennis

Golden Bear Invitational

Indianapolis Chatard defeated Shelbyville, Alexandria and Batesville to claim the championship in the inaugural Mama Jan Golden Bear Invitational.

Played in honor of Jan Asher, who passed away April 25, the event also served as a fundraiser for the Shelbyville/Shelby County Animal Shelter (photo).

The host Golden Bears defeated Batesville, 3-2, and Alexandria, 4-1, but lost to Chatard, 3-2, dropping all three singles matches.

Both of Shelbyville’s doubles teams finished 3-0 in the invitational. At No. 1 doubles, Karson Schaf and Aiden Smith lost seven games total in sweeping three matches. Alex Bunton and Gavin Reed were just as dominant, dropping just three games while going 3-0 at No. 2 doubles.

Greenwood Invitational

Triton Central finished 1-2 at Greenwood and now sits at 2-2 this season.

The Tigers lost to Terre Haute North, 5-0, and Greenwood, 4-1, but secured a 5-0 victory over Roncalli.

Against Roncalli, Tucker Hutchinson rallied for a 2-6, 7-5, 10-8 win at No. 1 singles over Chris Stanley to complete the sweep. Janssen Capps and Max Crouse lost a total of three games in winning at No. 2 singles and No. 3 singles, respectively.

At No. 1 doubles, Eli Sego and Joey Brosnan defeated Andrew Heiden and Charlie Baker, 6-1, 6-1. Ben Toth and Caleb McGuire topped Ben Workman and Jacob Coppinger, 6-0, 6-2 at No. 2 doubles.

Volleyball

Batesville def. Shelbyville, 25-15, 25-15, 25-16

At Batesville, Maggie Wilson and Reesa Zimmerman each had nine kills to improve Batesville to 2-0 this season. Wilson also had a team-high nine digs.

Ava Powner and Molly Meer each had 13 assists.

Shelbyville dropped to 1-2 this season.

Shenandoah Invitational

Southwestern defeated the host Raiders and Seton Catholic to reach the championship match where it was defeated by Eastern Hancock, 25-14, 25-16.

Southwestern’s Tanna Tatlock and Riley Engel (photo) were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Covenant Christian Invitational

Triton Central lost to Covenant Christian (17-25, 25-19, 15-8) and Marquette Catholic (17-25, 25-19, 25-10) but defeated Herron, 22-25, 25-23, 15-11 to finish 1-2. The Tigers are 2-3 this season.

Against Herron (2-5), Gracie Miller had a team-high seven kills and three more Tigers had five kills apiece in a balanced effort. Gwyn Williams finished with 10 digs and Hailey Harris (10 assists) and Kate Isley (11) combined for 21 assists.

Cross Country

Plainfield Relays

The partner relay format required two runners to complete a 3-mile course with the combined time setting the finishing position.

Shelbyville’s top pairing in the boys race was Logan Reinhart (photo) and Blake Hughes, who finished 56^th overall in 34 minutes, 52 seconds. Also competing for the Golden Bears were Gavin Harker and Jonah Anspaugh (37:58) and Shia Veach and Everett Stegemiller (38:13).

In the girls race, Shelbyville’s Hannah Wright and Aerin Garcia-Santiago (photo) placed 39^th overall in 41:16. Also representing the Golden Bears in their season-opening event were Angel Kreider and Cora Flynn (44:45) and Sonora O’Connor and Haylee Barnes (45:40).

Indian Creek Invitational

Waldron’s boys squad (photo) finished third overall with three runners finishing in the top 15.

Will Larrison was fifth in 17:22. He was followed across the finish line by Jared Crosby (10^th in 18:16), Sam Jones (15^th in 20:45), Max Jones (24^th in 24:14), Cole Jones (28^th in 28:24) and Jack Adkins (30^th in 32:13).

Waldron only had two participants in the girls event. Riley Price finished ninth in 24:25 and Sophie Hudnall placed 14^th in 27:51.

Jeremy Wright Small School Invitational

At Blue River Memorial Park in Shelbyville, with four runners placing in the top 10, Milan captured the boys team title with 56 points. Hauser was fifth (209 points) and Morristown finished 18^th (429) while Southwestern and Triton Central did not field complete teams.

Milan’s Benjamin Riehle won the race in 17:05.

Dakota Claiborne led Southwestern with a 47^th-place finish in 19:56. Morristown’s Maxamillion Compton (20:31) and Lakshdeep Sighn (20:32) placed 66^th and 67^th, respectively. Triton Central’s Liam Thompson finished 84^th in 20:59.

Centerville had three runners in the top 10 to hold off Indy Genesis Homeschool, 63-81, to win the girls team title. Morristown and Southwestern did not field complete teams.

Blue River Valley’s Charlee Gibson won the girls race in 21:00.

Morristown’s Audrey Van Dyke finished 26^th in 24:17. Southwestern was led by Maxine Higdon (108^th in 30:30).

Morristown (photo) secured the girls junior high team title for the third year in a row with 85 points. Southwestern (Hanover) (113), Triton Central (130), Blue River Valley (137) and South Adams (140) completed the top five. Southwestern was 13^th (310).

Savannah Nusbaum of Southwestern (Hanover) won the girls’ 3K race in 12:24.

Morristown’s Jo Kuhn was fourth in 13:13. Also running for Morristown were Brooke Kuhn (15^th in 13:53), Gracie Theobald (21^st in 14:06), Chloe Theobald (27^th in 14:22), Sawyer Rogers (28^th in 14:34), Bailey Willard (47^th in 15:41) and Madison Richardson (107^th in 18:18).
Triton Central’s top finisher was Sawyor Murdick (23^rd in 14:06).

Shelbyville cross country photos by Steve Bush.

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Due to excessive heat predictions and warnings for Central Indiana this week, Horseshoe Indianapolis is adjusting post times for Wednesday and moving Thursday's racing card to Monday.

Post time for Wednesday will move up to 10 a.m. to avoid the hottest times of the day. The final race of the day will have an estimated post time of 2:30 p.m. Scratch time for Wednesday’s racing program will be noon Tuesday.

The racing program for Thursday will be moved to Monday. First post for the Monday program will begin at 2:30 p.m.

“Safety for our equine athletes and all the individuals who work outdoors during our racing program always comes first at Horseshoe Indianapolis,” said Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager of Racing. “After reviewing weather predictions for this week that includes excessive heat warnings, we want to be proactive and get the necessary changes in place. We wanted to avoid any cancellations of racing days as our horsemen work hard to get their horses ready to race and a cancellation directly impacts their business operations. We feel by moving post times and racing dates, it should be a better environment for everyone involved.”

Live racing will still be held Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. as planned. 

GREENSBURG – Shelbyville football turned the clock back to 2017 Friday with an overwhelming season-opening victory at Greensburg.

Senior quarterback Eli Chappelow (photo) ran for the Golden Bears’ first touchdown of the season then threw for five more touchdowns in a 39-14 victory that ended a five-game losing streak to the Pirates dating back to the program’s last winning season in 2017.

“It was fun, especially at halftime. We never experienced that – being up 26-0,” said Chappelow. “That was exhilarating. Then to come out in the second half and keep doing what we were doing.”

Penalties hampered Shelbyville’s first offensive series Friday but Chappelow produced four quick scoring drives to close out the first half and put the football program in a dominant position it has not been in for more than half a decade.

And when Greensburg found momentum in the second half with an immediate touchdown, rather than crumble, the offense marched 65 yards on 12 plays and ate more than five minutes off the game clock to score on a fifth-straight possession and make it 32-7.

“Give the seniors some credit. At halftime, they were saying we have to keep rolling. They were saying we have to keep going,” said Scott Fitzgerald, who earned his first win as Shelbyville head coach after a long stint as the Golden Bears’ offensive coordinator -- that ended in 2017. “I loved that they are all going by what we are all preaching to them. It’s play by play. Even when they make a big play, reset and let’s go play.”

Prior to the game, Greensburg celebrated its new look Shriver Field at Pirate Stadium by dedicating the new synthetic playing surface and scoreboard.

Chappelow (photo) will go down in history as scoring the first touchdown on the new turf. He took off from the Greensburg 16-yard line, found the corner and put a shoulder in to a Pirates defensive back. Chappelow won that battle and kept going down the sideline for the game’s first score. Aiden Helfer-Vazquez’s extra-point kick failed – an issue throughout the game as three point-after kicks were unsuccessful.

Following an Axel Conover interception (photo) – one of two that Shelbyville’s defense produced in the win, Chappelow heaved a ball deep down the field for Conover to run under. The senior was dragged down at the Greensburg 13 and two plays later Chappelow hit Luke Brinkman in the back of the end zone for the receiver’s first career touchdown and a 13-0 lead.

Chappelow needed just six plays total on his team’s next two possessions to throw two more touchdown passes to Brinkman (photo) – the first 46 yards and the second 57.

Chappelow tossed two second-half touchdowns – 19 yards to Conover and six yards to Grantland Fitzgerald that ended the game’s scoring.

In the win, Chappelow completed 13-of-20 pass attempts for 283 yards. He also rushed for 47 yards on 11 carries.

Brinkman finished with four catches for 128 yards while Conover (photo) had six receptions for 129.

Donavon Martin and Luke Jackson split 18 carries in the backfield for 99 yards.

Greensburg running back Kaden Acton, who ran for 152 yards in his team’s 2022 win over Shelbyville, collected 121 yards Friday and his team’s only two touchdowns, but he was rendered ineffective in the first half when he was held to 30 yards.

“(The defense) played awesome,” said Fitzgerald. “So many different names. We preach that all the time. It’s 11 hats to the ball. Do your job, read your key and do your job and I saw that so many times tonight.”

Greensburg sophomore quarterback Bryson Abplanalp completed just 13-of-28 pass attempts for 106 yards and two interceptions while under a lot of pressure from Shelbyville’s interior linemen and linebackers.

The Golden Bears, who ended a six-game losing streak and secured their first road win since Oct. 13, 2017 at Pendleton Heights, are coming home to a new-look McKeand Stadium for a week two meeting with Rushville, who lost 27-20 Friday at Milan Friday.

Shelbyville will debut its own new synthetic turf that is expected to get its first use Monday for a junior varsity contest.

Steve Bush photos.

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Jace Stuckey threw for 401 yards and four touchdowns Friday to lead Class 2A, No. 2 Triton Central to a 41-13 victory at Cascade.

The senior quarterback connected with Brayden Wilkins (74 yards), Mason Compton (24 yards), Zeke Robertson (20 yards) and Levi Dewey (15 yards) on scoring throws while Ray Crawford and Wilkins each had rushing touchdowns in the Indiana Crossroads Conference victory.

The Tigers improved to 5-0 against Cascade in ICC contests.

On Friday, Triton Central jumped out to a 21-0 lead after one quarter and added a Wilkins’ 5-yard scoring run in the second quarter to build a 28-0 halftime advantage.

The lead grew to 35-0 when Stuckey hit Robertson (photo) for his third touchdown scoring strike.

Toby Savini got the Cadets on the scoreboard with a 2-yard run that cut the lead to 35-7.

Dewey (photo) collected his first touchdown reception of the season in the fourth quarter that closed out the scoring.

Crawford led the rushing attack with 67 yards on 14 carries. Stuckey ran for 30 yards on four attempts.

Chase Chandler had a team-high 84 yards receiving.

Triton Central will host New Castle in week two at Mendenhall Field. The Trojans defeated Franklin County Friday, 26-21.

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Tucker Simmons and Benjamin Kahler each had hat tricks to lead Class A, No. 16 Southwestern to a 9-0 win Thursday at Anderson Prep.

The Spartans (2-0) got a pair of first-half goals from Jaime Gutierrez DeMessa, Simmons and Kahler to help build a 7-0 halftime advantage. Michel Weisser also scored in the first half.

Simmons and Kahler added second-half goals to complete their hat tricks.

Weisser had three assists. Demessa assisted on two goals.

Michael Clements had two saves in goal for the shutout victory.

Southwestern is home Saturday at 10 a.m. to face Hauser.

In other prep events Thursday:

Girls golf

Whiteland 192, Shelbyville 237

At The Legends Golf Course, Chloe Cooper led the host Warriors with a 40 to earn the medalist honor. Kylie McGovern backed her with a 46.

Emmie Higgins topped Shelbyville’s scorecard with a 52. Ava Essex followed at 59.

Boys soccer

Triton Central 2, Morristown 0

Triton Central’s first-year soccer program earned its first victory.

The Tigers are 1-1 this season. Morristown fell to 0-1.

Girls soccer

Shelbyville 5, Franklin 4

Shelbyville tallied three second-half goals to earn its first win of the season, and first win for new head coach Stephanie Munger.

Franklin dropped to 0-1-1 this season.

Volleyball

Hagerstown def. Morristown, 25-14, 24-26, 25-19, 20-25, 15-11

At Hagerstown, Raleigh Doerstler led Hagerstown (2-0) with 18 kills.

Hattie Hobbs finished with 11 kills and Hannah Pyle had 10.

Morristown is 2-2 this season.

Oldenburg Academy def. Southwestern, 25-18, 7-25, 22-25, 25-11, 15-11

At Southwestern, Kate Weber had a team-high 12 kills to lead the visiting Twisters to a come-from-behind victory.

Chloe Bohman had nine kills and four service aces and Ali Nobbe finished with eight for Oldenburg Academy (2-0).

Southwestern is 0-3 this season.

Triton Central def. Greensburg, 25-14, 27-25, 24-26, 25-19

At Triton Central, Lucy May and Brylie Couch combined for 24 kills to lead the host Tigers (1-1) to their first win of the season.

May finished with 13 kills and two digs. Couch had 11 kills and 14 digs. Setter Kate Isley notched 27 assists and Madi Peterson had a team-high 27 digs.

Claire Nobbe led Greensburg (0-3) with 11 kills.

Columbus North def. Shelbyville, 25-19, 27-25, 25-11

At Shelbyville, the visiting Bull Dogs swept the Golden Bears in their home opener.

Shelbyville is 1-1 this season.

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Scott Fitzgerald has had a front row seat to Shelbyville football’s dismal five-year stretch. The former offensive coordinator for the Golden Bears’ last winning season in 2017 never left the school system after stepping away from the program.

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

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Triton Central tennis opened its season with a 5-0 win Wednesday over Indianapolis Lutheran.

The Tigers dominated all five matches, winning in straight sets and dropping just six games total to the Saints.

At No. 1 singles, Tucker Hutchinson was victorious over J.T. Anderson, 6-1, 6-0.

Janssen Capps defeated Joe Amstutz at No. 2 singles, 6-1, 6-0.

Max Crouse secured a 6-0, 6-1 win over Biak Hleithawng at No. 3 singles.

At No. 1 doubles, Eli Sego and Joey Brosnan rolled to a 6-0, 6-1 win over Jason Bolton and Noah Street.

And Caleb Miller and Ben Toth topped Braylon Stumpf and Josh Finke at No. 2 doubles, 6-1, 6-0.

In another boys tennis match Wednesday:

Franklin 3, Shelbyville 2

Shelbyville secured match wins at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles but could not produce a third win against the Grizzly Cubs.

At No. 1 singles, Reece Prickett improved to 2-0 this season for Shelbyville (1-1) with a hard-fought 1-6, 7-6, 6-3 win over Franklin’s Reid Davidson.

At No. 1 doubles, Karson Schaf and Aiden Smith earned a 6-2, 6-1 win over Tyler Jones and Brady Tucker.

Franklin’s Colin Anderson defeated Layne Pogue at No. 3 singles, 6-2, 6-1. And Franklin’s No. 2 doubles pairing of Luke Sherry and Jaxson Doddridge bested Alex Bunton and Gavin Reed, 6-0, 6-2.

The No. 2 singles match went three sets. Nathan Neville secured the Franklin victory with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win over Caden Claxton.

For Shelbyville, Wyatt Armstrong and the doubles pairings of Kashton Laycock and Armstrong, and Aiden Alton and Jack VanWye won junior varsity matches.

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FAIRLAND -- Tim Able cannot silence the hype surrounding Triton Central football.

After winning four straight sectional championships and returning a bevy of talented athletes, it should be no surprise the Indiana Football Coaches Association voted the Tigers the No. 2 team in Class 2A in its preseason poll.

“You don’t win games in newspapers. You don’t win games on podcasts,” said Able, who has won 215 games in his 29 years as a head coach. “You don’t win games except by getting better every day in practice. It’s a one-day-at-a-time mentality and if you start looking ahead you are going to get kicked in the behind.”

Able knows the program has enough talent to win a state title. The same was true in 2022 before injuries mounted and illness hit at the worst possible time which led to a 35-28 regional championship game loss to Evansville Mater Dei, who went on to win the 2A state title two weeks later.

The program graduated 13 seniors from a 10-3 team including record-breaking receiver Brad Schultz, linebacker and defensive captain Lucas Kleeman, and standout defensive lineman Hadyn Ball.

“We lost Schultz, who was awesome on both sides of the ball,” said Able, now 90-35 in 10 seasons in Fairland. “We lost Hadyn Ball, who was defensively as good of a lineman we’ve ever had – he set records. And then Kleeman was a top-five tackler all time – a good leader. It’s hard to replace those kinds of people.

“Again, we are talking about 5-6 positions we replaced, which is not that many. It means a lot (of players) are back.”

Much of the preseason hype centers around senior quarterback Jace Stuckey, an Eastern Michigan commit, and senior running back Ray Crawford, who has rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons.

Stuckey passed for 2,657 yards and 23 touchdowns last season and was honored by the IFCA as the Class 2A junior all-state quarterback. He is already TC’s single-game and single-season passing yards record holder and is 933 yards away from breaking Luke Stephenson’s career passing yards record of 5,116 yards.

Crawford (photo) is TC’s third-leading rusher all-time at 3,710 yards – trailing only Thad McClusky (4,193) and Jonah Thacker (5,126).

There are 11 seniors on the 2023 roster including impact players like Brayden Wilkins (RB/WR/LB), Mason Compton (WR/DB), Sam Kemper (HB/LB) and Levi Dewey (K/DB).

“The seniors are really close and are just starting to learn how to hold each other accountable,” said Able. “They like to have fun together but they are starting to learn what it is to be a friend and not just a buddy. In other words, you have to care enough about your teammate that you won’t let them do something they shouldn’t be doing. You encourage them to study their plays. You will get to bed at the right time. You will hold each other accountable.

“I feel good about our seniors. They are having meetings with the kids regularly now and taking that leadership. When you get a class that leads a team, it allows the coach to coach more and not spend all his time on motivating. We still work on that stuff but internal motivation comes better from the players.”

Triton Central’s skill position players are impressive but depth along both sides of the line can carry the program to new heights.

“We lost (Aden) Sosbe, who had some size for us, and Hadyn Ball gave us strength but we have more depth,” said Able. “Our linemen are sophomore- and junior-oriented. (Colton) Crawford and (Willie) Baugh are three-year starters, so they’ve been through the wars. They have to stay healthy because they are a valuable part of our team.”

Baugh (photo), a 6-3 junior, and Crawford, a 6-2 junior, will anchor the offensive line from the tackle positions. Nick Riggins, a 6-0 junior, and Andrew Bailey, a 5-11 junior, are the starting guards with freshman Kellen Dishman getting the call as the starting center.

“When we first started it was seniors (on the line) and they all got hurt,” said Baugh. “At the final game, it was all sophomores and one senior and we didn’t do too bad. We developed pretty well. This year, we’ve all grown and are a lot stronger and a lot bigger. I think we will do really well this year with all the development from all of us.”

Baugh and Crawford will set the edge on the defensive line with Courtney Dunville, a 6-1 senior, Xavier Seabrook, a 5-8 junior, Henry Smith, a 5-7 senior, and Bailey pushing up the middle.”

Kemper (photo) takes over Kleeman’s role as the defensive leader. His goal is to get everyone in the right position and get the defense off the field.

“Turnovers are a quick way to do it or a four-and-out on defense,” said Kemper, a 5-10 senior. “We need to make stands. Right when they get the ball, we can’t move … just keep them behind the line of scrimmage, maybe 1- or 2-yard gains, nothing big. Every single team will have big plays, that will just happen. We need to limit those and get takeaways.”

Kemper will have athletes like Ben Wilkins, a 6-1 junior, Brayden Wilkins, a 6-2 senior, and Chase Chandler, a 6-0 junior, around him as linebackers.

Dewey, Ray Crawford and Mason Compton will rotate as defensive backs.

Brayden Wilkins (photo) had a breakout game in the 2022 sectional championship game win over Scecina with 69 yards rushing and 87 reception yards. The senior will be another player stepping into more of a leadership role this season.

“I am very confident,” said Wilkins. “I really hope to do something special and really put myself out there and show what I can do. I just want to be able to help the team.”

Dewey was Triton Central’s other Junior All-State representative in 2022 after connecting on 33-of-37 point-after attempts and 10 field goals -- including a program-record 50 yarder.

Triton Central’s 2023 schedule is the same as 2022. The Tigers open Friday at Cascade, in the final Indiana Crossroads Conference meeting between the two teams. Cascade is leaving the ICC to join the Western Indiana Conference in 2024.

Cascade head coach Connor Simmons played quarterback for Able when he was the head coach at New Palestine. He led the Cadets to a 6-5 record last season – the program’s first winning season since 2013.

Cascade graduated All-ICC performers Liam Farmer (1,900 rushing yards, 28 touchdowns and 80 total tackles) and Devon Weigle (15 receptions, 298 yards, 66 total tackles and 4.5 quarterback sacks).

Sophomore quarterback Brady Trebley made his first varsity start against Triton Central last season. He threw for 914 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2022.

“Their passing game is basically play action, and they throw bootlegs,” said Able. “You can’t completely stop it but you have to control it. If you can’t stop the run, it will be hard to stop that. We have to stop the run.”

That includes controlling freshman running back Lucas Farmer.

“Their running back last year (Liam Farmer) was outstanding,” said Able. “His younger brother (Lucas Farmer) is stronger than he was at that age.”

Triton Central will host New Castle for the first time in program history on Aug. 25 for its home opener at Mendenhall Field.

The first marquee matchup follows on Sept. 1 when 2A No. 2 Triton Central plays at Class A, No. 1 Indianapolis Lutheran, the two-time defending Class A state champs. The program has won 30 straight games.

The Tigers host Monrovia on Sept. 8 before playing their final non-conference game Sept. 15 at Indian Creek. The program’s final two regular-season home games are Sept. 22 against Ritter and Sept. 29 against 2A No. 8 Scecina.

Triton Central ends the regular season with road games at Beech Grove Oct. 6 and Speedway Oct. 13.

Entering year 30 of his Hall-of-Fame coaching career, Able still enjoys the grind of pushing a football program to its full potential and won’t yet talk about retirement.

“I am trying to empty my tank every day to help the kids be the best they can be,” said Able. “I can’t do what I did when I was 40, or 30. I’ve learned how to pace myself. This has been a lot of work this summer because we fine-tuned our offense because you have a QB with his ability and running backs with their abilities, you have to put them in situations to succeed.

“Time will tell. We’re undefeated right now. Nobody has beat us.”

QUICK FACTS:

Class 2A, No. 2 Triton Central at Cascade

Game time: 7 p.m. at Cascade High School, 6565 S. County Road 200 W in Clayton. Cascade does not accept cash for tickets. Buy tickets in advance at cascadecadets.com/tickets or purchase tickets at the gate with credit/debit card only.

TC student section theme: Blackout.

Head coaches: Tim Able, 90-35 in 11^th year at Triton Central; 215-133 in 30th year overall; Connor Simmons, 12-20 in 4th year at Cascade.

2022 record: Triton Central 10-3; Cascade 6-5.

Last year: Triton Central defeated Cascade in the Indiana Crossroads Conference opener for both squads, 42-14. Link to Shelby County Post game story at https://shelbycountypost.com/sports/648728

Series: Triton Central has won all four meetings between the programs by an average of 30 points since Cascade joined the ICC in 2019.

Around the ICC Friday: Beech Grove (4-6 in 2022) is at Class A, No. 1 Indianapolis Lutheran (15-0); Class A, No. 10 Covenant Christian (8-4) is at Speedway (6-5); Fort Wayne Concordia (4-7) travels to Class 2A, No. 8 Indianapolis Scecina (10-2); and Indianapolis Ritter (1-8) is at Monrovia (6-8).

2023 TRITON CENTRAL Schedule:

Aug. 18       at Cascade**                7 p.m.

Aug. 25       NEW CASTLE                 7 p.m.

Sept. 1        at Indy Lutheran**      7 p.m.

Sept. 8        MONROVIA**               7 p.m.

Sept. 15      at Indian Creek             7 p.m.

Sept. 22      INDY RITTER**              7 p.m.

Sept. 29      INDY SCECINA**           7 p.m.

Oct. 6          at Beech Grove **        7 p.m.

Oct. 13        at Speedway**              7 p.m.

** Denotes Indiana Crossroads Conference contest

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Megan Cory is the new head coach of the Shelbyville High School softball program.

The 2012 Shelbyville graduate played collegiately at IUPUI and has served as an assistant coach with the Golden Bears for several seasons.

Cory’s hiring was approved at Wednesday’s Shelbyville Central Schools board meeting. She replaces Mark Hensley, who announced his intention to step down as head coach following Shelbyville’s 4-1 loss to Mooresville in the IHSAA regional championship game on May 30.

Hensley (photo, second from left), the most successful softball coach in SHS history – 145-56 since 2016, led the program to four sectional championships in the last six seasons and the Class 4A semistate championship game in 2022.

Cory (photo, with trophy), a high school pitcher at Shelbyville, played four seasons at IUPUI and started 51 games as a senior outfielder/utility player. She hit .250 with five home runs and 20 runs batted in during the 2015 season.

After graduation, Cory returned to Shelbyville and opened Score First Softball Academy where she gives private softball lessons to area youth.

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Class A, No. 16 Southwestern opened the 2023 season Tuesday with a 3-0 win over Knightstown.

Michel Weisser scored a pair of first-half goals to get the Spartans on the scoreboard. Weisser’s first goal came unassisted at the 7-minute mark of the opening half.  His second goal came 23 minutes later off an assist from Ben Kahler.

Tucker Simmons added a penalty kick goal in the 52^nd minute to complete the scoring.

Michael Clements earned the shutout in goal for Southwestern, who returns to action Thursday at Anderson Prep.

In other prep events Tuesday:

Girls golf

Rushville 196, Mt. Vernon 221, Shelbyville 240

At Arrowhead Golf Course, Rushville had a trio of golfers shot 50 or better to earn the team victory.

Emma Tressler led the Lions with a 44 to earn the medalist honor. Lauren McGee followed at 49 and Megan Alexander shot 50.

Marissa Miner led Mt. Vernon with a 53.

Ava Essex and Kylie Stader each posted 59 to top Shelbyville’s scorecard. Riley Everette followed at 60 and Emmie Higgins shot 62.

Greensburg 231, Southwestern 233, Connersville 235

At Greensburg Country Club, Annie Pumphrey’s medalist-winning score of 52 led the host Pirates to the victory in the three-team match.

Abby Keal shot 53 to lead Connersville.

Aurora Belton led Southwestern with a 53. Sydney Griffin and Taryn Hoeing followed with 58 and 59, respectively. Emma Isgrigg finished at 62 and Olivia Lahey posted 65.

Boys soccer

Franklin 8, Shelbyville 1

At Franklin, Cole Hufford scored three goals and Matthew Payne had a goal and three assists to lead the Grizzly Cubs to a season-opening win over the Golden Bears (0-1).

Aidan Helfer-Vazquez scored Shelbyville’s only goal.

Franklin won the junior varsity match, 2-0.

Indianapolis Ritter 7, Triton Central 0

At Ritter, Geovanni Guevara and Michael Agboola each scored two goals to lead the Raiders over Triton Central’s first-year program that was playing its first match.

Boys tennis

Shelbyville 5, Hauser 0

At Hauser, the visiting Golden Bears swept all five varsity matches in straight sets.

Reece Prickett (No. 1 singles), Caden Claxton (No. 2 singles) and Layne Pogue (No. 3 singles) were victorious in singles matches.

The pairings of Karson Schaf and Aiden Smith at No. 1 doubles and Alex Bunton and Gavin Reed at No. 2 doubles lost a total of six games in their victories.

Madison 3, Waldron 2

At Madison, the Mohawks’ victories came from Lucas Shaw at No. 1 singles and Charlie Fischer at No. 2 singles.

Shaw defeated Kaid Fink, 6-2, 6-4. Fischer topped Bryce Miller, 6-4, 6-4.

Jack Fischer was defeated at No. 3 singles, 6-3, 6-1 by Mitchell Cammack.

Jacob Lindsey and Conner Hinchman lost at No. 1 doubles while Caiden Young and Jackson Kuhn suffered the same fate at No. 2 doubles.

Volleyball

Whiteland def. Triton Central, 21-25, 25-18, 25-17, 25-13

At Whiteland, Brooklyn Bailey led Triton Central in its season opener with eight kills, two digs and one block.

Gwyn Williams, Lucy May and Gracie Miller each had four kills.

Kate Isley finished with a team-high six service aces and 15 assists. Madi Peterson and Williams each had 13 digs.

Shelbyville def. Southwestern, 18-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-22

At Southwestern, the visiting Golden Bears secured the first victory for new head coach Sharon Burton in come-from-behind fashion.

Southwestern won the first set before Shelbyville swept the next three to secure the victory.

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Johnny McCrory and Jeff Brown previewed the 2023 high school football season for Shelbyville, Triton Central and Waldron in this show that aired August 11 from Madison.

Segment 1

Segment 2

Michael McDowell took the lead on lap 53 and never surrendered it Sunday to win the Brickyard 200 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

McDowell crossed the finish line less than one second ahead of runner-up Chase Elliott for his second NASCAR victory and a playoff spot.

Daniel Suarez, the pole sitter, finished third.

McDowell’s only other NASCAR win came at the 2021 Daytona 500.

The win put McDowell in exclusive company as winners at both Daytona and Indianapolis.

McDowell won the first stage Sunday on the 2.439-mile road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and led a career-high 54 laps.

Steve Bush photos.

Red Headed Beach hasn’t always been the picture of perfection. Earlier in her career, her connections considered a different job for her, but something clicked in the chestnut filly just before her first career start in June and today she is a stakes winner.

Red Headed Beach (photo) and Rolando Pina were dominant winners in the 14^th running of the $188,900 Gordon Mobley Futurity Saturday during the all-Quarter Horse racing day at Horseshoe Indianapolis in Shelbyville.

Starting from post two, Red Headed Beach shot out of the gate and was in full command of the field. That control got even more dominant as the 300-yard dash played out.

Red Headed Beach was all alone as she crossed under the wire, winning by two and one-quarter lengths well in hand for Pina in a time of 15.472 seconds. Im Jess a Belle and L.D. “Danny” Martinez finished second over Jess a Riot and Shanley Jackson for third.

“It kind of makes me feel embarrassed we were ready to give up on her early on,” said Pina. “She is really a nice horse. And this race today, she did it all on her own. She has a big heart and a lot of run. She ran a big race today.”

Red Headed Beach was the top qualifier from the trials and was tagged the heavy favorite in the final, paying $3.20 for the win. The Escondido Beach filly, bred by Sheri Miller’s Miller Ranch in Shipshewana, Ind., is owned by Pattie Marshall. Tim Eggleston serves as trainer of the talented freshman.

“Early on, I called them (the Marshalls) and said, ‘You might want to make a barrel horse out of this one,’” said Eggleston. “She just wasn’t showing much at all, and her first work was not good at all. Then, in her second and third work she started coming around and in her gate schooling race, she was a different horse. She made it and has just kept on going.”

Red Headed Beach is now two for three in her career with more than $125,000 now on her card. Eggleston had three starters in the Mobley Futurity Final and they were nearly all side by side.

“When you are watching all your horses come out of the gate like that so close, I was scared to death there might be a big wreck,” laughed Eggleston. “All three of these horses are really nice horses and we are blessed to have that many in the final. This was a big day for us, and everyone has worked hard, both here at the track and back at the farm. Everyone came up for this day today. It was a big team win for our stable.”

Heartland Futurity Stakes

Relentlessly Special (photo) and Francisco Quintero turned in a perfect trip to take top honors in the $147,520 Heartland Futurity Saturday. It was the largest purse in the 15-year history of the stakes race.

Starting from post four, Relentlessly Special was detected from the start, getting away from the gate well and vying for the top spot with Go O Commando and Joseph Belloc Jr. on his inside and Kid Kwik and Diego Villamil Bocanegra on the outside.

Heading into the final stages, Go O Commando had the advantage heading to the finish line, but Relentlessly Special had a big closing kick, earning the victory by a half length in a time of 15.597 seconds. Go O Commando finished second over HG Favorite Energy and Danny Martinez for third on the far outside.

Relentlessly Special, listed as seventh on the list of qualifiers for the final, paid $5.80 for the win.

Quintero is in his third year of competition at Horseshoe Indianapolis. He was the state’s leading sophomore jockey last season and is currently among the top 10 jockeys this year. It marked his second career stakes win. It was the first time the Hes Relentless gelding had been ridden by Quintero in a race, although Quintero spends plenty of time on him in the mornings for trainer Tony Cunningham and his wife, Lisa, who is the owner.

“He’s the type of horse that is pretty honest,” said Tony Cunningham, the track’s all-time leading Quarter Horse owner. “He stands up in the gate and he always breaks well. He just got caught in the trials. Our team really did a good job getting him ready for the final.”

Relentlessly Special was a $57,000 purchase from the Heritage Place September Yearling Sale last fall. Lisa is the one that picked him out for the stable, and so far in four career starts, he has two wins and two seconds with more than $100,000 on his card.

“The horse was in the makeup ring when Lisa saw him,” said Tony. “She grabbed me by the sleeve and said, ‘That’s the one I like’ and we were able to get him.”

Horseshoe Indianapolis Classic

Jess Go Blue (photo) had a perfect journey to pick up her first win of the season and her first stakes win. Under the guidance of Shanley Jackson, the Indiana sired mare partnered up with Carters Law to give owner Gordon Timm a one-two finish in the 21^st running of the $87,720 Horseshoe Indianapolis Classic, a new record purse for the race.

Jess Go Blue and Jackson began from post six and hit the ground running, keeping themselves in contention the entire 400-yard distance. As the wire neared, so did several contenders, including stablemate Carters Law and Antonio Rodriguez from the inside. But Jess Go Blue was strong to the wire for the win by a nose over Carters Law.

Miss Royal Snow and Jose Ruiz finished another neck back in third. Less than a half length separated the first four finishers. The time of the race was 20.077 seconds.

“The main thing was to just get her out of the gate,” said Jackson, who is the track’s all-time leader in purse earnings for Quarter Horse jockeys. “Once she got her legs underneath her, she was good. She’s a nice horse. I hadn’t ridden her before, but she was a calm, nice horse to ride. She was very confident. I hit her one or two times and she responded. I knew then she was good to go.”

Jess Go Blue paid $17.80 for the win as Carters Law was grabbing all the attention at the windows as the favorite. The five-year-old mare is a home bred from Timms, who has a small breeding operation in Michigan. Karen Yike trains both horses for Timm.

“This win is extra special,” said Yike. “We had a lot of bad luck starting out, and it’s been a good week. We had a good second earlier this week and now to run one-two in here is special. We are grateful to have good owners that trust us with their horses. We are glad to have such nice horses like this in our barn.”

Jess Go Blue ended her season last fall on a three-race win streak. She made one start earlier this year and is now one for two in 2023. She more than doubled her career earnings tally with the win and now has more than $100,000 on her card for Timm.

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MADISON – The Golden Bears are not yet in football shape.

New Shelbyville head coach Scott Fitzgerald noted that in his postgame speech to the team following Friday’s three-team preseason jamboree at Madison High School.

Shelbyville’s varsity and junior varsity units each got two periods to line up against their counterparts from Madison and Salem and see how close they are to being ready for the start of the 2023 season.

“It was a little bit of what I expected out there,” said Fitzgerald. “I knew there would be some good and I knew there would be some bad. We definitely have some things we have to work on and see on film.

“Being the first time to really get after somebody out there in a game situation with officials and everything else going on, I saw some nerves in a few places. That is what this is for, though. Let’s shake those out and now go prepare for Greensburg.”

The Golden Bears open the 2023 season Friday at Greensburg. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.

Shelbyville debuted a new look offense much different from the run-heavy wing-T version utilized in 2022 by then head coach Brian Glesing.

Fitzgerald (photo) and new offensive coordinator John Werbe have pulled senior quarterback Eli Chappelow out from under center with just one running back in the backfield. Gone are the three running back sets. Shelbyville will now utilize four wide receivers in multiple formations.

Against Salem, Chappelow (photo) had sophomore Donavon Martin in the backfield as the lead running back. Chappelow was quick to pull the ball from Martin, who Fitzgerald said Salem was focusing on, and run on his own for positive yards.

When the senior did pass, he looked toward four seniors – Luke Brinkman, Kohen Myers, Axel Conover and Grant Schene.

“(Eli) missed some (passes) that he has to hit. There were a few in there that we have to make sure we are completing,” said Fitzgerald. “Those short ones, we have to make completions but he did make some good reads up the sideline to Schene when they tried to play some cover-2.”

Freshman receiver Grantland Fitzgerald had the game’s biggest impact. The head coach’s oldest son took a crossing pattern pass from Chappelow and broke free for a long touchdown run against Salem – Shelbyville’s first in the scrimmage.

Against Madison in Shelbyville’s second offensive series, Fitzgerald (photo) adjusted to a high-arcing Chappelow pass at the goal line and slipped in front of his defender to haul in a second touchdown reception (main photo).

“He made a play. I will give the kid some credit. He is an athlete,” said Fitzgerald of Grantland’s first catch-and-run touchdown. “He will make plays for us in different places. I am proud of him. Eli did a nice job throwing it to him on the back side because that is where the open receiver was.”

Defensively, Shelbyville squared off with Salem’s wing-T offense now under the direction of Glesing, who resigned his Shelbyville coaching position in the spring to return to southern Indiana and take over a young Lions program.

The Golden Bears struggled a little more with Madison’s physicality at the line of scrimmage but left their new head coach with plenty to talk about in the week leading up to the season opener.

“I think we just didn’t get ourselves to the right spots on a couple of occasions,” said Fitzgerald of the Madison series. “We didn’t finish with some of our tackling. I thought we were there in spots. We work on tracking the inside hip and running through and we just didn’t do that very well. So those are things we can work on all week long.”

While Salem was the first of the three teams to finish the jamboree, Glesing sent his team home and stayed until the end to congratulate the Golden Bears he coached for the last two seasons.

Steve Bush photos

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The Morristown High School volleyball program finished third in its season-opening Morristown Classic Saturday at the Bee Hive.

The Yellow Jackets, under the direction of new head coach Amy Osborne, lost its first match to Rising Sun, 21-25, 26-24, 15-7.

Madison Espich led Morristown with five kills, two service aces and 12 digs. Maycee Cole also had five kills. Katie Theobald finished with 12 assists.

Morristown secured a spot in the third-place match with a 25-15, 25-15 win over Jac-Cen-Del in its second match.

Olivia Rude led the Yellow Jackets with four kills. Kindall Dorsey had 10 digs and Theobald collected eight assists.

In the third-place match, Morristown defeated Mid-Hoosier Conference rival Edinburgh, 25-17, 23-25, 16-14.

In the championship match, Northeastern topped Rising Sun, 25-15, 25-15 to finish the invitational with a 3-0 record.

Morristown (2-1) is at Hagerstown Thursday.

In another prep volleyball match Saturday:

Greenfield-Central def. Waldron, 25-11, 25-5, 25-10

At Waldron, Mya Grigsby led Greenfield-Central with 12 kills in a sweep of the Mohawks in their season-opening match.

Setter Makenna Rankins finished with 15 assists. Rilee Roland collected a team-high six service aces and Finnley Greene had eight digs.

Waldron (0-1) hosts Indian Creek today.

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With a season-best team score, Shelbyville girls golf secured its first match win of the 2023 season.

The Golden Bears defeated Beech Grove, 227-incomplete, Thursday at Blue Bear Golf Course in Shelbyville.

Ava Essex (photo) earned her first medalist honor of the season with a round of 53 on her home course. Following Essex on the scorecard were Riley Everette (57), Emmie Higgins (58), Kylie Stader (59) and Ella Connolly (66).

Beech Grove only had two competitors Thursday – Dori Hines (65) and Lea Borden (65).

Shelbyville is in action Tuesday at Mt. Vernon with Rushville.

In another girls golf match Thursday:

Southwestern 222, Edinburgh 230, North Decatur 237

At Timbergate Golf Course, Sydney Griffin (48) and Emma Isgrigg (50) led the Spartans to wins over the host Lancers and Chargers.

Aurora Belton carded 55 for Southwestern and Taryn Hoeing (69) and Olivia Lahey (70) completed the scorecard.

Edinburgh’s Izzy Richardson posted a 44 to earn the medalist honor. Also for Edinburgh, Macie Blandford shot 53, Bella Turner followed at 62 and Sophia Pace posted 71.

Addie Gauck led North Decatur with a 50. Also on the North Decatur scorecard were Kaylee Smith (59), Hannah Reynolds (62), Lizzie Custer (66) and Chase Christianson (72).

Southwestern travels to Greensburg Tuesday for a three-team match with Connersville.

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High school football fans get their first look at how the 2023 season will go with preseason scrimmages and jamborees Friday and Saturday.

For the second consecutive year, Shelbyville will travel to Madison to compete in a three-team jamboree with the host Cubs and Salem.

Shelbyville finished 1-9 in 2022 and has a new head coach in Scott Fitzgerald. The Golden Bears’ varsity units are not scheduled to take the field at Madison until 8:20 p.m. Friday under the jamboree format.

Here is the format as provided by the Madison athletic department:

• 6:30 p.m. – 6:52 p.m. Madison JV offense vs. Salem JV defense (eight plays or 10 minutes each); Salem JV offense vs. Madison JV defense (eight plays or 10 minutes each)
• 6:55 p.m. – 7:17 p.m. Salem JV offense vs. Shelbyville JV defense (eight plays or 10 minutes each); Shelbyville JV offense vs. Salem JV defense (eight plays or 10 minutes each)
• 7:20 p.m. – 7:42 p.m. Shelbyville JV offense vs. Madison JV defense (eight plays or 10 minutes each); Madison JV offense vs. Shelbyville JV defense (eight plays or 10 minutes each)
• 7:45 p.m. – 8:17 p.m. Madison Varsity offense vs. Salem Varsity defense (12 plays or 15 minutes each); Salem Varsity offense vs. Madison Varsity defense (12 plays or 15 minutes each)
• 8:20 p.m. – 8:52 p.m. Salem Varsity offense vs. Shelbyville Varsity defense (12 plays or 15 minutes each); Shelbyville varsity offense vs. Salem Varsity defense (12 plays or 15 minutes each)
• 8:55 p.m. – 9:27 p.m. Shelbyville Varsity offense vs. Madison Varsity defense (12 plays or 15 minutes each); Madison Varsity offense vs. Shelbyville Varsity defense (12 plays or 15 minutes each)

Madison, a Class 3A football program, went 4-6 in 2022 under head coach LeRoy Wilson, who is 11-29 and starting his fifth year with the program.

Salem, also a 3A program, finished 2-8 under head coach Blair Thompson, who went 15-14 in three seasons at Salem. The new head coach at Salem is Brian Glesing, who served as Shelbyville’s head coach the past two seasons.

TRITON CENTRAL

Class 2A, No. 2 Triton Central will host Milan Friday at Mendenhall Field for a traditional preseason scrimmage.

Here is the format for Friday’s scrimmage:

• 15 plays or 18 minutes from the offense’s 35-yard line for each team
• Four-minute break
• 12 plays or 15 minutes from the opponent’s 30-yard line for each team
• Four-minute break
• Six kicking plays or eight minutes for each team (kicking from own 40-yard line and punts; or from 3-yard line for PATs)
• Four-minute break
• 15 plays or 18 minutes from the opponent’s 35-yard line for each team

The total time for the scrimmage, including warm-ups and breaks, is 150 minutes. There is a maximum of 96 plays.

Milan finished 5-6 in 2022 for head coach Ryan Langferman, who is 103-69 in 15 seasons at Milan.

Triton Central went 10-3 to secure its 18^th-straight winning season. The Tigers also won the program’s fourth consecutive sectional title.

WALDRON

Waldron continues to be part of a grass-roots campaign to indoctrinate 8-man football into the state of Indiana.

The Mohawks’ second season kicks off Aug. 19 at Faith Christian High School in Lafayette at 7 p.m.

Waldron will take part in a jamboree Saturday along with Indiana Deaf, which has dropped down from traditional 11-man football to 8-man football this season, and Traders Point at 2 p.m. at Whiteland High School in preparation for an 8-game season that concludes on Oct. 7. Waldron will run 15 plays of offense and defense against each opponent.

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Southwestern boys soccer is ranked No. 16 in the Indiana Soccer Coaches Association’s preseason poll.

The Spartans, winners of three straight sectional championships, open the 2023 season Tuesday at Knightstown.

Park Tudor is the No. 1 ranked team in Class A in the preseason poll. The Panthers are followed in the top 10 by Westview, University, Covenant Christian, Faith Christian, Greenwood Christian, Bethany Christian, Switzerland County, Forest Park and Wheeler.

The second 10 include Carroll (Flora), Kouts, South Knox, Oldenburg Academy, Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian, Southwestern (Shelby), Southwestern (Hanover), North White, Bethesda Christian and Providence Cristo Rey.

Boys Class 2A

Brebeuf Jesuit sits atop the Class 2A poll ahead of Evansville Memorial, Mishawaka Marian, West Lafayette, Fort Wayne Canterbury, South Bend St. Joseph, Heritage Christian, Speedway, Providence and Guerin Catholic in the top 10.

Boys Class 3A

The northeast side of Indianapolis dominates the top of the preseason Class 3A poll. Carmel is No. 1 followed by Zionsville, Noblesville, Fishers and Columbus North in the top five.

The second five consists of Chesterton, Hamilton Southeastern, Brownsburg, Lake Central and Pike.

Girls Class 3A

Carmel also is No. 1 in the Class 3A girls soccer preseason poll.

The Greyhounds are ranked ahead of Noblesville, Hamilton Southeastern, Castle, Homestead, Zionsville, South Bend St. Joseph, Center Grove, Cathedral and Crown Point.

Girls Class 2A

Evansville Memorial is the preseason No. 1 in Class 2A.

Leo is ranked No. 2 followed by Mishawaka Marian, Chatard, Brebeuf Jesuit, Guerin Catholic, Bellmont, West Lafayette, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger and Lawrenceburg.

Girls Class A

Park Tudor is No. 1 in Class A ahead of Evansville Mater Dei, Fort Wayne Canterbury, Heritage Christian, Providence, Andrean, Faith Christian, Forest Park, Evansville Christian and Covenant Christian.

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Triton Central will open the 2023 high school football season ranked No. 2 in the Indiana Football Coaches Association’s Preseason Coaches Poll.

Triton Central finished 10-3 in 2022 and captured its fourth-straight sectional championship. The Tigers’ season ended with a 35-28 regional championship game loss to Evansville Mater Dei, who went on to win the Class 2A state championship.

In the IFCA preseason poll released Monday, Evansville Mater Dei is ranked No. 1 in Class 2A with Triton Central, who received one first-place vote, Fort Wayne Luers, Lafayette Central Catholic and Andrean rounding out the top five.

Eastbrook is No. 6 with Linton-Stockton, Indianapolis Scecina, Brownstown Central and LaVille completing the top 10.

Scecina, Brownstown Central and Triton Central are in the same postseason sectional.

Also receiving votes in the Class 2A poll were Rochester, Heritage Christian, Lapel, North Posey, Bluffton, Eastern (Greentown), Lewis Cass and Tipton.

Triton Central will host Milan Friday at Mendenhall Field for a preseason scrimmage. The Tigers travel to Cascade for their season opener on Aug. 18. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. for the Indiana Crossroads Conference contest.

Class A

Defending Class A state champion Indianapolis Lutheran is ranked No. 1 in the Class A preseason poll. The Saints have won 30 straight games.

Adams Central is No. 2 in the poll ahead of North Decatur, North Judson, Sheridan, Carroll (Flora), South Putnam, Providence, Park Tudor, Covenant Christian and South Adams. Also receiving votes were Tri, Tecumseh, Triton, and Monroe Central.

Lutheran will host Triton Central on Sept. 1. The Saints topped the Tigers in a wild 2022 contest in Fairland, 54-41.

Class 3A

Indianapolis Bishop Chatard holds the top spot in Class 3A ahead of Lawrenceburg, West Lafayette, Gibson Southern, Southridge, Guerin Catholic, Hanover Central, Tri-West, Western Boone and Norwell.

Also receiving votes were Yorktown, Danville, Oak Hill, Mishawaka Marian, Monrovia, Knox, South Dearborn, Vincennes Lincoln and Delta.

Triton Central will host Monrovia on Sept. 8.

Both Yorktown and Delta are part of the Hoosier Heritage Conference with Shelbyville. The Golden Bears will host Delta on Sept. 1 at McKeand Stadium and host Yorktown on Sept. 22.

Class 4A

East Central, the 2022 state champion, is ranked No. 1 in Class 4A with New Palestine at No. 2.

Roncalli is No. 3 followed by Evansville Reitz, New Prairie, Kokomo, Northwood, Evansville Memorial, Mooresville and Brebeuf Jesuit. Also receiving votes were Columbia City, Greenfield-Central, Mt. Vernon, Leo, Hobart, Martinsville, Northridge, Northview and Fort Wayne Wayne.

New Palestine, Greenfield-Central and Mt. Vernon also are part of the Hoosier Heritage Conference. Shelbyville will host Mt. Vernon on Oct. 6 and travel to Greenfield-Central on Sept. 15 and New Palestine on Sept. 29.

The Golden Bears’ postseason sectional includes East Central and Martinsville.

Shelbyville travels south to Madison Friday for a three-team preseason jamboree that will include Salem. The Golden Bears open the season on Aug. 18 at Greensburg at 7 p.m.

Class 5A

Valparaiso is the preseason No. 1 in Class 5A.

The Vikings are followed in the poll by Fort Wayne Snider, Whiteland, Merrillville, Bloomington South, Fort Wayne North, Mishawaka, Castle, Decatur Central and Harrison (West Lafayette).

Also receiving votes were Fort Wayne Dwenger, Concord, Plainfield, Bloomington North, Chesterton, Franklin and Michigan City.

Class 6A

Center Grove has won three consecutive state titles and played in four straight state championship games. The Trojans run for four state titles in a row will begin with them ranked No. 1 in Class 6A.

Indianapolis Cathedral and Ben Davis are tied for No. 2 ahead of Hamilton Southeastern, Carroll (Allen), Warren Central, Westfield, Carmel, Brownsburg and Fishers. Also receiving votes were Penn, Crown Point, Homestead, Lafayette Jefferson, Lawrence Central, Elkhart, Franklin Central and Lawrence North.

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Southwestern opened its 2023 girls golf schedule with a victory over Morristown Monday, 227-incomplete, at Timbergate Golf Course in Edinburgh.

Sydney Griffin was the medalist with the low round of 50. She was followed on the Southwestern scorecard by Emma Isgrigg (55), Aurora Belton (56), Taryn Hoeing (66) and Olivia Layhey (67).

Morristown was topped by Mollie Runnebohm’s 61. Clara Hale shot 63 and Aleaia Rogers finished at 68.

The Spartans and Yellow Jackets return to Timbergate today to face the host Edinburgh Lancers.

In another prep golf event Monday:

Rushville 214, Triton Central 243, Greenfield-Central 247

At Hawk’s Tail in Greenfield, Rushville secured the victory over the Tigers, who were making their 2023 season debut, and the Cougars.

Kennedy Hall led Triton Central with a 57. Olivia Williams followed at 58. Completing the TC scorecard were Hanna Fink (63) and Lindsay Huxford (65).

The Tigers return to the links Monday at Edinburgh.

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Shelbyville girls golf saw improvement from its season-opening match to match two Friday but still suffered a 235-213 defeat to New Castle at the Westwood Golf Club.

New Castle’s Lydia Hines was the only golfer to break 50 Friday, posting a 49 to earn the medalist honor. Addi McGowan followed with a 50 to propel the Trojans to the victory.

Riley Everette and Ava Essex each shot 56 to top Shelbyville’s scorecard. Emmie Higgins followed at 58. Kylie Stader carded a 65 and Ella Connolly finished at 70.

On Saturday, Shelbyville traveled to the Greensburg Country Club to compete in the Greensburg Invitational.

Franklin and Center Grove White shared the team title at 315 in the 18-hole event that featured 18 teams. New Palestine (347), Richmond (353) and Franklin County (363) rounded out the top five.

East Central’s Rowan Pies, a sophomore, was the medalist with a three-under par score of 67.

Higgins topped Shelbyville at 107. Everette and Essex posted matching 117s while Stader followed at 129.

Shelbyville returns to action Wednesday at Pendleton Heights.

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The senior class of football players at Shelbyville High School were in sixth grade when many of the current coaching staff were last in charge of the Golden Bears.

Pat Parks was the head coach in 2017 when Shelbyville finished 7-3 – the program’s last winning season. Scott Fitzgerald was the offensive coordinator. The duo that led Shelbyville to two of its best three-season stretches (29-6 from 2007-2009 and 23-8 from 2015-2017) are back – but in different roles.

Fitzgerald is now the head coach while Parks will serve as defensive coordinator. Former Golden Bear John Werbe will handle the offensive play-calling duties leaving Fitzgerald to oversee the development of the entire program.

“Really from the get go, all these kids really bought into what we are selling and understanding that it takes hard work each and every day in order for them to get where they want to get to,” said Fitzgerald at Shelbyville’s Media Day event Wednesday. “They want to win football games. They want to enjoy themselves. They want to have a great experience out there. It wasn’t going to just happen.

“Having the background that we have, those guys knowing and lot of them playing elementary ball when we were still coaching, they knew us. They know what we are about. They were able to buy into it and do the things we needed them to do.”

Fitzgerald (photo), in his first role as head coach at the varsity level, replaces Brian Glesing who finished his two-year career 2-15. Glesing resigned at Shelbyville in the spring to become the head coach at Salem High School.

Graduation took Shelbyville’s leading tackler in Cael Lux and best athlete in Jackson Parker, but the new coaching staff has a strong senior class to build around, including senior quarterback Eli Chappelow, who will play for his third head coach this season.

“It is a change but at the same time I’ve had three head coaches in my high school career. I’ve actually run four different offenses, so yeah, a new one every year I guess,” said Chappelow (photo). “With this (offense), I think we can do some great things. Coach Werbe, our offensive coordinator, is doing some great things with our offense.”

Werbe will count on Chappelow to be an efficient passer while not abandoning the run game that Shelbyville found success with in 2022.

“We will throw the ball a little bit more but a lot of it will be a controlled passing game, a little more West Coast style where you are not necessarily looking to chuck the ball down the field,” explained Fitzgerald. “We still need to keep the clock running. We have to keep it at a slower pace. We are not trying to be up tempo. I think that would work against us with as many kids as we will have going both ways. I don’t think that does us any good. We have to be able to run the football … I want to run the football. In high school football, you’ve got to run the football and win in the trenches.”

There is more size and experience on the offensive line this season anchored in the middle by senior Jacob Harker (photo).

“I think there is tons of excitement (around the football program),” said Harker. “I think we are headed toward the time where this program is going to turn around. We are going to surprise people. We have to win more conference games. And we have to start out 1-0. I am not interested in going home sad on Friday nights anymore.”

The First Friday event tonight in downtown Shelbyville will celebrate the kick off to the 2023 football season. Players and cheerleaders will be downtown to meet with fans and enjoy a concert by Colton Chapman.

For the first time in Shelbyville’s football history that dates back to 1927, the Golden Bears will play every regular season game on artificial turf. Greensburg is currently finishing the installation of artificial turf at its facility for its season opener against Shelbyville on Aug. 18. Shelbyville will play on the synthetic surface at New Castle on Sept. 8, Greenfield-Central on Sept. 15, New Palestine on Sept. 29 and Pendleton Heights on Oct. 13.

McKeand Stadium at Shelbyville is joining the long list of high schools with artificial turf as its renovation project that also includes new goalposts and a new track surface is nearing completion.

“Yeah, it’s fun to be here,” said sophomore Donavon Martin (photo), who will have a bigger role as a featured running back this season. “We have a whole bunch of new stuff coming. A whole bunch of new opportunities. (The artificial turf) helps us all as a team and all of our sports.”

The field is expected to be ready for Shelbyville’s home opener on Aug. 25 against Rushville. The Golden Bears also will host Delta (Sept. 1), Yorktown (Sept. 22) and Mt. Vernon (Oct. 6) this season.

Fitzgerald’s immediate goal is to keep the program expectations simple.

“We are trying not to look too far ahead. Our mantra is “Win the Day,” he said. “I know it sounds a little cliché but we try to live by that where whatever you are doing that day, we are going to get better today and if we get 1% better each day, that is going to grow over the summer and over the season as we go along.

“I’ve told the kids several times, my only goal right now is 1-0. We have to go into Greensburg and we can’t go 2-0 if we don’t go 1-0. So we are going to work on Greensburg and focus on them and then hit everything as it comes after that.”

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The Shelbyville High School girls golf team lost its season opener Thursday to Mt. Vernon.

Played at Blue Bear Golf Course in Shelbyville, Mt. Vernon’s Aerin Hubbell shot a 6-over par score of 42 to lead the Marauders to a 199-238 victory. Hubbell was followed on the Mt. Vernon scorecard by Marissa Miner (50), Elianna Young (53) and Emily Westfall (54).

Emmie Higgins led Shelbyville in the Golden Bears’ 2023 debut with a 53. Also competing Thursday were Riley Everette (60), Ava Essex (60), Kylie Stader (65) and Ella Connolly (69).

Shelbyville is back on the links today at New Castle and competes Saturday in the Greensburg Invitational.

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Corningstone has been a solid contender all season. She earned the title in the Ellen’s Lucky Star on Indiana Derby Day and came back as a convincing winner Wednesday in the $200,000 Indiana First Lady.

The event is celebrating its 21^st running this year and is one of two premier races that began during the inaugural season of racing in 2003 at Horseshoe Indianapolis in Shelbyville.

Corningstone and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. began their journey from post seven in the 12-filly lineup for the one mile, 70-yard race. Sassy Katie and Eddie Perez moved out from the inside for the early lead, joined by Rileys Redemption and Orlando Mojica in a stalking spot on the outside.

Bluelightspecial, who was looking for her fourth straight win, was also close early on for Jockey Emmanuel Esquivel.

Heading down the backstretch, Sassy Katie was in full control of the tempo as the field stayed fairly packed together heading into the final turn. Corningstone had moved up slightly on the outside but was still a few lengths off the leaders.

In the stretch, Hernandez Jr. asked Corningstone for another gear and she gladly kicked into it. Sassy Katie held strong on the inside, but as the wire neared, Corningstone was well in hand for the win by two and one-half lengths. Sassy Katie held on gamely for second over Rileys Redemption. Bluelightspecial came up the inside to finish fourth.

“It was a rare occurrence today and we got the perfect trip,” said Hernandez Jr. “The last time out when we were against the five horse (Bluelightspecial) we were a little farther back, but this time, turning down the backside, we were only a length or two back. I just stayed there, and she traveled the right way to the wire.”

Corningstone paid $4.80 for the win. The sophomore daughter of Kantharos is owned by Five Fillies Stable and Bailos Racing Stable. Ken McPeek trains the filly, who was a $75,000 purchase from the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. She now has more than $300,000 on her card as a multiple stakes winner in Indiana and is three for six in her young career.

She is a product of the strong breeding operation from Deann and Dr. Greg Baer of Columbus, Indiana.

“She (Corningstone) seems to be getting better and better,” added Hernandez Jr., who was aboard for her 11-plus length romp in the Ellen’s Lucky Star. “She was locked and loaded and ready to go today.”

$250,000 Governor’s Handicap

King Ice loves to make it a horse race. The three-year-old used a big move midway through the stretch Wednesday to move from seventh to first to win the 20^th running of the $250,000 Governor’s Handicap.

Starting from post nine in the 12-horse lineup, King Ice (photo) was disinterested in tackling the early speed and went to his normal spot at the back of the pack in the one mile, 70-yard event. Bad Boy Geist and Santo Sanjur pushed out of the gate and beat race favorite Run Away Rojo and Reylu Gutierrez to the top spot heading into the turn.

The top horse had lots of company early as Looking Good Lewis and Alberto Burgos was stalking in second with Win Me Over and Eddie Perez sitting three-wide. Run Away Rojo was tucked in along the rail behind the leader and was saving ground and energy early on.

Around the final turn, horses began to tire and Run Away Rojo saw an opportunity to advance up the inside. As Track Announcer John Dooley called it, “Run Away Rojo slips through for Reylu” and appeared to be on his way to a big effort. King Ice was just coming up to the horses in the first pack on the outside and barely in the camera view.

In the stretch, Run Away Rojo took over and a blur began to appear on the outside. King Ice was in full motion and was on a mission, delivering a three and one-quarter length blow at the end to claim the title. Run Away Rojo finished second over Corona Grande and Edgar Morales for third.

“I think he enjoys it (coming off the pace),” said Graham. “Last time, I tried to force him to move on, but he didn’t go. This time, I just let him have his way. He’s a great horse to ride.”

King Ice paid $3.20 for the win. The Keen Ice colt is owned by Hillerich Racing and Bernie Flint’s L.T. B. Inc. The homebred is from the Hillerich Racing-Flint’s breeding operation.

The dam of King Ice, Express Run, is a former standout in Indiana, winning six races and earning the title in the Frances Slocum and more than $343,000 in earnings. The sire is Unbridled Express, who was also bred by Hillerich and Flint. The standout Indiana sire stands at Swifty Farm and has earned year-end honors as the top stallion in the state. His most recent son, King Ice, joins a long list of elevated winners. The colt is trained by George Leonard III.

“He’s a very cool horse to have in the barn,” said Leonard III. “He’s very relaxed. I’m very blessed to have a horse like this in my barn.”

Hillerich and Flint have long been partners on the Indiana racing circuit. They have campaigned many winners over the years. King Ice is the latest to join their elite group of top performers in the Hoosier State.

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Shelbyville High School’s boys golf team advanced to the regional round of the IHSAA tournament this year for the first time since 1996, as it finished third in the Greensburg Sectional in June.

The Golden Bears completed the competition behind champion Columbus North and runner-up Columbus East. Shelbyville avenged an earlier season loss to Greensburg by finishing just ahead of the Pirates by two strokes with a score of 326.

Jake Garrison led the Golden Bears’ effort with a 73. Brock Wischmeyer recorded an 83, Eli Baker an 84, DaMiles McDuffey an 86 and Logan Reinhart an 89.

The Golden Bears’ golfers finished 10^th in a field of 15 regional participants the following week at Champion’s Pointe Golf Club in Henryville.

The recent boys golf success is reminiscent of the 1990s when Shelbyville golfers claimed four sectional titles and advanced to regional play in seven consecutive seasons from 1990 through 1996.

Eli Baker’s and Jake Garrison’s fathers were SHS golfers during that exceptional period. Jason Garrison and Brian Baker were teammates on the 1991 team that captured the school’s first-ever sectional championship with Garrison shooting a 67.

In addition to winning the sectional, the 1991 Golden Bear team posted nine wins against four losses, finished runner-up in two invitationals and placed 7^th in the regional.

In 1991, Shelbyville captured its first boys golf sectional championship. Members of the team were (from left, front row): Tom Stafford, Jason Garrison, Brandon Manning, Matt Shuppert, Aaron Hobbs and John Stafford; (back row) Brian Baker, Aaron McClure, Jim Paulson, John Allen, Vance McQueen, Andy Michel and head coach Jerry Higgins.

Jake Garrison currently serves as Shelbyville boys golf coach.

“Baker was a senior and I was a freshman that season,” said Garrison. “Matt Shuppert, Vance McQueen and Tom Stafford were some other members of the team.

“It is satisfying for Brian and I to see our sons have similar experiences and enjoy success some 32 years after we did.”

The 2023 Golden Bears started the season with a second-place finish at the 18-team Edinburgh Invitational (main photo). Wischmeyer (second from right) led the Shelbyville effort with an 82 and finished sixth overall. McDuffey (far right) had an 83, Garrison (second from left) scored an 85 and Baker (third from left) an 86.

Shelbyville then ran into a series of talented opponents and dropped the next four matches.

“Our schedule was very tough at the beginning,” said SHS assistant coach Doug McDuffey Jr. “All four of those teams we played early advanced to the regionals. We came back to win four in a row and picked up some very positive momentum.”

The Golden Bears recorded another runner-up finish by placing second in the Seymour Invitational and then posted a strong performance at the Hoosier Heritage Conference tournament at Yorktown.

Shelbyville’s No. 2 player Jake Garrison finished in a three-way tie for first place at the conference. He lost a tough playoff tiebreaker.  McDuffey believes he has a very bright future.

“Jake was only a sophomore this year and works very hard at his game,” said McDuffey. “I believe he has the potential to be a state competitor before his high school career is complete.”

The Golden Bear assistant coach also lauded the leadership of Eli Baker, the squad’s No. 1 player this year.

“Eli was a senior and was the mature leader that we needed because we were such a young team,” stated McDuffey. “Eli was a four-year player and gave us a sense of stability. Everyone knows how frustrating playing golf can be. Eli really helped us coaches keep everyone calm and steady.”

Baker and Garrison were selected to the 2023 HHC All-Conference team.

Baker, the only graduating senior, will continue his education at Eastern Kentucky University in the fall where he will pursue his goal of becoming a firefighter. He has been working at the Edinburgh Fire Department during the summer.

The loss of only one senior and the emergence of some promising younger players makes for an optimistic prognosis for Golden Bear boys golf.

McDuffey, a three-year letterman, will return as the only senior in 2024. Garrison and Wischmeyer will bring a wealth of experience and success to their junior seasons and sophomores Reinhart (far left in photo) and Kruz Nedderman offer significant promise.

Coaches are also encouraged by incoming freshmen Logan Tobian and Ethan Hughes.

Returning and incoming players have been putting in work this summer to improve their individual games.

“We held practice two nights a week this summer,” said McDuffey. “We should have more depth next season which will be a big plus. We may even have enough for a junior varsity team. We are very excited about the players we have developing.”

This year’s Shelbyville boys golf team produced a stellar season that was inspired by a legacy created some three decades earlier. The work continues with the anticipation of upcoming strong seasons that could very well harken back to the glory days of the 1990s.    

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FAIRLAND -- What Triton Central had in 2022 was a veteran squad that had won three straight sectional titles and talented skill position players all over the field.

What Hall of Fame head coach Tim Able didn’t have was a magic wand to erase an unusual amount of key injuries and enough cold medicine to keep postseason illness from ravaging his squad.

“You always want to be healthy at the end if you can and, obviously, not only physically but health wise,” said Able Monday during TC’s media day availability ahead of the 2023 football season. “We were suffering from six two-way players going into the (regional) game we lost through the season and then you turned around and many kids were sick. And our quarterback was sick but probably had his best game of the year in the first half (against Evansville Mater Dei).

“I can’t say enough about how the kids fought through it. They gave us a chance at the end of the game to win a game against a state championship team.”

Indeed.

Triton Central finished 10-3 in Able’s 10^th season at Triton Central and captured a fourth-straight sectional title before bowing out of the postseason with a 35-28 loss to Evansville Mater Dei, who went on to capture the Class 2A state championship at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Of Mater Dei’s six postseason victories, the Tigers were the only team not to be beaten by at least 10 points.

Thirteen seniors were lost to graduation including five who will be playing on Saturdays this fall – Mitchell Ryan (Franklin College), Lucas Kleeman (Anderson), Hadyn Ball (Wabash), Brad Schultz (University of Indianapolis) and Aidan Wasson (Indianapolis).

There is still plenty of talent at the skill positions including Eastern Michigan commit Jace Stuckey (main photo), a junior All-State quarterback who threw for 2,657 yards and 23 touchdowns last season.

“He is special one because of his talent, but more importantly because of his work ethic,” said Able. “He goes at least twice a week to throw on top of what he does here. He comes early. He stays late. His dad’s fingers and hands are broke from catching passes from him because he always wants to do extra.”

With several offers to consider, Stuckey opted for Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti, Michigan, because it was the right fit.

“It was a great balance between the head coach and the offensive coordinator there,” said Stuckey (photo), who intends to graduate from Triton Central in January and enroll at Eastern Michigan in the spring. “They are two different personalities that I think I can benefit from. It’s a really great place and the culture there is something I want to be a part of.”

Stuckey will work behind a newly-bolstered offensive line that has rare depth and in front of a talented group of athletes in Ray Crawford – third in program history for career rushing yards, Brayden Wilkins and Sam Kemper.

Crawford was one of those key players injured and unavailable for the regional championship game after suffering a high ankle sprain in the sectional championship game win over Indianapolis Scecina.

“I am completely past the injury,” said Crawford Monday. “It doesn’t affect me anymore.”

While Kemper will fill more of a fullback role in the TC backfield, he moves into a vaunted linebacker role this season, replacing Kleeman.

“This year is a lot more of a leadership role because the linebackers are the captains of the defense,” said Kemper (photo). “They are in charge of getting everyone in place. The linebackers need to communicate a lot and get our star players in places to make plays.”

Kemper realizes the new found role comes with more responsibility and the need to step outside his comfort zone.

“I need to be vocal. I am kind of a quiet, shy guy,” he said. “These guys take me seriously but they don’t take me super seriously. I need to be a lot more vocal this year and show I am a leader. I’ve been a leader by example but I need to be a vocal leader this year.”

Able will count on seniors like Mason Compton, Levi Dewey, Garrett McElfresh, Henry Smith, Max Ray and the returning Anthony Dunville to keep the program successful. Triton Central has won 10 games in four of the last five seasons and played in a sectional championship game in each of Able’s 10 seasons (winning five sectional titles) in Fairland.

“We have a lot of kids back so our experience will be to our benefit,” said Able (photo), who was inducted into the Indiana High School Football Hall of Fame earlier this year. “We are looking forward to seeing how all that mixes. We have a lot of junior and sophomore linemen and a lot of senior skills guys.”

Triton Central opens the 2023 season on Aug. 18 at Cascade (6-5 last season, finishing with a winning record for the first time since 2013).

The Tigers’ home opener is Aug. 25 against New Castle (3-8 in 2022).

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