ANTIOCH, Tenn. – Shelbyville Central (5-6, 4-2), put up a fight in the first round of the TSSAA Class 6A Playoffs on Thursday, but ultimately the Antioch Bears’ (10-1, 5-1) high-powered offensive attack was too much for the Golden Eagles to overcome in a 42-13 loss. 

For the Bears, 4-star quarterback Andre Adams finished 18/27 passing for 325 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He also ran for a pair of touchdowns on the ground, accounting for five of the six total scores on the night for Antioch.

For Shelbyville, Robert Bailey was limited to just two rushes for one yard in his final career game with the Golden Eagles as he was still hampered by a lower-body injury sustained against Hendersonville a couple of weeks prior. 

After falling behind 14-0 through the opening frame behind a one-yard plunge by Adams followed by an 80-yard catch-and-run by Arkansas State commit Brandon Goliday, the Golden Eagles forced a turnover-on-downs at the Bears’ own 30-yard line. Bobo scampered for 20 yards down to the nine-yard line before finding Reager Edwards all alone in the end zone on fourth-and-goal to cut into the lead, 14-7, with 7:30 remaining in the first half. However, that would be as close as Shelbyville would get for the rest of the evening. 

Antioch tacked on two more touchdowns before the break, capped off by Adam’s two-yard run into the end zone – his second rushing touchdown of the night – with just 19 seconds left in the second quarter to take a 28-7 lead into the halftime locker room. 

Both teams traded punts to start the third quarter, and then a failed fake-punt by Shelbyville, Coby Belton scored on a 10-yard pop-pass to extend the Bears’ lead to 36-7 after a successful two-point conversion with 3:55 left in the third quarter.

Shelbyville’s offense managed to put together one more scoring drive – a 65-yard march – punctuated by a two-yard touchdown run by Treyvion Mathis one play after a 33-yard completion from Stephen Bobo to Reager Edwards. The Golden Eagles were unable to convert on the two-point conversion, and Shelbyville trimmed the lead to 36-13 with 2:45 remaining in the third quarter.

The Bears would eventually find the end zone one final time late in the fourth quarter thanks to a twelve-yard touchdown pass from Adams to Timothy Thomas on fourth-and-goal with 4:10 left, extending the lead to the final margin, 42-13.

Shelbyville, who spent the previous two seasons in Class 5A and qualified for the postseason both times, came into Thursday’s rescheduled contest making its fourth-consecutive playoff appearance under head coach Jud Dryden. In Dryden’s first season back in 2022, the Golden Eagles were still in Class 6A and finished 1-10, but did secure a playoff berth with that one win being in region play. That season ended with a shutout loss at Oakland. This year, Shelbyville saw considerable improvement, and will head into 2026 with a substantial amount of momentum.

Antioch improves to 10-1 and advances to take on Collierville on Friday night away from home.

Shelbyville’s first season back in Class 6A ends at 5-6.