Shelbyville coaching staff preaching positivity as toughest part of HHC schedule looms

Shelbyville’s football schedule the next three weeks is daunting.

The Golden Bears host Class 4A, No. 4 Greenfield-Central Friday at McKeand Stadium, travel to Yorktown for week six then host 4A No. 1 New Palestine on Oct. 4. Those three teams are a combined 10-1.

Those opponents are the least of head coach Scott Fitzgerald’s problems. The Golden Bears have lost three straight and two of those losses came to teams they beat last season. Execution has become an issue for Shelbyville (1-3, 0-2 Hoosier Heritage Conference) and that was on full display last Friday in a 28-7 loss to New Castle.

“When you go back and watch the film, as a coach you always say it’s never as bad as you think and it’s never as good as you think,” said Fitzgerald. “But if you really go back and watch the film there are several plays, two screens in particular where we run really good screens and we have four guys over the top of three but we miss a guy or a guy slips through and we only have a 5- or 10-yard gain on something that very easily could have been a home run hit where you are scoring.

“There are opportunities to make plays and we just weren’t making them.”

Shelbyville ran the ball just 12 times for an ineffective 20 yards with starting running back Donavon Martin out with a shoulder injury. Freshman Jasper Hahn started in his place and gained 23 yards on five carries but had a costly fumble on the opening play of the second half.

“We felt like we could hit some of the quick (passes),” said Fitzgerald (photo) of the career-high 29 passing attempts for sophomore quarterback Tyler Gwinnup. “We hit a good number of them but we didn’t break any tackles. (New Castle) did a good job of coming downhill.

“Without having a solid running back in there that you truly trusted, Jasper did a good job as a freshman and I am really proud of him, I think more than anything we were trying to keep the ball on the outside and see if our guys could work in space.”

Martin (photo) is expected to be back in uniform and available Friday against Greenfield-Central (4-0, 2-0 HHC), who finished 9-2 last season with its only two losses coming to New Palestine.

“It’s a lot of the same stuff. A few of their linemen graduated but they have guys to fill in,” said Fitzgerald of the Cougars. “That’s one of the biggest differences in these two programs. They have their program at a point where they’ve been there a few years and been able to build. They are further along in that process, obviously, being a top-five team.”

Senior quarterback Dallas Freeman has completed 61% of his pass attempts for 398 yards and seven touchdowns.

“He can run the ball and he can throw the ball. They will suck you down in with their option stuff and then all of the sudden there is a guy going over the top of you,” said Fitzgerald. “We have to be disciplined with our eyes and making sure we are coming and being physical.”

Senior Boston Willard and junior Cooper Hinton have combined for 15 catches, 228 yards and five touchdowns.

The offense has three running backs with at least 200 yards rushing. Hinton has 28 carries for 238 yards and five touchdowns. Seniors Payton Foley (236 yards, four TDs) and Freeman (213 yards, three TDs) and junior Braylen Benavente (216) also are dangerous with the ball in their hands.

The Cougars are averaging 39 points per game this season while allowing 13 ppg. By comparison, Shelbyville is averaging 14 ppg but have only scored one touchdown in each of the last three weeks.

With Martin back, the offensive line has to create a push to improve the ground game. And the Golden Bears must be better on first down.

Against New Castle, the offense ran 16 first-down plays and gained more than four yards just twice.

“Just being so young, many times we have guys in position but I don’t know if we are physically ready to go make those plays yet,” said Fitzgerald. “Just like on those screens as you get older and more physical, you learn I can just go and run through that defender because my guy is right behind me instead of reacting to what the defender is doing and just getting my hands on him and being unsure. That is part of being young.”

The negatives are being identified to make corrections but Fitzgerald is stern in making sure the players see the positives coming from Friday night games.

“We have to continue to focus on the positive things we are doing, because there are a lot of positives,” said Fitzgerald.

Class 4A, No. 4 Greenfield-Central at Shelbyville

Site: McKeand Stadium in Shelbyville.

Kickoff: 7 p.m.

Broadcast: The GIANT fm pre-game show will air live from McKeand Stadium at 6 p.m. with Johnny McCrory and Jeff Brown. Listen live at 96.5 fm, 106.3 fm, 1520 am or online at GIANT.fm.

SHS Student Theme: Hawaiian.

2024 records: Greenfield-Central 4-0, 2-0 HHC; Shelbyville 1-3, 0-2 HHC.

Coaches: Travis Nolting, 32-24 in sixth year at G-C; Scott Fitzgerald, 4-10 in second year at Shelbyville.

Series record: Greenfield-Central leads the overall series 33-29. The two programs first met in 1929 with Shelbyville winning 24-6. The Cougars have won the last four meetings by a combined score of 219-7.

2023 meeting: Greenfield-Central shut out the Golden Bears, 47-0 on Sept. 15, 2023.

Sagarin rating: Greenfield-Central 74.42 (45th overall, 10th in Class 4A); Shelbyville 35.93 (223rd overall, 51st in Class 4A). Greenfield-Central is a 36-point favorite.

Sectional 23: Class 4A, No. 5 Martinsville (4-0), Silver Creek (3-1), Connersville (2-2), Shelbyville (1-3), Jennings County (0-4), Greenwood (2-2), Charlestown (1-3) and Bedford North Lawrence (0-4).

Steve Bush photo

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