If beating county rival Brownstown Central wasn’t enough to put the Seymour football team in high spirits, the Owls were informed of some welcoming news after the Jackson Bowl last Friday night.

Floyd Central had beaten Columbus East 14-12, meaning the Owls were now in a tie for first place in the Hoosier Hills Conference with the Highlanders and Olympians.

This means as long as Seymour wins its final two HHC games — this Friday against Jennings County and the next against New Albany — the Owls will claim at least a share of the conference title for the first time since 2001.

It’s an exciting development, but head coach Tyson Moore is making sure his team is focused on what lies ahead.

“The biggest motivating factor is nothing matters if we don’t beat Jennings,” Moore said. “The biggest thing is our guys have to put on the blinders and focus on this game and this game only if we want to have a chance to win the conference or share the conference.”

Seymour is currently on a three-game winning streak, and last Friday was an important victory for the Owls.

Moore, in his third year at the helm, had never beaten Brownstown before.

“It was much-needed,” Moore said. “My first year as head coach, we got beat on the last play of the game in a game that we felt like we really dominated, so that one kind of sucked the air out of us. Then last year, Brownstown kind of came in and just kicked our butts. It was definitely a much-needed win for us, a much-needed win for our seniors and it kept the momentum rolling for us.”

Seymour has become popular for pulling games out in the fourth quarter, and that was no different last Friday.

Bret Perry found Josh Rennekamp for a 33-yard completion that set up a 5-yard touchdown run in which Perry kept it himself to put Seymour on top with 1:21 left in the game. Perry finished the game with 141 yards passing and one touchdown and 15 yards rushing with one touchdown.

“It was probably the most composed we’ve ever been because we’ve been in that position before,” Moore said. “(Bret) finds ways for the team to be successful. That play that he threw to Josh, we had a breakdown in the pocket and he had to move around a little bit and make a play. Bret has done that before.”

Seymour also welcomed the return of Jaylan Johnson to the field last Friday night. He was coming off of a fractured fibula in the preseason.

Johnson was limited on offense and spent most of his snaps on defense, and Moore expects a similar dose of that this Friday.

“He’ll get a start on defense,” Moore said. “He has made a world of difference in his spot on defense. We’ll continue to rep him on offense, get him in here and there, but right now, it’s going to be a lot like what we saw (against Brownstown).”

The Owls are home for homecoming this Friday against Jennings County.

The Panthers are in a new era with first-year head coach T.J. Newton. They are 1-5 this season with their lone win coming against Brown County on Aug. 26.

Last year, Seymour won 50-29 against Jennings County. The Panthers start seven seniors on defense, and Moore thinks they do some things well that could give the Owls some issues.

But ultimately, Moore wants his team to play its style of football Friday night at Bulleit Stadium.

“We just have to go out and play our football,” Moore said. “If we go out and play our Seymour football, we know it’s going to force teams to have to stop us. This group of guys that I‘ve got right now, I can’t say enough good things about them because they’ve overcome a lot of adversity this year and they’ve continued to get better. Right now, we’re playing really good football, and if we continue to do that, we’ll be fine.”