Shelbyville hasn't had much luck against New Palestine recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Golden Bears will challenge the Dragons at 7:00 p.m. Shelbyville has given up an average of 25.8 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.
Shelbyville is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Yorktown on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Golden Bears came up short against the Tigers, falling 48-28. While losing is never fun, the Golden Bears can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana football rankings (they are ranked 131st, while the Tigers are ranked 37th).
Grantland Fitzgerald
| 09/26/25 vs Yorktown | 2 |
| 09/12/25 @ New Castle | 2 |
| 08/22/25 @ Greensburg | 2 |
| 09/05/25 vs Delta | 1 |
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Camden Thoman, who picked up 123 receiving yards and a pair of scores. Grantland Fitzgerald was in the mix too, providing Shelbyville with two TDs.
Meanwhile, New Palestine put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They took their contest with ease, bagging a 49-0 win over Greenfield-Central. The game was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Dragons had established a 42-point advantage.
Shelbyville better focus on containing Jacob Davis and Caden Jacobia as the pair were huge in New Palestine's win. Davis threw for 185 yards and three touchdowns while completing 91.7% of his passes, while Jacobia rushed for 105 yards and a pair of scores on only seven carries. The dominant performance also gave Davis a new career-high in passer rating (170.1). Landon Maddox was another key receiver, picking up 68 receiving yards and two TDs.
New Palestine was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 237 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 189 rushing yards in four consecutive matchups.
Special teams played a big role in the game for New Palestine, adding 13 points to the final score. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Brock Brownfield, who ran a punt back for a touchdown.
Shelbyville's defeat dropped their record down to 3-3. As for New Palestine, their victory bumped their record up to 6-0.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. Shelbyville has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 202 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like New Palestine struggles in that department as they've been averaging 255.8 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Shelbyville was taken down by New Palestine 35-0 in their previous matchup back in October of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Dragons' Josh Ranes, who rushed for 139 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only ten carries. Now that the Golden Bears know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
