Lineman helping turn Seymour in right direction

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Coby Shepherd said he thinks he is in the right place at the right time as a member of the Seymour football team.

“It’s been amazing, all four years coming together as a team,” he said. “The coaches are great. It just feels good to part of something like this, to help turn this program around from what it was. I want to make sure the kids coming up after me have success.

“(Coach Josh) Shattuck came here when I was a freshman. He’s done a real good job teaching us how to win and be winners.”

Shepherd said another reason he enjoys being a member of the team is because of having a twin brother (Cailen) on the team.

Both are in their second season starting in the offensive line. Cailen starts at right tackle this fall.

“We talk a lot about the game,” Coby said. “We talk about how we did and what we can improve on. It’s good having a brother out there.”

Coby began his football in fifth grade and has been a lineman throughout out his career.

He saw limited playing time in varsity games his sophomore year, then started at left guard his junior year and moved to center this season.

He said his blocking assignments change throughout each game depending on what play the Owls are running, and what formation the defense is in.

“Center is a lot more down blocks than the guard was,” Shepherd said. “If they’re in a four you’re going to have a lot more head-up players, and center you never know if they’re going to line up with a nose or not.”

He said in run blocking, “You just try to open a hole for your running back. In pass blocking you want to keep a gap open for (Alan) Perry to step up and throw the ball. You don’t want to lose them on the inside or anything.”

Shepherd takes pride in knowing he had a hand in helping the Owls score.

“I love to see them running for good gains,” Shepherd said. “I love looking on film and seeing big holes open for (Perry) and making his job a lot easier.

“You’ve got to watch a lot of film. Practice is extremely important. You don’t win games just on Friday. We’ve improving pretty much every practice, and everybody is working hard to get better.”

He said a lot of his improvement going into his junior year can be attributed to work in the weight room.

“A lot of it was the weight room, and then the coaches did a really good job, and the older players did a really good job of teaching me, showing me what to do in the weight room and what to do on the field,” Shepherd said

“A week after the season we’re back in the weight room to all the way to the start of the season.”

The senior’s favorite lift in the bench with his max being 230.

Shepherd said a highlight win for him was beating Brownstown Central in the Jackson Bowl last season.

“A couple games that stand out for me,” Shepherd said. “Definitely the Brownstown game. It felt so good to beat your rival, and then beating Silver Creek in the sectional. That felt really good because it felt like a little revenge.”

Shepherd said beating Floyd Central last week did a lot to lift everybody’s confidence.

“I think everybody felt relieved, not so built up that we got a win, where we need a win,” he said. “I think everybody feels better about it and we can play loose.

“I think for more success we still have to play loose. We can’t be so uptight about how we play. The practice have to stay hard work every single day.”

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Name: Coby Shepherd

School: Seymour High School

Parents: Jim and Melinda Shepherd

Siblings: Carson, Cailen and Chloe

Sports: Football, four years

Organizations: Latin Club

Plans after high school: Attend college, study physical therapy

Favorite food: Steak

Favorite TV show: “The Walking Dead”

Favorite singer: Drake

Favorite movie: “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby”

Favorite team: Indianapolis Colts

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What: Syemour (1-3) at Bedford North Lawrence (2-2)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: BNL Stadium

Radio: 92.7 Nash Icon

Last outing: Seymour def. Floyd Central 36-35, New Albany def. Bedford North Lawrence 35-21.

Most recent meeting: BNL won 31-24 on Sept. 18, 2015.

Series past 30 years: Seymour 17-13.

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