Greg Jones | For The Tribune
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
Greg Jones | For The Tribune
The offense was everything it was advertised to be, but defense was the difference for Seymour’s football team in a convincing 41-20 win over county rival Brownstown Central on Friday night.
After watching the Braves’ productive run game generate 200 yards and two touchdowns on its first 10 carries, Seymour’s defense limited BC runners to just 97 yards and a single touchdown on 25 carries over the game’s remaining three quarters.
The Braves opened with consecutive scores on their first two possessions but were forced to punt four times, turned the ball over on downs twice, knelt once before halftime and lost a fumble on their last eight possessions.
“No matter how much you practice it, you can’t simulate the speed of their offense,” Seymour head coach Tyson Moore said. “Before the game, we talked about highs and lows. We knew (Brownstown) was going to make some plays, but we never got out of sync. We hunkered down and made corrections.”
With the defense controlling the Braves, the Owls’ offense was allowed to fly. And fly it did.
Seymour quarterback Bret Perry finished the night with 413 yards and six touchdown passes on 32 for 42 passing. His yardage easily surpassed Austin Sutton’s Jackson Bowl record of 245 yards (set in 2011) and bettered Clay Brown’s record of five TD passes (2014).
The Owls’ receivers proved to be too much for BC’s defense. Jaylan Johnson (10 catches, 134 yards) and Jack Pennington (11 for 117) each passed the 100-yard mark. Logan Shelly added 96 yards on five catches, while Kyle Hileman ended with 66 yards on six receptions.
All four receivers caught a touchdown pass. Johnson and Pennington each had two TD catches.
“Bret kept his composure all night,” Moore said. “Between Perry, Jaylan and Pennington, those three, when all is said and done, are going to re-write the Seymour record books.”
Indeed, Johnson now has 286 receiving yards in three Jackson Bowl appearances, passing BC’s Gavin Bane on the series reception yardage list.
Friday’s game hinged on a series of first-half plays that appeared to give Brownstown a path to victory but turned suddenly in favor of Seymour.
Down 14-7, Brownstown recovered a Hileman fumble at the BC 32-yard line. The Braves proceeded to march toward Seymour’s goal line, seeking a two-touchdown lead that would allow their potent run attack to bleed the clock.
Instead, Seymour got the game-altering stop it needed. Evan Royer tripped up BC running back Lane Zike at the Owls’ 2-yard line on a fourth-and-goal that prevented the Braves from gaining separation and handed the ball back to Seymour.
“We didn’t execute,” BC head coach Reed May said. “We should’ve scored three plays before. It was unfortunate to have that happen so close to the end zone. We executed poorly and didn’t block the right guys. We probably should have taken the three points instead.”
Starting from their own 2-yard line, the Owls quickly found themselves facing fourth-and-1 from their 11-yard line.
Counterintuitively, Seymour’s coaching staff decided to go for the first down despite being in the shadow of their own goal line.
“That’s our aggressive nature,” Moore said. “We felt like all we needed was half a yard. It wouldn’t have mattered if we were on our 5-yard line or their 25-yard line. We thought, if we can get it, we’ll take the air out of their sails.”
The gamble paid off. Johnson ran the ball 2 yards to pick up the first down, then became the catalyst for the rest of an eight-play, 98-yard scoring drive.
Johnson caught four passes during the possession, including a 54-yard touchdown toss that allowed the Owls to tie the game at 14.
Seymour’s defense followed by forcing Brownstown into a three-and-out punt with 3:42 left in the second quarter.
The Owls’ offense kept up their newfound momentum, constructing another long drive, this time 84 yards in eight plays that ended with a lunging, tumbling, finger-tip catch in the end zone by Hileman.
Suddenly, Seymour owned a 20-14 lead and Brownstown was on its heels.
A 15-yard Perry-to-Johnson touchdown pass to start the second half increased Seymour’s lead to 27-14.
Brownstown tried to stay with the Owls, getting a 27-yard TD run by Greg Hutcheson that closed the gap to 27-20 with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, but the Braves never reached the end zone again.
Friday’s loss is Brownstown’s first of the year. The 21-point margin is the largest suffered by the Braves since a 21-point sectional loss to Lawrenceburg in 2021.
“The biggest thing is what’s in front of us,” May said. “If we win out, we’re still sitting at 8-1. Playing them is good for our kids. That’s a good thing about a game like this. If you learn something from it, it was a good game regardless of the outcome.”
Meanwhile, the victory gives Seymour its first win over a No. 1-ranked team since 2005 when the Owls defeated Class 4A No. 1 Columbus East 28-13 in the opening round of the sectional. Brownstown was elevated to the top spot in Class 2A earlier this week after previous No. 1 Indianapolis Scecina lost to Heritage Christian.
As Moore surmised, Perry’s performance keeps him well on track to rewrite Seymour’s record book. The senior now boasts 2,139 passing yards and 26 touchdowns on the season. With three games remaining, he is well positioned to make a run at the single-season marks held by Ross Wiethoff (2,581 yards and 32 passing TDs in 2001, according to Seymour sports historian Bud Shippee).
Friday’s win also cures several ills for Seymour. Not only did it end a two-game skid and get the Owls back to .500 at 3-3, it also gives Seymour its first back-to-back wins over Brownstown since 2015-16.
The Braves were riding a three-game win streak against Seymour entering last season’s rivalry game, but the Owls have reversed the series’ tide by taking the last two Jackson Bowls.
Brownstown still owns a narrow 9-8 edge in the series since the 2007 reboot, though Seymour holds the overall series advantage at 14-10 when its 6-0 mark from 1966-71 is factored in.
High School Football
Braves;20
Owls;41
Brownstown Central (5-1);14;0;0;6;—;20
Seymour (3-3);7;13;7;14;—;41
First quarter
BC-Lane Zike 5 run (Bryce Peak kick), 9:17
S-Logan Shelly 65 pass from Bret Perry (Jack Pennington kick), 8:31
BC-Isiaah Engle 10 run (Peak kick), 6:53
Second quarter
S-Jaylan Johnson 54 pass from Perry (Pennington kick), 6:09
S-Kyle Hileman 27 pass from Perry (kick failed), :28
Third quarter
S-Johnson 15 pass from Perry (Pennington kick), 10:00
Fourth quarter
BC-Greg Hutcheson 27 run (pass failed), 11:48
S-Pennington 3 pass from Perry (Pennington kick), 9:08
S-Pennington 16 pass from Perry (Pennington kick), 1:24
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing:
Brownstown-Hutcheson 5-78, Engle 6-65, Preston Garrison 4-59, Micah Sheffer 3-18, Zike 7-17, Chick Tiemeyer 3-9, Evan Stahl 1-6.
Seymour-Cam Wheeler 7-54, Nick Wheeler 7-14, Perry 3-4, Pennington 1-3, Johnson 3-3, Sam Rockey 1-1, Shelly 1-(-2).
Passing:
Brownstown-Sheffer 4 for 14, 45 yards, 0 touchdowns.
Seymour-Perry 32 for 42, 413 yards, 6 touchdowns.
Receiving:
Brownstown-Ryan Branaman 2-32, Tiemeyer 2-13.
Seymour-Johnson 10-134, Pennington 11-117, Shelly 5-96, Hileman 6-66.