Post Photo by Gary Johnson Shelbyville Central coach Jud Dryden rallies his offense during a timeout in the Eagles win on the road Friday night.
Post Photo by Gary Johnson Shelbyville Central senior RayDaun Crenshaw breaks a number of tackles on the way to the end zone in the Golden Eagles win on the road at Lawrence County.
Post Photo by Gary Johnson The Golden Eagle defense swarms to ball as eight defenders make a huge stop on Lawrence County running back Tay Everly in a Region 5-5A contest on Friday night.
By Gary Johnson
Sports Writer
LAWRENCEBURG — Make it seven in a row.
It was a slow start but Shelbyville Central’s Golden Eagles found a way to finish strong in a 21-12 victory at Lawrence County in a Region 5-5A contest on Friday night, marking their seventh consecutive win after losing the season opener.
The Golden Eagles only had three full offensive possessions in the first half, scoring on one, while the Wildcat Wing-T offense controlled the time of possession, while finding the end zone twice.
“Hats off to Lawrence County coach (David) Marston. He and his staff put together a great game plan and did some things we didn’t see on film,” Shelbyville Central coach Jud Dryden said.
“Kudos to our coaching staff as well for settling down our players and making the adjustments needed to be made in the second half. We had to refocus, get some stops and do a better job on offense.”
The Wildcats (3-5, 2-3) struck first on a time-consuming drive capped off by an 11-yard run by Isaiah Bentley at the 7:24 mark of the opening quarter.
The point after was no good for the 6-0 lead.
The Golden Eagles (7-1, 4-0) responded with a nice drive that covered 85 yards in seven plays.
William Bobo hauled in a 24-yard touchdown pass from Nathan DeLaughter and Ben Betzelberger connected on the kick after for the 7-6 lead.
That lead was short-lived as Lawrence County followed with a 2-yard touchdown run by Tay Everly, but the conversion after was no good making the score 12-7 to close out the first half.
“We knew we had to make some adjustments during halftime. We had to get some stops on defense and do a better job of moving the football on offense,” Dryden said.
The Golden Eagle defense took control of the game in the second, not allowing a point while holding Lawrence County to only 49 total yards in the second half.
Shelbyville Central took the lead for good when Robert Bailey scored off a 38-yard run where he broke a number of tackles before crossing the goal line.
Betzelberger’s kick was good for the 14-12 advantage with 4:26 left in the third frame.
The Golden Eagles added some insurance late in the fourth quarter capping off a near seven-minute drive when RayDaun Crenshaw scored on a strong effort run of 11 yards with just over a minute left in the game. The kick after was good.
“Those two touchdown runs in the second half were something to see,” Dryden said.
“Our offensive line got them past the first line of defense then both Robert and RayDaun just did a great job of displaying a lot of power to get into the end zone.”
Bailey finished with 98 yards on 10 touches while Crenshaw rushed for 40 yards on seven carries.
Rocky Chandler had nine touches totaling 34 yards.
DeLaughter connected on 7-of-13 yards passes for 138 yards. He also rushed for 33 yards on nine carries.
Everly led the Wildcats with 122 yards on 19 carries.
Shelbyville Central host region foe Lincoln County on Friday night at 7.
Shelbyville Central 7 0 7 7 — 21
Lawrence County 6 6 0 0 — 12
First Quarter
LC — Isaiah Bentley 11 run, (Kick failed), 7:24.
SC — William Bobo 24 pass from Nathan DeLaughter, (Ben Betzelberger), 3:45
Second Quarter
LC — Tay Everly 2 run, (run failed), 11:54.
Third Quarter
SC — Robert Bailey 36 run, (Betzelberger kick), 4:26.
Fourth Quarter
SC — RayDaun Crenshaw 11 run, (Betzelberger kick), 1:05.
