Strong second half propels Shelbyville to season-opening win over Greensburg

There were plenty of positives to take from Shelbyville’s season-opening 39-14 win over Greensburg Friday at McKeand Stadium.

And plenty of things to work on from a less-than-perfect performance to start year No. 100 of Golden Bears football.

Shelbyville never trailed Friday but struggled to finish out the first half as the Pirates gained momentum. A kickoff recovery to start the second half was wasted but Shelbyville was slowly finding its way again.

The Golden Bears then scored on their next three possessions to pull away for the first victory of the season.

“I felt like we had a really good chance to take control of the game in the first half, then we just missed some things. We didn’t execute where we needed to execute,” said Shelbyville head coach Scott Fitzgerald. “We had some penalties that really cost us and we have to clean those things up.”

Shelbyville racked up over 300 yards rushing and 18 first downs but finished with 11 penalties (six in the first half).

Senior Grantland Fitzgerald (photo) delivered 31 carries for 209 yards and two rushing touchdowns – both in the second quarter that helped Shelbyville extend its lead to 20-0.

Greensburg answered with a 65-yard scoring drive capped off by a Joshua Alexander 18-yard scoring run. Jai Jackson rumbled into the end zone on the two-point conversion to cut the lead to 20-8.

The Golden Bears turned the ball over on downs on their next series and the Pirates pushed for the end zone once again. A completed pass gave Greensburg first-and-goal in the quarter’s final seconds, but a penalty nullified the play which forced the visitors to settle for a long field goal that was missed.

Shelbyville opened the second half with a Luke Coomes kickoff to its sideline that was recovered by a hustling Layden Fitzgerald. A negative yardage run and three incomplete passes left Shelbyville without crucial points, though.

After another defensive stop, a steady dose of Grantland Fitzgerald running the ball set him up as a decoy while Kellen Coffey slipped out of coverage, hauled in a short Tyler Gwinnup pass and raced 39 yards to the end zone. It was the sophomore’s second touchdown reception of the game.

“That was a great call. We’ve been working on that,” said Grantland Fitzgerald. “I think I saw three guys fly over with me. It was a great call at a great time. That was awesome.”

Coffey (photo) finished with a team-high five receptions for 81 yards in his debut on the offensive side of the ball.

“He is a little bit of a Swiss Army knife in how we can use him,” said Scott Fitzgerald. “We can go double tight (ends) with him and Cooper Thoman. We can go just one. We can put him out wide. We can put him in the slot. We can put him anywhere.”

Shelbyville lost dynamic receiver Camden Thoman very early in the game with a knee injury. He did not return but was in good spirits after the game according to his coach.

Gwinnup (photo) may have enjoyed the night the most even though he knows he can play better. The starting quarterback, who has suffered ACL injuries to his left knee in each of the last two seasons, closed out his team’s scoring on opening night with a 7-yard burst into the end zone. The senior completed eight passes for 112 yards and three touchdowns.

“That felt great,” he said. “I came out with a lot of jitters but once I got into the flow, I was just out there having fun with my friends.”

Shelbyville will play its final non-conference game in week two at Rushville (0-1), who lost 56-0 to Milan Friday.

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