SHELBYVILLE – The Rushville Lions fell behind early on Friday against the Shelbyville Golden Bears in a matchup on the gridiron, eventually trailing at the final horn 26-14.

Shelbyville scored the first points of the contest early in the first quarter on a pass, and they connected on their extra point attempt to go up 7-0. The Golden Bears scored again in the second quarter but missed the extra point and the score was 13-0 at the half. Rushville was unable to get the running game going and turned the ball over on downs before they could get into scoring range. The first half was not the best for Rushville, but it did give fans a chance to watch the Lions’ passing game with the run not working.

Both teams used the air to move the ball down the field, but Rushville was unable to get to the end zone. Not the case for Shelbyville’s senior quarterback Eli Chappelow who started the second half by connecting for his third passing touchdown of the game and the Lions fell behind 20-0. On the following drive Rushville was able to get the offense clicking and moved the ball down to the seven-yard line. Quarterback Nick Jarman connected with Ralph Eakins on a 61-yard pass that set up Rushville in the red zone. Sophomore Sam Pavey then took a handoff and put the first points on the board for the Lions with a seven-yard score. Junior Brayden Wilson put the extra point through the uprights and the Lions began to close the gap, making the score 20-7.

The Rushville defense made a huge play on the next drive when Adrian Apodaca forced a fumble on a run by Shelbyville. The loose ball was scooped up by senior Keegan Bowles and run back for a 40-yard touchdown, making it a one-score game. With Rushville down 20-14 they did their best to stop Chappelow’s aerial attack; unfortunately, the Golden Bears made their way down the field and finished the drive with the quarterback connecting for another passing touchdown. The Shelbyville signal caller hit a different receiver on all four of his touchdowns. The Lions stopped the two-point conversion attempt by the Golden Bears and the score was 26-14, a two-score game again. Jarman did his best to get the Lions back down the field, but time ran out and Rushville fell to 0-2.

Jarman and the Lions’ offense were pass heavy in the game with the quarterback finishing with career highs in passing yards 325, passing attempts 48, and completions 26. This makes the first 300-yard passing game from a Lions’ quarterback since joining the EIAC a decade ago.

Pavey led Rushville in the rushing department with 65 yards and he scored the lone offensive touchdown of the game for the Lions. Senior Chase Woolf led the receivers with 10 receptions, picking up 97 yards in the game. Eakins hauled in three receptions for 96 yards, Wilson added 76 yards and Bowles caught four passes for 51 yards receiving.

Turnovers and penalties hurt the Lions with Jarman tossing two interceptions and 16 penalties whistled on the Lions that cost them over 150 yards. Rushville stalled out on offense several times and were unable to finish most of their drives, going just 2-for- 10 on their fourth down attempts. They elected to punt just twice in the game.

The defense kept the Lions in the game and were led by Apodaca and Zach Tressler who each had nine tackles in the contest. Eakins and Drew McKee both brought down eight Shelbyville ball carriers and senior Landon Browning finished with seven tackles. McKee had two tackles for a loss in the contest and Apodaca had another to go with his two forced fumbles and a sack. The Lions’ offense picked up 390 yards.

The Lions will travel to take on the Franklin County Wildcats (1-1) this Friday who are fresh off a come-from-behind win over Connersville this past Friday.