Shelbyville secures third-straight season-opening win over Greensburg

GREENSBURG – For nearly three quarters, Tyler Gwinnup was nearly perfect. The junior quarterback’s return to Shelbyville football was going even better than expected.

Then the unexpected happened late in the third quarter. Gwinnup converted a third-and-8 play with a 13-yard run then completed a 12-yard pass to Camden Thoman that pushed the Golden Bears into Greensburg territory.

Only Gwinnup was left rolling on the ground in pain. Despite not being contacted, Gwinnup injured his surgically repaired left knee that caused him to miss the final three games of last season.

Freshman Layden Fitzgerald closed out Shelbyville’s 34-14 season-opening win over the Pirates Friday at Shriver Field and even scored his first high school touchdown.

The Gwinnup injury dampened the Golden Bears’ third-straight win over the Pirates. And now the question becomes, how does Shelbyville’s offense change with a freshman at quarterback?

“We will wait for the doctors, but it doesn’t look good right now,” said Shelbyville head coach Scott Fitzgerald after the game … “He came off the field and said I can’t believe I didn’t make it through one game. The only thing I could handle telling him was you played one heck of a game. I am super proud of him. I feel for him.”

The Golden Bears’ home opener at McKeand Stadium is next week against Rushville (0-1).

On Friday, Shelbyville struggled in the first quarter and allowed the Pirates to march down the field 65 yards on 14 plays and take a 7-0 lead on an Ethan Bishop 5-yard touchdown reception from Levi Muckerheide.

Shelbyville’s opening possession stalled at the Greensburg 41 before Gwinnup (photo) went over the top of the defense and connected with Grantland Fitzgerald for a touchdown.

The Golden Bears’ defense quickly shut down the Pirates’ second possession and Gwinnup marched Shelbyville 64 yards on 14 plays and saw Grantland Fitzgerald finish the drive with a 2-yard scoring run.

In a 31-second span in the third quarter, the two teams combined to score 20 points.

Grantland Fitzgerald (photo) opened the second half with a 47-yard kickoff return that put the Golden Bears at the Greensburg 33. Six plays later, Gwinnup hit Donavon Martin in the flat and the senior raced to the end zone for a 21-7 advantage.

“I actually didn’t think they were going to kick it to me at all,” said Grantland Fitzgerald. “I just caught it and saw a big hole and everybody over pursuing so I kept cutting it back and cutting it back. I thought I was going to go all the way but got caught down.”

However, Carson Kilgore broke free on the ensuing kickoff and raced 90 yards for a touchdown to keep the Pirates in contention.

Shelbyville countered with a Martin 55-yard kickoff return, and Gwinnup connected again with Grantland Fitzgerald for another touchdown and a 27-14 lead.

“I owe it all to Tyler. He put it in a great spot,” said Fitzgerald of his 35-yard touchdown reception that came with a defensive back all over him. “Without him putting it there, I am not able to do my job. So when he does his job, it makes my life a lot easier. I had to go against contact and go up and get it over him. That felt pretty good.”

Gwinnup went down with 1:50 left in the third quarter which forced Layden Fitzgerald into action. He carried four times for 16 yards and threw an interception early in the fourth quarter. He produced the game’s final score with a 5-yard scamper with 5:03 to go.

Gwinnup completed 15-of-17 pass attempts for 196 yards and three touchdowns before the injury.

Freshman Camden Thoman (photo) had a team-high six catches for 71 yards.

Martin rushed 22 times for 110 yards.

Senior kicker Rolando Saucedo, in his football debut, converted 4-of-5 extra-point attempts.

“The kids came out and fought hard all night long,” said Scott Fitzgerald … “Once we got going and our offense got going and put a lot of pressure on them, the kids really persevered through the night and was able to make a lot of big things happen.”

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