COLUMBUS – The energy was contagious at Columbus East High School on Friday evening with the Owls meeting the Olympians in the Class 4A Sectional 15 semifinal.

Seymour would dominate the line of scrimmage throughout the game, winning 39-20.

Coach Tyson Moore spoke about the win for the Owls.

“I’m very happy with the win, happy for the guys,” he said. “Our offensive line played well, and we get a chance to host a home game in November for a sectional championship. I’m elated for our guys to get that opportunity.”

The first few plays didn’t go in Seymour’s favor with three straight incompletions for a three-and-out. The Seymour defense forced Columbus to a third-and-3 before Evan Royer came in for the sack to force the Olympians to punt.

A touchback then forced the Owls to start at the 20-yard line before Cameron Wheeler broke free for a 19-yard gain to kickstart the drive. Bret Perry then threw an interception to Keaton Lawson, who caught the pick on a batted ball.

Kyson Villarreal then got the ball again for the Olympians, dicing the defense with his legs with a huge 12-yard gain on third down.

Shortly after, another third down approached with the Olympians getting penalized for false start to make it third-and-9. East then took the early lead with a 6-yard touchdown pass with Villarreal finding Jared Brooks for the score.

Columbus took the 7-0 lead, but Seymour would dominate the remaining time in the half. Perry then got the ball and didn’t waste the opportunity, hitting Jack Pennington for a 51-yard passing touchdown. The extra point was blocked by the Olympians to preserve the one-point lead.

Perry then followed that up with another long touchdown pass to Pennington, this time for 63 yards, to give Seymour the lead. The boys would go for two but didn’t convert to keep the 12-7 lead.

A huge miscommunication from two East receivers allowed the Owls to get the ball back. Jaylan Johnson got the carry inside the 5 to score the touchdown, taking a 19-7 lead with three minutes left in the first half.

East then muffed the kickoff return with Mikey Wright falling on the ball to keep Seymour with the ball. Perry then found running back Cam Wheeler for an 18-yard touchdown reception.

Even though Columbus hung around, Seymour always had control of the game.

“We played in the backfield all night long on defense,” Moore said. “We did a really good job of recovering at times throughout the game. I’m happy for these kids to have the chance to play again.”

The Owls took total control with a 26-7 lead to end the first half. The second half started with Seymour kicking the ball to Columbus East to open play.

Johnson was then flagged on a roughing the kicker during the punt, giving the Olympians the first down. The defense would answer the call, forcing East to a long third down attempt. After the stop, Seymour began their drive at their own 8. Nicholas Wheeler would fumble the ball with Gabe Chumley of East recovering the football.

Tyler Weller then scored for the Olympians on a 2-yard rushing touchdown, cutting the deficit to 26-13. Seymour began moving the ball down the field, heavily infused with running the football. Perry then hit Johnson on a crossing route to move across midfield.

As the Owls were forced to go for it on fourth-and-6, Perry was pressured and taken down behind the line of scrimmage to give East the ball. The defense answered the call once again, forcing the Olympians to punt again.

Seymour moved the ball down the field, breaking into East territory. The Owls caught a huge break after a pass was dropped by East corner Caaden Gault, a huge fourth-and-1 at the 21-yard line for Seymour with Nicholas Wheeler picking up a 7-yard gain to extend the drive.

Wheeler then found the end zone with a 4-yard rushing touchdown. The score extended the Owls’ lead to 32-13 with the extra point being missed.

Villarreal then found Brooks for a long 54-yard touchdown pass to make it a 32-20 game. The Owls got the ball again, looking to take as much time off the clock as possible.

Seymour took the ball into East territory with five and a half minutes left in the game. Nicholas Wheeler would score one more time to put the game out of reach at 39-20. Jordan Ritter would add the extra point for his first points of the year.

Seymour hung on for the victory and will face either Bloomington North or South in the sectional final.

The game will be at Seymour High School at 7 p.m. next Friday.

High School Football

Owls;39

Olympians;20

Seymour (5-4);6;20;0;13;—;39

Columbus East (3-6);7;0;6;7;—;20

First Quarter

CE: Villarreal six yard passing touchdown to Brooks (Bailey Kick) 3:18

S: Perry 51 yard passing touchdown to Pennington. (PAT Blocked) 1:53

Second Quarter

S: Perry 63 yard passing touchdown to Pennington. (2PT failed) 9:42

S: Johnson two yard rushing touchdown. (Pennington Kick) 3:23

S: Perry 18 yard passing touchdown to C. Wheeler. (Pennington Kick) 2:20

Third quarter

CE: Tyler Weller two yard rushing touchdown. (2PT failed) 7:53

Fourth quarter

S: Nicholas Wheeler 4 yard rushing touchdown. (Kick missed) 8:50

CE: Villarreal 54 yard passing touchdown to Jared Brooks. (Bailey Kick) 8:05

S: N. Wheeler 3 yard rushing touchdown. (Ritter Kick) 1:37

Individual Statistics

Passing:

B. Perry, 18-for-32, 269 yards, 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions.

Rushing: N. Wheeler 17-89. C. Wheeler 9-61. B. Perry, 6-10. J. Johnson, 3-13. L. Shelly, 3-18.

Team:

Receiving: 35-191

J. Pennington, 6-145. K. Hileman, 5-47. J. Johnson, 4-32. N. Wheeler, 1-22

C. Wheeler, 1-18, L. Shelly, 1-5.

Team: 18-269