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The Shelby County Wildcats started strong and didn’t let up as they rushed for 337 yards as a team in a dominant win over Jemison to start 4-0 for the first time since 2008. (For the Reporter/Larry Dancy)

Larry Dancy

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

JEMISON – If this is a dream start, the Shelby County Wildcats haven’t woken up yet as they improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2008 with another dominant victory.

The Wildcats defeated the Jemison Panthers 42-6 on Sept. 13 at Jemison High School to earn their second straight win in Class 5A, Region 3 play.

“Just extremely proud of our boys and I’m proud for our community and our school,” Shelby County coach Zeb Ellison said. “It’s been a building process the last two years. We’ve had our ups and downs, but the kids have stuck with it and the kids that have stayed, man, they’re reaping the rewards of all the hard work and their sacrifices and can’t say enough about the young men.”

Shelby County got off to a shaky start with two penalties backing them up to their 13-yard line. However, the offense brushed off the adversity and marched down the field, with Anthony Palmieri running it in for a touchdown from outside the red zone to take the 7-0 lead.

Once again, the Wildcats defense made statements early and often, starting with a fumble just three plays into Jemison’s opening drive.

After the recovery, Palmieri made it two touchdowns in four-and-a-half minutes as he scored on the first play of the drive to give Shelby County the 14-0 lead with 7:28 left in the first quarter.

Jemison’s offense couldn’t get going on its next drive, and the Wildcats relied on the run again once they took the ball over.

Tyson Duncan took the lead on the drive before Palmieri got his third rushing touchdown of the quarter off another long run, making the score 21-0 with 2:50 to go in the opening quarter.

The Panthers got a shot of life thanks to a long kickoff return, but the offense couldn’t capitalize, allowing Shelby County to reclaim the ball.

The Wildcats then struck again with 10:41 remaining in the second quarter, as Ryan Sipes reached the end zone before the offense missed the point after to leave the score at 27-0.

The scoring pace quieted down from there, but not before Shelby County’s Noah Trenholm left his mark on the game with a pair of big plays in the final minutes of the half.

He first found the end zone with 3:21 left, running it in from past the 10-yard line to make the lead 35-0.

Then, with just 12.3 seconds to go until halftime, Trenholm scored again from deep in Jemison territory to put the Wildcats up 42-0 going into the locker room.

From there, the teams settled into a rhythm in the second half, going the entire third quarter without scoring.

The Panthers did get on the scoreboard late with a touchdown in the fourth quarter. However, they missed the 2-point conversion, making the final score 42-6 Shelby County.

The Wildcats exclusively ran the ball this week and took 39 carries for 337 yards, including 309 yards in the first half alone. Palmieri led the way with 141 rushing yards off eight carries.

Between the rushing performance and defensive shutout, Ellison said it took the entire team to turn in a dominant result.

“It’s a team effort,” Ellison said. “If our offense wouldn’t be doing the things it’s doing and keeping the ball, we wouldn’t be able to be as be as good on defense as we are right now.”

Ellison gave credit for their success on the ground to the offensive line. With multiple fresh faces joining the offensive line this offseason, he is proud of his offensive linemen for believing in the coaching staff’s vision for them so they could help carry the team to a 4-0 start.

“They’re very, very unselfish kids and it’s paying off for us,” Ellison said. “I know our running backs and quarterbacks and receivers get a lot of the attention, but none of that would be capable without the boys up front.”

Shelby County will look to stay undefeated as it comes home to face the Northside Rams on Sept. 20 at Shelby County High School.

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