Receiving special honors at the Seymour football awards banquet were, front from left, Mark Henson, Evan Smith, Bret Perry and Cory Robinson; back row is Kyle Hileman, Will Gray and Jack Pennington.
Submitted photo
The Seymour football team got together one last time this year to celebrate the Owls’ successful 2022 campaign.
The team’s awards banquet was held at the auditorium inside Seymour High School, and there were plenty of players to recognize.
The first of which were the captains. Seymour had four seniors earn a captain award, and those were Mark Henson, Evan Smith, Cory Robinson and Will Gray.
Those four individuals would represent the Owls at midfield for the coin toss each and every game, and they provided instrumental leadership and experience to the team.
That was the first of three plaques Robinson took home with him. The senior also won the Owl award for his sportsmanship on and off the field, and he was also voted as the team’s most valuable player.
Robinson played along both the offensive and defensive lines and was a key cog for the Owls’ interior play this season.
The offensive player of the year was given to Bret Perry. The junior quarterback made big play after big play for Seymour. He finished the season with 1,930 passing yards and 294 rushing yards. He had six rushing touchdowns and threw 15 passing touchdowns to just two interceptions.
The defensive player of the year went to Smith. He wasn’t only a captain for his leadership but also his play on the field. Smith led the team in tackles all season long.
Jack Pennington won special teams player of the year. He was an IFCA 5A Junior All-State player for what he did at wide receiver for the Owls — leading them in receiving yards — but he was also vital on special teams. Pennington returned kicks and punts, and he also kicked off, punted and made extra points when called upon.
The most improved player award went to Kyle Hileman. He emerged as a key receiver for the Owls. He finished the season with 33 catches for 591 yards and four touchdowns, including a walk-off TD reception to defeat Floyd Central.
Robinson, Perry, Pennington, Smith, Henson and Treyton McCormick all made the Hoosier Hills Conference first team. Hileman, Josh Rennekamp and Mikey Wright were all-HHC honorable mention.
There were 10 Owls who earned an academic excellence certificate. Those were Gray, McCormick, Smith, Perry, Pennington, Robinson, Rennekamp, Hunter Wick, Grant Smith and Alex Schlatterer.
Charlie Bruce, Elmer Rivera, Wick, Diego Aguilar, Evan Royer and Ryan Pike all earned a volunteer service certificate, as well.
All of these Owls and many more played a big role in the team going 6-4 and winning a share of the HHC title for the first time since 2001.
Seymour is losing some key seniors to graduation, but the Owls still have a lot of talent coming back next year, which has head coach Tyson Moore excited about the direction of the program.