Fast start propels Rushville to 28-7 win over mistake-prone Shelbyville

RUSHVILLE – A disastrous first quarter was followed by red zone execution problems which kept Shelbyville from never getting in contention Friday at Hinshaw Field.

Rushville scored three touchdowns on nine plays to quickly build a 22-0 lead that it never relinquished. Running backs Quinn Barada and Sam Pavey combined for 320 yards and two touchdowns and the Lions roared to a 28-7 victory.

“They came out and punched us in the face a little bit and we didn’t know what to do when it happened,” said Shelbyville head coach Scott Fitzgerald. “They got us behind on our heels a little bit and we just didn’t recover.”

Rushville scored on its first two plays of the game. Barada took a double handoff in the backfield and sprinted 60 yards following Owen Zachery’s interception of a Tyler Gwinnup pass at the Shelbyville 40-yard line. The extra-point run attempt failed.

Following a Shelbyville punt, Rushville quarterback Nick Jarman connected quickly with Braydon Wilson and the senior raced 44 yards for another touchdown. Barada ran in the two-point conversion.

Shelbyville’s Donavon Martin was stripped of the ball at midfield on a fourth-and-1 run on the next possession and Rushville needed seven plays to reach the end zone again.

Jarman finished off the drive with a 1-yard plunge and Barada again ran in the 2-point conversion for a 22-0 advantage with 2:34 left in the first quarter.

“It’s something we scouted. It’s something we saw,” said Fitzgerald of the Rushville offense. “We practiced against it all week long. It’s hard to give them in practice what they are going to see on game night.

“We can’t simulate game speed. They have some good-sized kids and their (offensive) line did a great job. I give them all the credit in the world.”

Shelbyville’s defense finally started stringing together stops but the offense struggled to control the line of scrimmage and made too many mistakes when the end zone was near.

After falling behind 22-0, the Golden Bears responded with five positive plays that pushed them into a first-and-goal situation at the Rushville 4-yard line. Four plays later, Gwinnup was sacked by Eli Pavey.

Gwinnup was intercepted by Zachery again on the first play of the next drive and the next two drives ended in punts.

Shelbyville finally put together a 56-yard scoring drive on its first possession of the second half. Martin collected the final 13 yards on three straight rushing attempts and scored to cut into the Rushville lead.

Shelbyville’s next possession again included a trip into the red zone but Martin was stopped for a 3-yard loss on third down at the Rushville 8 and Gwinnup could not find an open receiver on fourth down.

“It came down to mistakes. We just continually made mistakes and they were self-inflicted mistakes,” said Fitzgerald. “They put pressure on us defensively there and did some things – put some pressure on Tyler (Gwinnup) but we really made things bad on ourselves.”

Barada broke off a 57-yard run and Pavey collected the final 32 yards to get Rushville the game-sealing score.

Martin carried the ball 22 times for 85 yards.

Gwinnup completed 11 of 24 pass attempts for 91 yards and two interceptions.

Shelbyville (1-1) opens its Hoosier Heritage Conference schedule next Friday at Class 3A, No. 13 Delta (2-0).

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