SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. – As the clock ticked down into the final 10 minutes of normal time in the District 9-AAA Championship Game between Shelbyville (14-3-2, 9-0-1) and Columbia Central (9-4-1, 6-3-1), the visiting Lions were barely holding on for dear life while level at 1-1, desperately trying to find some way to survive and send the game into extra-time.

Instead, Jonathan Betzelberger and Yaden Niño had different ideas. Two minutes after seeing a go-ahead goal taken off the board due to an offsides decision, Betzelberger took a touch outside the right-corner of the Lions’ 18-yard box, somehow finding the space to send an overhead-flick into the path of an onrushing teammate in the box. Niño took full advantage, getting to the ball first and poking it past Columbia’s goalkeeper, Blake O’Connor, to put the Golden Eagles ahead for good, 2-1. 

“It takes special plays…[Johnathan] Betzelberger, he has a unique way of playing that adds to our team,” said Shelbyville head coach Chris Fritz. “He’s a very coachable kid, he has a bright future as he’s just a sophomore, but the other guys following up on the play…when you have seniors that are that dedicated, that’s just how it goes.”

Betzelberger, who came in dealing with a nagging ankle knock, finished with an assist on both of Shelbyville's goals, with the first coming in the third minute of the game off a redirected long free-kick to Carlos Velazquez and give the hosts an early 1-0 advantage. 

With the late winner, the Golden Eagles secured their fourth-consecutive district title.

“This one is special because this group has really been through the most culture change for our program,” said Fritz. “It’s interesting to consider that in middle school, these seniors lost their championship game and people doubted their ability to be successful in high school, but when they got here as a group, they were so tight, and they listened, and they went to the state tournament as freshmen. They’ve really put in a shift and played our brand of soccer all the way across the board. They’ve really adapted to the demands. If people really knew how much work we put in…if they really knew about the summer and they really knew about the cold and the rain and the days where things don't go our way…if they really knew about all that then I think they would understand the emotion that goes behind it. Even tonight, I think soccer is funny because a team can maybe have the ball the whole game and dominate passing and dominate possession, but a team with a good gameplan can create obstacles in that, and kudos to Columbia. Their gameplan was excellent, but to see them earn that as a team, to see several young guys who had to step up on the pitch and make plays who weren’t in the mix as starters, this game allowed them to flourish.”

Niño nearly doubled Shelbyville’s lead in the ninth minute, but a good kick-save by O’Connor kept the Lions within one. 

In the 20th minute, regular season District 9-AAA Co-MVP Emmanuel Leyva was played through on a long switch, but again O’Connor kept his net empty with a good reflex save. 

Columbia began to find some footing in the game in the final 15-20 minutes of the first half, and in the 25th minute, Jack Grippo’s towering header deflected squarely off the crossbar. 

Perhaps emboldened by the close call, Columbia started to control the game, culminating in a 35th-minute game-tying goal. A centering ball played back across the box from the right-wing found the foot of Grippo, and the Lions’ attacker guided home the equalizer just five minutes before halftime. 

In the 49th minute, Rodrigo Hernández entered the referee’s book with the one and only yellow card shown all night. 

Shelbyville slowly but surely wrestled back control from Columbia, and by the 70th minute, a match-winner felt nearly inevitable.

In the 72nd minute, Leyva thought he had found the go-ahead goal, but was ruled marginally offside. Two minutes later, Betzelberger’s magic created the winner, setting up a home showdown in the Region 5-AAA Semifinals against Ravenwood.

“I think this helps us prepare for regionals,” Fritz concluded. “If it had been a not-great game, I don’t think we would have been nearly as sharp because we were sloppy against Coffee County, and you could see some of that in the early first half, but in the second half we were incredible. The ball movement, the rotations, the passing, the ideas, the intensity, the hustle…it’s a special win.”

Shelbyville Central moves one win away from the state-sectional round and will host District 10-AAA runner-up, Ravenwood, on Tuesday, May 13, with kickoff TBA.