Class 3A, No. 4 Indian Creek next challenge for improving Golden Bears

With its first Hoosier Legends Conference win secure, Shelbyville can now focus on getting back into contention for a conference championship.

The Golden Bears (3-2, 1-2 HLC) travel to conference leader Indian Creek (5-0, 3-0 HLC) Friday. Shelbyville needs to pin a loss on the Class 3A, No. 4 Braves to get into a top half of the conference battle for the title.

“This is a must win,” said Shelbyville head coach Scott Fitzgerald. “If we want to have any opportunity to win a conference championship, we’ve got to win this game. It’s a huge game for us.”

Shelbyville must avoid having a hangover effect after defeating Triton Central on Homecoming last week, 41-21. The Golden Bears racked up more than 450 yards of offense in its first-ever meeting with the Tigers and six different players scored a touchdown.

“There were definitely a lot of good things,” said Fitzgerald. “It was a fun weekend.”

The downside was the ejection of two players in the second half when emotions started boiling over. Kameron Holland and Jasper Hahn will sit out this week’s game in Trafalgar. Triton Central’s Wyatt Viles also was ejected and he will miss the Tigers’ game Friday at Greenwood.

“Unfortunately, we lost control in a couple of places and that hurts us a little bit,” said Fitzgerald. “You hoped we could have kept our heads a little bit better.”

With the loss of Holland and Hahn, Shelbyville’s defensive depth will be challenged. Camden Thoman (photo) will step into the linebacker/safety role that those two occupy on the depth chart.

Another strong defensive performance will be needed to keep Indian Creek from reaching its 38-points-per-game average.

“They are very solid and very disciplined,” said Fitzgerald. “They run the ball more than they throw the ball. They have size up front. They are just very efficient at everything they do.”

Indian Creek lost leading rusher Drew Pingleton to a leg injury in week four. Head coach Max Goodin plugged in Patrick Dowty last Friday and he rushed for a game-high 101 yards and two touchdowns in a 19-12 win over state-ranked Tri-West.

Quarterback Evan Clark has completed 72% of his pass attempts this season for 942 yards and 15 touchdowns. Hunter Worley (24 receptions, 404 yards, six touchdowns) and Mason Woodke (16 receptions, 302 yards, five touchdowns) have produced 11 of those scores for Clark.

Shelbyville’s best defense Friday could be its multi-faceted offense that flexed its versatility against Triton Central.

Holland and Grantland Fitzgerald each had rushing touchdowns while Austin Martzall, Jackson Myers and Camden Thoman had touchdown receptions for quarterback Tyler Gwinnup (photo), who has thrown for nearly 600 yards in his last two games.

“Now we have all our weapons out there,” said Gwinnup Friday night after completing 21 of 28 passes for 305 yards. “The previous weeks we had a couple guys out and it was next man up mentality. Now we are fully healthy and we showcased what we are capable of.”

Layden Fitzgerald (photo) has rushed for 195 yards in the last two games while still seeing defensive duties as a starting safety. The return of Grantland Fitzgerald to the offensive backfield, he had his first six carries since week 1 Friday against the Tigers, will help lighten that workload.

“I think we can score points and I think we can get after them defensively,” said Coach Fitzgerald. “We have to go execute and play our game. It’s about our preparation throughout the week, to see on film and be able to carry it over onto the practice field and then carry it over on Friday night.”

Entering week six, Indian Creek holds a 1-game lead over Beech Grove (4-1, 2-1) and Tri-West (3-2, 2-1). The remaining five teams – Shelbyville, Speedway (3-2), Greenwood (2-3), Monrovia (2-3) and Triton Central (2-3) – are all 1-2 against HLC foes.

On Friday, Triton Central is at Greenwood, Tri-West is at Speedway, and Monrovia is at Beech Grove.

Shelbyville’s final three HLC games are against Greenwood, Speedway and Monrovia.

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