By Gary Johnson
Sports Writer
LEBANON — After a slow start, Shelbyville Central took control of the game in dominant fashion on the way to a 42-8 win in a non-region matchup on the road Friday night.
The Golden Eagles (4-1) scored 35 unanswered points after a scoreless first quarter to put the game away.
“Hats off to them (Wilson Central). They did a good job of defending us in the first half, especially in the first quarter, but we were able to make some adjustments at the half,” Shelbyville Central coach Jud Dryden said.
“Definitely pleased with how things went tonight and it’s always great to get a win on the road.”
Both teams struggled to make anything happen on offense in the first quarter and the Golden Eagle defense held the Wildcats (3-2) to only 34 total yards in the first half.
Shelbyville Central found the end zone early in the second stanza when senior quarterback Nathan Delaughter scored on a 6-yard run.
Maddox Wright carried in for the two-point conversion and the 8-0 lead.
After back-to-back possessions that ended with an interception, Shelbyville Central capped off a three-play drive with a 34-yard touchdown run by sophomore Robert Bailey that increased the lead to 14-0 at the intermission.
“Really pleased at halftime with how well our defense played. Didn’t give up much at all,” Dryden said.
“We had a couple of turnovers that hurt us in the first half but we overcame those.”
The Golden Eagles took control of the game in the second half and dominated play on both sides of the football.
Shelbyville Central scored a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter while holding Wilson Central scoreless.
The first an 80-yard kickoff return by Bron Ransom to start the second half off with a bang for the Golden Eagles.Ben Betzelberger connected on the point after for the 21-0 advantage.
Rocky Chandler took over from that point scoring the first of his three rushing touchdowns on a 20-yard run that capped off a six-play drive.
The point after made the score 28-0 with 1:05 left in the third quarter.
Chandler struck again early in the fourth frame on a 40-yard TD run with the kick after increasing the score to 35-0 with 10:42 left to play.
At that point Shelbyville Central put in the junior varsity defense and Wildcats took advantage by scoring when Chaz Martin rushed 23 yards to the end zone.
Wilson Central, with starters still in the game, was looking to score again but the Golden Eagle starting defense returned to the field and Micah Threatt intercepted a pass in the end zone and returned 45 yards.
Three plays later Chandler raced 44 yards for his third TD of the game.
“It was good that the JV guys got to experience Friday night’s are like. That alone will help them understand at practice why we do what we do,” Dryden said.
Chandler finished with 173 yards rushing on just nine carries.
The Golden Eagle defense held the Wildcats to 201 yards of total offense.
Shelbyville Central had 363 yard of total offense, including 351 on the ground.
“Now we turn our focus to our region portion of our schedule.” Dryden said. “We will have to come play every game.”
The Golden Eagles travel to Franklin County on Friday for a Region 5-5A matchup at 7 p.m.
Shelbyville Central 0 14 14 14 — 42
Wilson Central 0 0 0 8 — 8
Second Quarter
SC — Nathan Delaughter 6 run, (Madox Wright run), 11:22.
SC — Robert Bailey 34 run, (run failed), 2:11.
Third Quarter
SC — Bron Ransom 80 kick-off return, (Ben Betzelberger kick), 11:16.
SC — Rocky Chandler 20 run, (Betzelberger kick), 1:05.
Fourth Quarter
SC — Chandler 40 run, (Betzelberger kick), 10:42.
WC — Chaz Martin 23 run, (Martin run), 6:27.
SC — Chandler 44 run, (Betzelberger kick) 4:02.
Post Photo by Gary Johnson
A host of Golden Eagle defenders, led by linebacker Brody Lovvorn, make a big stop on Wilson Central running back Antuan McKethan in Shelbyville Central’s non-region win on Friday night.
