By Brian Heinemann
For The Daily Reporter
SHELBYVILLE — The Greenfield-Central Cougars defense came to play Friday night in Shelbyville.
A week after shutting out Pendleton Heights, the Cougars picked up right where they left off. They forced three turnovers, including a Pick-6, and allowed just 89 yards in the first half.
While the defense dominated, the offense rolled. So did the special teams. All three units scored en route to a 54-7 road win against the Golden Bears.
“We played tough,” Greenfield-Central coach Travis Nolting said. “We came out, executed, moved the ball down the field, didn’t turn it over, and did all the things we needed to do to get the W tonight.”
Greenfield-Central was in control in all aspects of the game. The defense held Shelbyville to under 200 total yards and forced two interceptions and a turnover on downs. The special teams forced a fumble and returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. The offense rolled to almost 400 yards rushing.
It was a complete performance for the Cougars, who came off a 35-0 win against Pendleton Heights a week ago and maintained that momentum against Shelbyville.
“It was a good effort by the guys,” Nolting said. “I’m proud of the effort the guys had in all three phases.”
It started with the defense.
Shelbyville had four drives in the first half. Three ended in turnovers.
The first drive ended with a turnover on downs when the Cougars defense forced an incomplete pass on 4th-and-6 to get the ball to its offense for the first time.
The next Shelbyville drive ended in an interception return for a touchdown, when freshman defensive back Cooper Hinton picked the ball off and rumbled 40 yards for a score.
The third Golden Bears drive was quick, as Greenfield-Central forced a 3-and-out. Shelbyville’s fourth drive got them to the Cougars’ 25-yard line before a fake field goal attempt went awry, the pass attempt was intercepted by Greenfield-Central junior Aaron Lee.
“Coach (Trent) Taylor does a great job with our defense,” Nolting said. “We had a good game plan coming in. Our kids played physical up front, good in the back end as well. We had some guys step up and play hard. If we can play a complete three phases of the game, it’s a good night.”
The Greenfield-Central offense didn’t have the same issues as the hosts.
Three Cougars went over 100 yards on the ground —Andrew Zellers with 146 yards and three touchdowns, Brayden Herrell with 106 yards and one touchdown and Gael Bravo with 103 yards and a TD.
The Cougars’ first drive was 12 plays long, ending in an 8-yard touchdown run from Bravo. Their next drive – following the pick-6 – went for seven plays and included a 43-yard Bravo run to convert a 3rd-and-14. Zellers punched in a 2-yard TD run on the next play.
The final Greenfield-Central drive of the first half started at their own 10, but 11 plays later – after a 4th-and-4 conversion and a big 38-yard run – Herrell scored from three yards out, pushing the lead to 28-0.
Junior Kirk Knecht returned the opening kick of the second half 80 yards for a TD, his first of two long kick-return touchdowns of the game. The Cougars started the running clock a few minutes into the second half with another TD run from Zellers, who added to his big night with a 70-yard touchdown later in the third quarter.
The Golden Bears finally got on the board with just over six minutes remaining, preventing the Cougars from securing a second consecutive shutout. Knecht responded with his second kick return for a score, a school-record 95-yarder. Two kick returns in one game tied a school record.
“I was hoping for the goose egg,” junior linebacker Jacob Hinton said. “Overall, it was a great performance. We’ve got a few things to fix, and we’ll be ready for next week.”
Up next for the Cougars is a trip to undefeated, Class 4A No. 1 New Palestine. Friday’s win moved Greenfield-Central to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in Hoosier Heritage Conference play. Shelbyville falls to 1-4 and 1-2.
