Shelbyville Central senior William Bobo caught four passes for 111 yards and a touchdown and returned two kicks one for a TD, totaling 145 yards. (Post Photo by Gary Johnson)
Senior kicker Ben Betzelberger connected a pair of field goals in the Golden Eagles win on Friday night. (Post Photo by Gary Johnson)
By GARY JOHNSON
Sports Writer
MANCHESTER — Shelbyville Central’s Golden Eagles fought till the end and walked away with a 32-28 victory over strong and scrappy Coffee County on the road on Friday night.
The win didn’t come easy as the Red Raiders held a two-score lead midway through the third quarter before the Golden Eagles took control of the game in the fourth quarter.
“We continue to show the grit to keep going and that’s all that matters right now,” Shelbyville Central coach Jud Dryden said.
“Coffee County’s defensive line is as good as any we will play in the regular season. We had to make some adjustments and play a different style of game plan and the players and coaches adjusted well.”
Shelbyville Central (2-1) scored first when senior kicker Ben Betzelberger connected on a 24 yard field goal midway through the opening quarter.
Coffee County (2-1) responded with a 14-play drive, consuming over seven minutes.
The Red Raiders capped off the drive on a 4-yard run by Caiden Martin. The point after was good for the 7-3 lead.
That score was short-lived as senior William Bobo returned the ensuing kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown.
The kick after was no good for the 9-7 advantage after the first quarter.
Betzelberger nailed his second field goal, this one a 38-yarder for the 12-7 advantage.
The Red Raiders closed out the opening half with a Deontae Short 87-yard kick return.
The extra-point gave the Red Raiders a 14-12 lead at the half.
Jayden Carter found the end zone on a 2-yard run and the kick increased Coffee County’s lead to 21-12 at the 7:48 mark of the third quarter.
Shelbyville Central capitalized on a bad snap on a Coffee County punt attempt when Nateb Zimmerman recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown to make the score 21-18.
The Golden Eagles then outscored the Red Raiders 14-7 in the fourth quarter.
Quarterback Steven Bobo rushed for a 2-yard TD and Betzelberger’s kick gave Shelbyville Central a 25-21 lead.
Coffee County retook the lead off a 13-yard run by Short.
The extra-point made the score 28-25.
The Golden Eagle claimed the win with a 54-yard TD pass to William Bobo from Steven Bobo.
Shelbyville Central’s defense got a huge stop, then the Golden Eagle offense ran out the clock for the victory.
“I thought we played much better in the second half and we needed to,” Dryden said.
“We made some plays on offense and got some stops on defense and this was a great team effort.”
William Bobo had a big night for the winners, hauling in four passes for 111 yards and a touchdown while adding two kick returns totaling 145 yards and a TD.
“William Bobo is a great player and leader on this team and he’s even a better young man,” Dryden said. “He had a great game and I’m proud for him.”
The Red Raider defensive line held Robert Bailey to 58 yards on 14 carries.
The Golden Eagles host region foe Columbia on Friday night at 7.
Shelbyville Central 9 3 6 14 — 32
Coffee County 7 7 7 7 — 28
First Quarter
SC — Ben Betzelberger 24 field goal, 7:18.
CC — Caiden Martin 4 run (kick good), 0:16.
SC — William Bobo 87 kick return (kick failed), 0:03.
Second Quarter
SC — Betzelberger 38 field goal, 3:10.
CC — Deontae Short 87 kick return (kick good), 2:55.
Third Quarter
CC — Jayden Carter 2 run (kick good), 7:48.
SC — Nate Zimmerman fumble recovery (kick failed), 4:50.
SC — Steven Bobo 2 run (Betzelberger kick), 8:54.
CC — Short13 run (kick good), 2:36.
SC — William Bobo 54 pass from Steven Bobo (Betzelberger kick), 2:17.
