Eagles raid Coffee Co. in football opener tonight

Shelbyville Central's bid for back-to-back state playoff appearances begins tonight as the Golden Eagles open the football season in a non-district clash at Coffee County.

The Golden Eagles return six starters on both sides of the ball.

"We just completed a very successful preseason and I know we're all ready for the regular season to start," coach Jason Hardy said. "We've played Coffee County in the opening game of the season a number of times and they are always a worthy opponent."

Shelbyville defeated the Red Raiders 10-0 last year as the Eagle defense forced eight turnovers.

There's no secret what Coffee County likes to do. They are a physical, well coached team that likes to pound the football behind a big offensive line.

"Coffee County is always big up front and always have really good skill guys that don't try to do too much and they just get the job done," Hardy said. "I think they're going to be really good. They just about return everybody in the backfield. Their quarterback and running backs are good. They will settle for those 5-yard gains and try to wear you down. I know they are anticipating a good season and they will be ready to play us."

The Red Raiders have an edge in size but the Eagles counter with team speed.

"If there is an advantage on our side, it will be in overall team speed," Hardy said. "They definitely will be bigger than we are. We're going to have to battle in the trenches but we're also going to get the ball in a number of different hands and try to make some plays with the speed of our skill players."

Shelbyville's offense is led by senior quarterback Tre Stewart, a two-year starter and an all-region player last year.

"Tre is a great athlete that has really worked hard in the offseason to become a better football player," Hardy said. "He's really grown in respect to his decision making as a quarterback as we feel real comfortable with him back there touching the ball for us every snap."

Defensively, the Eagles will be looking to stop a powerful Red Raider running game.

"Our base defense will be a 4-3 but we will be very multiple," Hardy said. "We will line up a number of different types of defenses and we will also move around a lot and blitz," Hardy said. "We're going to try to really attack and dictate the flow of the game and with some of the athletes we've got I fell like we're going to be successful."