Post Photo by Gary Johnson Shelbyville Central junior running back Rocky Chandler turned in an outstanding performance on Friday night, rushing for 239 yards on nine carries with a pair of touchdowns in the Golden Eagles’ win.
By Gary Johnson
Sports Writer
SHELBYVILLE — A pair of outstanding individual performances, one on each side of the ball, helped lead Shelbyville Central to a 44-23 victory over Spring Hill (2-6, 0-4) on Homecoming Night Friday in a Region 5-5A matchup at the Eagles Nest.
“First, what a great crowd here for Homecoming. All the tailgating before the game and the stands were packed. What a great atmosphere for a high school football game. We want this entire community to feel like they are part of our football family. All the support this team is getting is just a testament to what these boys have worked for and how much time, effort and energy to everything they have done,” Shelbyville Central coach Jud Dryden said.
While the final score tilted heavily in favor of the Eagles, Dryden remains focused on cleaning up the miscues and penalties committed by the Golden Eagles (6-1, 3-0) as the regular season draws to a close.
“As for this game, it’s always great to win Homecoming. We made a number of mistakes and had way too many penalties, but we will clean those things up.”
It was a pair of juniors that led the way for the Eagles on both sides of the ball, with running back Rocky Chandler being the spark plug on offense and defensive back William Bobo who was a complete ball hawk to lead the Shelbyville defense.
Chandler rushed for 239 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries while Bobo intercepted three Spring Hill passes.
Shelbyville Central (6-1, 3-0) scored the lone touchdown in the first quarter, a 1-yard run by RayDaun Crenshaw, capping off a 10-play drive that was set up by a 34-yard run by Chandler.
Madox Wright ran f
Post Photo by Gary Johnson Junior William Bobo intercepted three passes for Shelbyville Central in the Golden Eagles 44-23 win over Spring Hill on Friday night.
or the 2-point conversion and the 8-0 score.
The Eagle defense came up with a safety midway through the second quarter to make the score 10-0.
Robert Bailey followed with a 6-yard touchdown run to increase the lead to 16-0.
Spring Hill got on the scoreboard when Conner East hauled in a pass from Chance Harmon, covering 64 yards.
The run after on the 2-point conversion made the score 16-8 with 49 seconds left in the half.
The Golden Eagles answered right back with a 72-yard TD pass to Micah Threatt from Nathan Delaughter wi
Post Photo by Gary Johnson Golden Eagle defenders RayDaun Crenshaw (21), Brody Lovvorn (5) and Logan McBee (44), make a big stop for a loss against visiting Spring Hill on Homecoming Night.
th 0:32 left on the clock.
The kick after was good for the 23-8 halftime advantage.
“What a way to close out the first half, especially after giving up a long touchdown pass just seconds earlier,” Dryden said. “Just a perfect throw from Nathan and a great catch by Micah.”
Chandler took over the game in the third quarter, scoring on runs of 76 and 97 yards while Crenshaw added a one yard touchdown run.
Spring Hill (2-6, 0-4) found the end zone once off a Harmon 6-yard run as the Golden Eagles posted a 44-16 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Spring added a late touchdown when William Bailey caught a 13 yard pass from Harmon.
“Now we just need to get back on our schedule and routine after having our bye week then homecoming week,” Dryden said. We still have three region games to play and we want to be playing our best as we look to make a playoff run.”
Shelbyville Central travels to Lawrence County on Friday night at 7 for another Region 5-5A contest.
Spring Hill 0 8 8 7 — 23
Shelbyville Central 8 15 21 0 — 44
First Quarter
SC — RayDaun Crenshaw 1 run (Madox Wright run), 2:24.
Second Quarter
SC — Safety, 7:40.
SC — Robert Bailey 6 run (pass failed), 5:51.
SH — Connor East 64 pass from Chance Harmon (run good), 0:49.
SC — Micah Threatt 72 pass from Nathan Delaughter (Betzelberger kick), 0:32.
Third Quarter
SC — Rocky Chandler 76 run (Betzelberger kick), 11:46.
SC — Crenshaw 1 run (Betzelberger kick), 11:30.
SH — Harmon 6 run (run good), 8:18.
SC — Chandler 97 run (Betzelberger kick), 7:55.
Fourth Quarter
SH — William Bailey 13 pass from Harmon (kick good), 1:08.
