Senior Robert Bailey bursts through the Summit Spartan defense and picks up a huge gain. He totaled over 250 yards and had three touchdowns in Shelbyville’s win. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
By CHRIS SIERS
csiers@bedfordcountypost.com
THOMPSON’S STATION — Early in Friday night’s Region 6-6A clash at Summit, the Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles (3-3, 3-1) looked like they might run away with the game after a dominant first half.
But a pair of key missed scoring chances allowed Summit to claw back within a possession late in the fourth quarter.
Despite the Spartans (1-5, 0-3) cutting into the score late, the Golden Eagles showcased resiliency and executed plays when the game was on the line to lockdown their third region victory of the year, beating the Spartans 24-17.
“We’re still making mistakes at the wrong time, but we’re also fighting through it, which means there’s a growth process,” Golden Eagle coach Jud Dryden said.
After Summit cut the Golden Eagle lead to 17-7 with less than two minutes to go in the first half, the Eagles returned in short order and marched the ball deep into Spartan territory but a field goal attempt by Jackson Themm missed left.
Still with a 17-7 lead after the half, Shelbyville went back to its bread and butter ground attack that Summit simply didn’t have an answer for.
After being pinned back to their own 13-yard line on the first drive of the second half, the Golden Eagles marched 12 plays inside the Spartan five-yard line, but a fumble in the end zone negated the score that potentially could have put the game out of reach.
Torrion Mathis moves the pile on an inside handoff for the Golden Eagles. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
In turn, Summit methodically pressed the ball into the red zone, aided by a handful of Shelbyville Central penalties, but the Golden Eagle defense bowed up and held Summit to a 33-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the third period.
Although the following Shelbyville possession featured more of the same deliberate pace that milked over 6:30 off the clock, the drive stalled on the Spartan 26-yard line when Summit came through with a key fourth down stop.
Barely two minutes later, Shelbyville Central returned the favor and came through with a fourth-down stop of its own to take over on the Spartan 34-yard line.
On the next play, senior tailback Robert Bailey hit cutback and broke loose for his third touchdown of the night, which proved to be the eventual game-winner with just under three minutes to go.
During the following Spartan possession, Shelbyville appeared to have another fourth-down stop, but just as the Golden Eagle defense got to Summit quarterback Davis Smith, he was able to get the ball to Michael Crutcher in open space, who turned the reception into a 76-yard catch and run for the touchdown.
While Summit opted for the onside kick on the ensuing possession, Lad Sparrow came up with the reception and streaked down the home sideline, appearing to have notched one final score, but a block in the back penalty negated the touchdown, setting Shelbyville up on the 46-yard line.
Although the penalty wiped the score off the board, Shelbyville was able to move the chains on a third-down Spartan face mask penalty and take victory formation to secure the third region victory of the season.
Shelbyville entered the game a little banged up, having been without quarterback Stephen Bobo and Bailey, who were nursing injurie
Jackson Themm drags Spartan quarterback Davis Smith to the turf for a three-yard loss on the second Summit possession of the night. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
s over the past two weeks.
Dryden’s message to his offensive line was to dictate the game and set the tone up front.
Message received.
“We talked all week about controlling what you can control. For the folks on the offensive line all week—it doesn’t matter who is in the backfield, it’s your job to plow a road. Defensively, we had a really good week and we were able to take the mistakes that were made last week and we really shored them up and became better through that loss,” he said.
All night long the Eagle offensive line held their blocks and created running lanes for the ground game that Summit simply couldn’t answer.
“Assignment football was much better tonight for them. We got Blake Leigh back at left tackle and that was a huge boost for us,” he said.
In total, Shelbyville cranked out 472 yards of offense, with 421 coming on the ground.
Bailey eclipsed the 300-yard mark and totaled three touchdowns, finishing with 307 yards on 32 carries to lead the way, while Rucker added 50 yards on six carries, highlighted on a 54-yard run on the first offensive play by Shelbyville.
“He’s a lot more comfortable back there, and of course it helps when Robert’s back there with him. He (Rucker) is an outstanding young man. He’s a joy to coach and of course you have to love his athleticism and grit,” Dryden said.
Jackson Themm was also excellent in special teams, connecting on a perfect 3-of-3 on extra point attempts and going 1-for-2 on field goal attempts.
He also was a complete menace for the Golden Eagle defense, recording three tackles, including two tackles for loss.
Friday’s win was a huge improvement for the Golden Eagles from a week prior in a loss to Brentwood.
“Assignment football was much better tonight for them. We got Blake Leigh back at left tackle and that was a huge boost for us,” Dryden said.
With an off week on the horizon, and a 3-1 region record in hand, Shelbyville is plenty pleased with its efforts so far this season that has the Golden Eagles right in the mix of the Region 6-6A standings.
“We still have Ravenwood coming to us and Coffee County—there’s two huge games on the horizon for us. Before those though, we have to travel to Clarksville. We just have to play football,” Dryden added.
While there’s still two key region games on the horizon, Shelbyville will get the week off to get a little bit healthier before making the trek to Clarksville on Thursday, October 9.
Shelbyville 7 10 0 7 — 24
Summit 0 7 3 7 — 17
First Quarter
SC — Robert Bailey 11 run, (Jackson Themm kick), 5:56.
Second Quarter
SC — Bailey 1 run, (Themm kick), 11:28.
SC — Themm 35-yard field goal, 3:54.
S — Michael Crutcher 28 pass from Davis Smith, (Sam Sklenka kick), 1:36.
Third Quarter
S — Slenska 33-yard field goal, :03.
Fourth Quarter
SC — Bailey 34 run, (Themm kick), 2:57.
S — Crutcher 76 pass from Smith, (Sklenka kick), 1:34.