Timpson John H. Eakin Stadium on Friday, November 5, 2021 –
The Timpson Bears varsity football team blew a close game wide open when they outscored the Shelbyville Dragons 35-0 in the final 15:45 minutes of the contest.
The Bears opened the game with a 5-play 50-yard drive which saw sophomore quarterback Terry Bussey hit senior Malachi Blanton for a 23-yard touchdown reception. Logan Depaepe kicked the extra point and THS led 7-0 with 10:54 minutes left in the first quarter.
Timpson went up 14-0 after Bussey intercepted a Dragons pass attempt and the Bears were able to drive 54 yards in nine plays. The Bear’s drive was capped when Braden Courtney ran into the endzone from 3 yards out. Dapaepe added his second of eight extra-point kicks this night, to give THS a 14-0 lead with 4:20 still left in the opening period.
Shelbyville used a 16-play drive which covered 83 yards to gain their first score. Senior quarterback Jakory Standley scored on a 1-yard keeper run to cut the Bears lead to 14-6 with 3:40 left in the second frame.
Hunter Tipton stripped a Dragon ball carrier to give the Bears possession on the Dragons first offensive drive of the second half. With 7:37 left in the third stanza Bussey scored again on a 26-yard touchdown run to give THS a 21-6 advantage.
Shelbyville kept fighting and cut the Bear’s advantage to 21-14 when junior runningback Zay Cartwright put together a couple of explosive runs which covered 60 yards including a 3-yard touchdown with 4:10 remaining in the third period. Blanton hit senior Kevin Jones for a 2-point conversion which would prove to be the Dragons final score for the day.
The remainder of the game saw the Bears outpace the Dragons 35-0 and take the 56-14 District 10 2A-1 win and the conference title. THS finished the season with an 8-0 overall record and a 4-0 conference mark. As champions the Bears will face the Frankston Indians (5-5, 3-3). The Indians are the fourth-place representative of District 9 2A-1. The game will be on Thursday November 11, 2021 at 7 p.m. at Jacksonville’s Tomato Bowl.
Shelbyville is 6-4 overall and 2-2 in District 10 action. The Dragons finished in a three-way tie for second place in the district. They will face Carlisle on Thursday, November 11 at 7 p.m. in Carthage Bulldogs Stadium. Carlisle is the second seed for District 9 they have a 5-4 overall record and were 5-1 in conference action.
