-
p Shelbyville wide receiver Dylan Parker heads to the endzone after catching a pass thrown by DJ Barnes. (Photo by Taylor Bragg) -
u Justyn Brown prepares for a collision with a Shelbyville defender during their district opener last Friday. (Photo by Taylor Bragg)
The district stage of football season is now in full swing. Teams have begun battling it out with their district opponents to determine playoff seeding. With a limited number of playoff spots available to each district, every game counts from this point forward.
Last Friday night the Shelbyville Dragons played host to the Joaquin Rams for their yearly rivalry matchup. Dragon Stadium was standing room only for what both fan bases hoped would be a successful outing for their respective teams.
This year, the Dragons take bragging rights after coming out victorious over the Rams with a final score of 4814.
“This is a really big game. It’s a big rivalry. We haven’t won in three seasons. Going through the spring and working really hard, we talked about that a lot,” said Shelbyville head coach Jerred Wallace.
“Having the week off before this to really prepare for their offense was a big deal. Getting ready for what they do is really tough. Those are really tough guys that work hard and get after it. Our defense did a great job getting off the field tonight, we only gave up two scores. Then offensively just being able to click was huge. Number 11 [DJ Barnes] played his butt off. We had some guys step up; offensive line did a good job. I felt really good about what we were doing.”
Among those who stepped up was Dylan Parker. Parker played an outstanding first half in all three phases of the game. Offensively, he collected three receptions that went for touchdowns. Defensively he wreaked havoc in the secondary defending against Joaquin’s attempted passing attack snagging an interception for his trouble. He was also critical in the Dragons’ special teams play going four for four in point after attempts. By the end of the night Parker had seven receptions for 149 yards and three touchdowns, an interception, and was six of seven in PATs.
DJ Barnes continues to impress. He threw for 363 yards and three touchdowns. Barnes also had three touchdowns in the ground game giving him a total of six for the night. Franydric Buckley showed up for the Dragons in the rushing game as well. He totaled 111 yards on 12 carries and crossed the goal line once.
Joaquin now finds themselves in a tough spot. Their season is off to a four-game slide in uncharacteristic fashion. The Rams appeared to have life in the first quarter when Elijah Hardison carried the ball 18 yards for a touchdown, trimming Shelbyville’s lead to 7-6. The Dragons then went 21 points unanswered before Tate Bass was able to push the ball across the goal line.
Shelbyville now heads into their second bye week of the season, while Joaquin will look to right the ship in an uphill battle with the Garrison Bulldogs.