JEFFERSONVILLE
No late-game heroics were needed this time for the Seymour football team as they passed their first road test of the year with flying colors on Friday night.
Not when the Owls had Brendan Smith quarterback.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryBehind four touchdowns from Smith, one through the air and three on the ground, the Owls dispatched the Jeffersonville Red Devils 28-21 to move to 2-0 for the second year in a row.
Smith called his own number three times inside the Red Devil 3-yard line and was successful each time. His lone touchdown pass came in the second quarter to Ely Henderson to give Seymour their first lead of the ballgame.
Yet, despite his great plays, he made some costly mistakes that could have cost the Owls the win. Seymour coach Mike Kelly acknowledged some of those miscues but was still proud of the performance his senior quarterback put on.
“I think it was part nerves and part just wanting to get things moving and rolling,” Kelly said. “He’s a great kid, does a good job for us and did everything he possibly could this offseason to prepare. He played a great game for us.”
It also helped the Owl offense was only penalized three times — two holding calls and one illegal substitution. That stat stuck out to Kelly as a key in their win over Jeffersonville as well as dodging a late potential onside kick recovery by the Devils with 31 seconds to go in the game.
“Later stages in the game is where penalties kill you,” Kelly said. “We’ve got to clean some things up and that’s all about staying upright and moving your feet.”
Penalties also were at a minimum due to a shorthanded referee crew that lost their umpire in the second quarter due to injury.
Early on, it was once again Seymour’s defense coming up with big plays to help out the struggling offense in the opening two quarters in Friday night’s game.
Twice after sustained Owl drives were stopped short deep in Red Devil territory, the defense responded with two huge takeaways to set the offense back up in the red zone. The defense forced three fumbles on Friday but only recovered the first two.
The Owls also only capitalized on one of those opportunities behind the legs of Smith on a 3-yard quarterback sneak.
On the very next offensive series, Smith found Henderson for the 14-yard strike and again on the ensuing 2-point conversion to put the Owls in front 14-7 before the break.
That score, however, would not have happened without a great throw from Smith to junior Reid Kruse for a 36-yard gain on third down.
Kelly was pleased his team was able to score before the half but relented they need to do a better job finishing their drives. He knows if they want to continue their winning ways they need to put points on the board. He was excited he saw some big plays out of his offense after challenging them for some last week.
“Yeah, I think so but I think there’s more to be made,” Kelly said. “The good thing is, offensively, we can do some more things to create some more explosiveness. We’ve got some athletes that we need to utilize and we’ll need those athletes down the stretch.”
The Owls are back on the road next Friday against Madison. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. Seymour defeated Madison 28-7 in the regular season finale last year.
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Owls;28
Red Devils;21
Seymour (2-0);0;14;14;0 — 28
Jeffersonville (0-2);0;7;7;7 — 21
Second quarter
J-Shaun Wimberly 74-yard pass to Devaca Parks (Gafred Altamirano kick good), 11:09
S-Brendan Smith 3-yard run (Joshua Guevara kick failed), 6:44
S-Smith 14 pass to Ely Henderson (2-pt conversion good), 1:37
Third Quarter
J-Isaac Findley 94 run (Altamirano kick good), 10:45
S-Smith 3 run (Guevara kick good), 6:23
S-Smith 1 run (Guevara kick good), 0:41
Fourth Quarter
J-Wimberly 24 pass to Parks (Altamirano kick good), 0:31
INDIVIDUAL SHS STATISTICS
Rushing: Drummond 25-108, Smith 17-92-3
Passing: Smith 8-19-156-1
Receiving: Ely Henderson 4-111-1, Brayden Barker 2-7, Reid Kruse 1-34, Jackson Lowe 1-4
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