Receiving special awards at the Seymour football awards banquet on Thursday were Bret Perry, Cameron Klakamp, Carlos Ortiz, Jaylan Johnson and Jackson Brock.
Dylan Wallace | The Tribune
The Seymour football team gathered at the Pines Evergreen Room on Thursday night to celebrates its 2021 season.
The Owls went 4-6 and played in the sectional championship game at New Albany, and they found themselves 10 seconds away from playing in the regional.
“By the end of October, we were playing our best football,” head coach Tyson Moore said. “We knew how close we were, and we wanted it more.”
Moore remembers the mood the following Monday after Seymour’s season ended. In the past, players were happy the season had come to an end, but not this year. The team came out to lift in the weight room. They didn’t want the season to be over.
It was a good feeling for Moore to have as a coach, and it got him excited for the future.
Seymour made strides from 2020 to 2021. The Owls had a 40% increase in the passing game, 20% increase in rushing, scored 50% more than the previous season and decreased the turnover rate by 50%.
“That’s outstanding,” Moore said.
Another big highlight from Seymour’s season was that the Owls defeated Columbus East for the first time in 96 conference games.
They had 13 freshmen or sophomores play varsity on Friday nights, which Moore said is almost unheard of.
After recapping the season, Moore and his staff handed out individual awards from the season.
Earning the junior varsity offensive player of the year award was Kyle Hileman, and the JV defensive player of the year was Jackson Brock.
The varsity defensive player of the year was Cameron Klakamp, who led the team in assisted tackles, sacks and tackles for loss with 12 of those.
The varsity offensive player of the year went to quarterback Bret Perry.
The Owl award went to Carlos Ortiz.
Lastly, the MVP award went to Jaylan Johnson, who had a stellar season on both sides of the ball. Johnson had 60 receptions and ranked as the No. 13 tight end in the nation by Max Preps when the season was all said and done.
He also had 39 tackles (third on team), eight TFL’s, one sack and two fumble recoveries. Johnson played an impressive 98% of Seymour’s snaps this season.
Moore also handed out some Max Preps awards, which went to Javier Perez (special teams), Perry (offensive), Klakamp (defensive) and Johnson (statistical).
Perry, Johnson and Klakamp all earned all-conference first team, and Cory Robinson earned all-conference second team.
Alex Martinez, Treyton McCormick, Sam Allman, Ben Kriete, Grant Smith and Evan Smith all obtained at least a 3.5 GPA to earn recognition of academic excellence, and Robinson and Alex Schlatterer both obtained a 4.0 GPA.
It was a solid season for the Owls that saw plenty of ups and downs, but the momentum Seymour built in the final month of the season will be valuable for years to come.
“We built something for the future,” Moore said. “We’re building on that foundation, and there are great things to come.”