Time flies when you’re having fun, and for the undefeated Seymour and Brownstown Central football teams, the 2019 season has been a lot of fun.
Last Friday night, however, could have gone a lot better for both the Braves and Owls, who had to fight and claw their way to victories against Salem and Jennings County, respectively.
For Brownstown Central, the Lions held onto the ball for as long as they could to keep the Braves off of the field. Sticking with the theme of overused idioms, you could say the best defense for the Lions was their offense as they paced their way to an early lead before the halftime break.
Neutralizing the Braves’ offense with their own earned Salem some praise from Brownstown Central coach Reed May, who said it’s the only surefire way to hold his offense in check. He continued, saying his defense will need to do a better job of getting off of the field and giving the offense more chances to go score.
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Behind the legs of quarterback Derek Thompson, who rushed the ball 18 times for 183 yards and three scores, the Braves scored another come-from-behind victory to keep their unblemished record intact.
May credited Thompson for his play but didn’t leave out the improved second-half performance of the offensive line, which paved the way for Thompson’s big night.
"Teams know what we’re going to do," May said. "Derek is probably our best runner, and when we need to make a play, he’s going to run the ball a lot for us."
Thompson should be relied on again this Friday when North Harrison comes to town to try and tackle the Braves. The Braves shut out the Cougars 42-0 last year but won 17-14 the last time they came to Blevins Memorial Stadium. May said North Harrison had a lot of great players come through its program a few years ago, leading to a close win over the Braves in 2017.
North Harrison was shut out 20-0 last week by Charlestown, a team the Braves beat with another dramatic comeback finish.
Last week in North Vernon, the Owls were penalized 17 times in their 21-point win over Jennings County.
It was an odd game for the Owls, who were down 7-0 after a quarter despite the Panthers only having the ball for one play.
Seymour coach Mike Kelly said after the game he was disappointed by the way they played but was still proud they pulled off the win.
"You have to play within the confines of the officials," Kelly said of Friday night’s game. "We knew they were going to throw flags, and it was up to us to adjust."
Kelly said they didn’t do enough to adhere to the way the game was being called and says it’ll be something they have to do a better job of going forward.
The Jennings County game behind them, the Owls finally get to return home to the friendly confines of Bulleit Stadium, where they haven’t played since Week 1 against South Dearborn.
The Owl faithful have traveled very well the last three road weeks, but Seymour is ready to be back home in a familiar atmosphere.
"The electricity you get here at Seymour is unique," Kelly said.
Seymour will look for some revenge after last year’s 27-19 loss to Bedford North Lawrence in Bedford and continue its winning ways.
The Stars dropped a surprise game to Madison 21-20 last week in Bedford, but Kelly says he’s not taking anything away from that game and that his group will prepare the way it always has.
Kelly, however, did note the Stars’ plethora of starting defensive returners that gave them difficulties last year. He said the Owls will have their work cut out for them if they want to down the Stars and keep the loss column at zero.
A win by both the Braves and Owls would make next Friday’s Jackson Bowl the first one in its 12-year history where both teams are unbeaten.
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Hoosier Hills Conference standings
Team;HHC;All
Seymour;2-0;4-0
Floyd Central;1-0;3-1
Columbus East;1-0;2-2
Bedford North Lawrence;1-1;1-3
Jeffersonville;1-1;1-3
Madison;1-1;1-3
Jennings County;0-2;1-3
New Albany;0-2;1-3
Mid-Southern Conference
Team;MSC;All
Brownstown Central;4-0;4-0
Silver Creek;3-0;4-0
Charlestown;2-2;2-2
North Harrison;2-2;2-2
Salem;2-2;2-2
Scottsburg;2-2;2-2
Clarksville;1-2;1-3
Corydon Central;0-3;1-3
Eastern (Pekin);0-3;0-4
Class 5A Sectional 14
Team;Class;All
Seymour;1-0;4-0
New Palestine;1-0;4-0
Franklin;1-0;4-0
Whiteland;0-1;1-3
Class 3A Sectional 31
Team;Class;All
Brownstown Central;3-0;4-0
Franklin County;1-0;3-1
Lawrenceburg;1-0;3-1
Batesville;1-0;2-2
Scottsburg;1-2;2-2
Charlestown;1-1;2-2
Greensburg;0-1;2-2
Rushville;0-2;0-4
Jackson County leaders
Passing
Player;Com;Att;Yds;TD;I
Smith (S);29;60;494;5;5
Thompson (BC);12;24;183;2;0
Receiving
Player;C;Yds;Avg;TD
Henderson (S);9;245;27.2;3
D. Vehslage (S);6;89;14.8;2
Barker (S);5;50;12.5;0
Cope (BC);4;94;23.5;1
Brown (BC);4;77;19.3;1
Elmore (S);3;22;7.3.0
Lowe (S);2;10;5.0.0
K. Tiemeyer (BC);2;0;0.0;0
Kruse (S);1;33;33.0;0
Schroer (S);1;22;22.0;0
Wilson (BC);1;9;9.0;0
J. Tiemeyer (BC);1;3;3.0;0
Rushing
Player;Att;Yds;Avg;TD
Drummond (S);96;638;6.6;6
Thompson (BC);56;529;9.4;7
Smith (S);29;272;5.6;5
Walker (BC);25;151;6.0;0
Greathouse (S);13;138;10.6;2
Brown (BC);7;89;12.7;0
K. Tiemeyer (BC);16;74;4.6;0
Huber (BC);10;45;4.5;0
Hines (BC);7;41;5.9;0
Franklin (BC);6;35;5.8;0
Scoring
Player;TD;1p;2p;FG;TP
Thompson (BC);9;1;1;0;57
Smith (B);7;0;1;0;44
Drummond (S);6;0;0;0;36
Walker (BC);5;0;0;0;30
Henderson (S);3;0;1;0;20
Guevara (S);0;16;0;1;19
Brown (BC);3;0;0;0;18
Greathouse (S);2;0;0;0;12
Pennington (S);2;0;0;0;12
D. Vehslage (S);2;0;0;0;12
Wolka (BC);1;5;0;0;11
Barker (S);1;0;0;0;6
Brewer (BC);1;0;0;0;6
Cope (BC);1;0;0;0;6
Hines (BC);1;0;0;0;6
Huber (BC);1;0;0;0;6
Overshiner (BC);1;0;0;0;6
J. Tiemeyer (BC);0;0;1;0;2
Wilson (BC);0;0;1;0;2
Defense
Player;T;A;TT
Hines (BC);15;29;44
Corwin (S);17;24;41
Pennington (S);16;22;38
Weddell (S);15;12;27
Walker (BC);9;14;23
Fontanez (S);5;14;19
J. Tiemeyer (BC)3;15;18
James (S)13;4;17
Huber (BC);6;8;14
Schroeder (S);4;9;13
Neal (S);3;10;13
Brewer (BC);0;13;13
Rotert (S);2;10;12
Justice (BC);4;6;10
Abner (S);3;7;10
Wilson (S);3;7;10
Sipes (S);2;8;10
Wilson (BC)0;9;9
Wineinger (BC);5;3;8
Overshiner (BC);1;7;8
Ream (BC);1;7;8
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What: North Harrison (2-2) at Brownstown Central (4-0)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Radio: 96.3 WJAA
Where: Blevins Memorial Stadium
Last meeting: Brownstown 42-0, Sep. 14, 2018
Series past 35 years: Brownstown 27-7
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What: Bedford North Lawrence (1-3) at Seymour (4-0)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Radio: 92.7 Nash Icon
Where: Bulleit Stadium
Last meeting: BNL 27-19, Sep. 14, 2018
Series past 35 years: Seymour 19-15
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