SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. – The Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles are coming off of a two-year stretch that saw back-to-back Region 5-5A Titles to go along with three playoff wins, finishing a combined 21-4 in 2023 and 2024. As Head Coach Jud Dryden enters his fourth season manning the sidelines for the Golden Eagles, he is facing his toughest season since his initial campaign in 2022. 

TSSAA’s recent reclassification across the state has moved Shelbyville back into the highest class of 6A. The last time the Golden Eagles were in 6A was in Dryden’s first season where they went 1-10 and missed the postseason. On top of that, SCHS is having to replace 20 seniors from a season ago along with some outgoing transfers. 

“That’s step one, to replace those guys,” says Dryden, “We've got enough talent to compete. You know, I won't say it's competing for region titles or playoff semifinals or anything, but we'll be able to step on the field and compete athletically.”

A season ago, Shelbyville rode the back of superstar running back, Robert Bailey, all the way to the Class 5A Quarterfinal against the eventual state runners-up Page Patriots. Bailey ran for 2,046 yards last season to go along with 27 TDs, averaging 146 yards per game. This year, Bailey returns for his senior season, but questions along the offensive line – a position group that returns just one single starter from a year ago – as the season opener against Tullahoma approaches cast uncertainty on what kind of season he and the rest of the offense may have. 

Robert Bailey (31) returns for his senior season as one of the most dynamic running backs in the state of Tennessee following a 2,000 yard season in 2024.

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As last year progressed, first-time sophomore quarterback, Stephen Bobo, improved enough with his arm to become a dangerous duel-threat in a run-heavy offense. Bobo finished with 2,325 total yards (1,354 passing/971 rushing) with 26 total TDs (14 passing/12 rushing). 

“Well, their production is going to first and foremost fall in our offensive line and on our tight ends,” Dryden emphasizes. “I've been spending most of my time with that offensive line, along with the O-line coach, and it's just been staying on them consistently and constantly about being better and doing things right. As they develop, you'll see us get better, because that's where a lot of our brand new starters are sitting right now. Even guys that have had minimal playing time, that’s where most of them are across the offense.”

The Golden Eagles’ starting QB also starts on the backend defensively at safety, but this will be the first time in his high school career he will be paired with someone other than his older brother, William. Last season, Stephen Bobo compiled more than 50 total tackles to go along with three INTs.  

“Just having him back there, I mean, no matter who we play, he's gonna be one of, if not the best athlete on the field, you know, and just because he's that good,” Dryden said. “He's crazy coachable, a great leader. I mean, he does everything you want. So having him back is huge for us.”

Bobo returns for his junior season despite some offseason rumblings questioning if he would focus solely on baseball, but the loss of his top two wide receivers from a season ago in William Bobo and Labron Ransom – who combined for more than 1,000 yards receiving –  means the Golden Eagles will be looking to unproven youth to step up and produce on the outside. 

“We've got multiple guys playing [wide receiver],” says Dryden. “We've got a freshman named Cyonn Rucker that was really good down at Harris [Middle School]. He's going to be with Stephen in the backfield. He'll be backup quarterback plus playing some wide receiver. He's really good as a freshman. You got Jack Conditt (SR) who came back from basketball. He has looked really good. Overall, Jay Whitelow (JR) has developed really well. Xzayvier Jordan (SR) has looked good so far. Then at the slot receiver, you got guys like John Streeter and some other guys that are looking really good in those spots. They're just all minimal as far as experience goes.” 

“We’re young and youthful and inexperienced across the board which means our curve is high, yanno, our trajectory and potential is [high], but we have to reach it. That’s been the focus in practice, just creating foundations and doing things right.”

With Shelbyville’s move up into Region 6-6A, the Golden Eagles are at an immediate inherent disadvantage compared to some of the other schools in this region specifically. Ravenwood, Brentwood, Summit, Franklin, Independence, Coffee County, and Shelbyville Central make up Region 6-6A, headlined by Ravenwood and Brentwood who went 13-1 and 10-3 in 2024, respectively. Coffee County moves over from Region 3-6A, joining SCHS in a region containing primarily Williamson County schools. 

Last season, Ravenwood started the year by winning its first 13 games before falling to Houston in the State Semifinals, 24-21. The Ravens averaged 35.9 PPG while only giving up 7.8 PPG entering its matchup against the Mustangs, and seemed to be on a collision course for a rematch with Oakland in the Championship Game (Ravenwood won at Oakland, 32-31 in OT, in Week 10 during what was probably the game of the year last season in Tennessee). The margin was even more impressive in region play. There, the Ravens pitched a trio of shutouts, giving up just 10 points total in the five region regular season games (Brentwood kicked a field goal in a 21-3 loss and Franklin managed a TD in a 28-7 loss) while averaging 35.8 PPG, almost identical to their season average. Ravenwood expects to be the cream of the crop in 6A once again, providing the truest of litmus tests for where Shelbyville Central is as a program in Tennessee this upcoming season.

The Brentwood Bruins, who finished 10-3 and saw their season end in a 17-10 overtime loss at Stewarts Creek in the second round, are expected to lead the way for the second hosting spot out of Region 6-6A this year. They won a tight game against Franklin (17-9) and a low-scoring affair against Independence (20-6), but barring significant changes, the Bruins should be a tier below Ravenwood but a tier above everyone else in 2025. 

“[Ravenwood] competed well with Oakland. They've done great things,” acknowledges Dryden, “So we're just going to line up and play football, you know?”

Ravenwood and Brentwood are the two programs that the Golden Eagles are aspiring to match up and compete with. They’re among the best teams in the entire state, as evidenced by Ravenwood’s win over the eventual Class 6A State Champions in Oakland during the regular season. The biggest difference that SCHS will be forced to adjust to while moving up classifications? The sheer roster size and depth of these richer Williamson County schools.

“We won't be able to carry the depth that a lot of those 6A schools have,” Dryden explains. “A lot of them will be one way players on both sides of the ball. At every position, you know. Of course, there will be a few that will play both ways, but on balance they're going to be deeper. When they have their number one go down, they've got a really good two, or even maybe a 1B, so to speak. For us, because of the youth and all that, we're not as deep. We're not developed underneath our ones the way we need to be to be able to compete in 6A. So part of that is, you know, managing snaps so that we can get the most out of our guys, especially early on in the season. Hey, it’s the strength & conditioning program. It's all those things to stay healthy and taking care of our guys. We are blessed with a phenomenal new trainer [Hannah Jernigan]. She's done a great job, and we got a strength coach [Josh Voigt] who is as good as anyone, so we feel like we're on track with that, but due to graduating that many guys, we're just not quite there yet as far as the development aspect. We're going to rely on multiple sophomores, and that just is what it is.”

“Now that youth means there's going to be mistakes. Youth means that there's going to be things that happen that wouldn't normally happen with, you know, a guy with 10 or 15 games under his belt. But they work hard. They're coachable. They've got a great way about them. And, like I said, they're talented. I mean, we're gonna be okay as we move forward. It's just going to take us a minute to get forward.”

Nate Zimmerman (20) bolsters a solid linebacker room and provides a huge punch out of the backfield offensively after transferring in from Shelbyville Central. Zimmerman ran for nearly 500 yards and 12 TDs a season ago for the Golden Eagles.

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One of the more surprising and noteworthy transfers – besides the offensive line – following the 2024 campaign was Nate Zimmerman, moving to Cascade. We cover how that impacts the Champions in their season preview, but the loss of Zimmerman does hurt the Golden Eagles. 

“As far as replacing Nate goes, Nate's going to be hard to replace on defense. He was a projected starter there,” Dryden admits. “And you know, as much as we had high hopes for him on offense, he potentially will do really good things at Cascade. I mean, he's just a good football player, but an outstanding inside linebacker, so we've had to move some guys around. We've actually moved Robert [Bailey] inside to play inside linebacker, along with Jackson Themm, Ellington Scott, who played our kind of our fast end on the defensive line last year. He has gotten reps at linebacker, and he’s another backup. We're trying to develop some younger guys, some sophomores to move in behind them, to give us some depth there. Just develop and evaluate and continue to work. That's going to be our thing. We've just got to stay healthy.”

“[Sophomore] Torrion Mathis has moved into that number two role at running back, and he's looked really good so far.”

Zimmerman ran for nearly 500 yards and 12 TDs behind Bailey, but he really showed out defensively, tallying nearly 50 total tackles, 3.0 sacks, and one fumble recovery in an impressive sophomore campaign.

Finally, the biggest factor in a team’s success is their ability to win in the trenches, especially defensively, and the Golden Eagles have quality projected depth going into 2025 that can be one of the major strengths during the season.

“Yeah, you got Tanner [Turentine (SR)] coming back, you've got Colton [Clardy (SR)] coming back. Ellington [Scott (SR)] coming back. You've got John Stanton III (SR) coming back. Blake Leigh (JR; pronounced LAY) didn't get many snaps on the defensive side, but he's looked really good. Malaki Leslie (SR) has looked really good,” Dryden says. “It's a combination of experience coming back and guys that have developed into roles where they'll get a chance. For three spots on the D-line, we've got six or seven, and if one or two others develop like we're hoping, we’ll have eight guys.”

“[Having that depth] is huge, because several of them will play offensive line as well, and so that's just indicative of where we're at, depth-wise,” Dryden continues. “Having that many to be able to rotate and play gives those other guys a chance  to not only develop, but basically show what they can do and get reps on film and get a chance to play a little bit more as they gain experience.”

In the defensive backfield, Shelbyville Central will be returning Stephen Bobo at safety, but they are having to replace shutdown corner, Labron Ransom – he had 4 INTs a season ago – standout safety William Bobo – he finished with 3 INTs and more than 50 total tackles – and another starting DB in Maddox Wright who finished the season with a team-high 6 INTs including two in the nailbiting 33-28 playoff win against Nolensville.

“We look good at times and we don't look good at other times, but it's in experience where we don't look good,” says Dryden, “We're fast enough, athletic enough, and skilled enough. It's the lack of experience, and there's no excuse other than to get better and to take the coaching and become better, better at our craft in the defensive backfield. So that's kind of where we're at. I mean, they're like everywhere else, except for that D-line. Everybody's in the same boat. As of right now, freshmen, a couple other guys are fighting for the other side. And then two seniors with one that didn't play last year and one that did that are fighting for the other spot on the other side of Stephen. We've had to move some guys around. We've actually moved Robert [Bailey] inside to play inside linebacker, along with Jackson Themm, Ellington Scott – who who played our kind of our fast end on the D-Line last year – has gotten reps at linebackers, and another backup. And so we're trying to develop some younger guys, some sophomores to move in behind them, to give some depth there. We've just got to stay healthy.”

As for the actual field the Golden Eagles will be playing on this year in their move back up to 6A, Cooper Steel played a massive part in new artificial turf for the 2025 season and beyond as well as other renovations on campus. However, this also plays a big role in why the Golden Eagles are starting the 2025 campaign off with six of their first seven games coming on the road, making an already difficult region even more treacherous. 

In all, the success of the Golden Eagles’ season will come down to the development of the offensive line throughout the season, as well as the continued improvement of Stephen Bobo under center as well as the growth of his receivers on the outside. With teams aware of Robert Bailey’s breakout season a year ago, opponents will be stacking the box even more so this season, and with that comes the opportunity to break open big plays in the passing game. 

Shelbyville opens the season with ‘The Battle of Highway 41-A” at Tullahoma in a rematch of a thrilling 28-27 Golden Eagles’ win from a season ago. The following week, SCHS travels to Marshall County, seeking revenge against one of the top 4A programs in the state who handed Shelbyville its only regular season loss in 2024. Then, region play begins at Franklin in Week Three. 

As far as Region 6-6A standing predictions, it’s fair to say that Ravenwood and Brentwood will secure the top two spots in that order. Ravenwood is set to challenge for the state championship yet again, and Brentwood has established themselves as the clear number two behind the Ravens. 

Shelbyville can finish this season in that third spot behind the Ravens and Bruins. Franklin finished in third place a season ago, and the Golden Eagles play the Admirals in Week Three, so that game will be huge in both teams’ push for the postseason. Coffee County, Summit, and Independence all are capable of sneaking into a playoff spot, and if Shelbyville doesn’t bring their best against any of those squads they could easily get beat. However, the winning culture that Dryden has established heading into his fourth season should be the difference between a third-consecutive postseason berth and sitting at home during the first round. If healthy, the Golden Eagles would be an extremely tough out on the road against another region’s second-place team.

The Golden Eagles’ season begins on Friday, August 22nd at Tullahoma at 7:00 p.m. airing LIVE on WLIJ 98.7 and AM 1580 all season long.

2024 RESULTS: 11-2 (6-0)

AUG. 22 WIN @ Siegel 34-22

AUG. 29 LOSS vs Marshall Co. 47-35

SEPT. 6 WIN @ Coffee Co. 32-28

SEPT. 13 WIN vs Columbia* 34-24

SEPT. 20 WIN vs Wilson Central 44-0

SEPT. 26 WIN vs Franklin Co.* 42-0

OCT. 11 WIN @ Spring Hill* 54-7

OCT. 18 WIN vs Lawrence Co.* 42-14

OCT. 25 WIN @ Lincoln Co.* 35-7

NOV. 1 WIN @ Tullahoma* 28-27

**CLASS 5-A PLAYOFFS**

NOV 8. WIN vs Hillsboro 42-9

NOV. 15 WIN vs Nolensville 33-28

NOV. 22 LOSS @ Page 28-6

SHELBYVILLE’S 2025 SCHEDULE

AUG. 22 @ Tullahoma 7:00

AUG. 29 @ Marshall County 7:00

SEPT. 5 @ Franklin* 7:00

SEPT. 11 vs Independence* 7:00

SEPT. 19 @ Brentwood* 7:00

SEPT. 26 @ Summit* 7:00

OCT. 9 @ Clarksville 7:00

OCT. 17 vs Ravenwood* 7:00

OCT. 24 @ vs Hendersonville 7:00

OCT. 31 vs Coffee County* 7:00