It was a rough and rowdy Seymour crowd on Friday evening at Bulleit Stadium with the 9-1 Panthers coming in for the sectional title matchup. Bloomington South came to Seymour for a battle on the gridiron, coming out with a win over the Owls, 49 to 14.

Seymour Head Coach Tyson Moore spoke about the season-ending loss to the Panthers.

“For the guys to come out and play well in the first half was huge for us. They played hard and we ran into a great football team,” he said. “We made a lot of good plays, but this showing was completely different than the last time we played the Panthers.”

The Owls got the ball first Seymour picked up a first down to keep the drive alive, Seymour QB Bret Perry was slinging the pigskin across the field, hitting receivers Jaylan Johnson and Jack Pennington for critical completions against the stout Panther defense. The team would get inside the 20, but Perry would throw an interception to Drew Crum-Hieftje to turn the ball over.

South QB Jarrin Alley almost made a huge mistake, as Pennington almost picked the ball off shortly after, but dropped the ball. A huge gasp was let out in the Seymour crowd, but the defense did the job and forced the Panthers to punt the football.

The Owls took over at the 45, starting off slowly but eventually converting on a huge third down play. Perry scrambled to his right, finding Johnson for a huge completion to extend the drive. On the other side of the 50, Seymour would give the ball to Cameron Wheeler, who picked up five huge yards to keep it going. The ball was just past the yardage needed for a first down, with the Owls crowd going bananas in the stands. Perry then found Johnson on a crossing route, beating the first defender to bring it inside the five yard line.

A second and goal from the three came up for Seymour, with Coach Moore calling a timeout to talk it over to his players. Perry found Pennington, who stretched his arms across the goal-line to give the Owls the early 6-0 lead. Pennington then added the extra point to make it a seven-point lead.

Perry racked up 82 yards in the first quarter throwing the ball. Tempo was entirely different than usual for Seymour, who slowed the ball down, not allowing South to have the ball for more than two minutes in the first period.

The Panthers got the ball and didn’t mess around, with Gavin Adams picking up 56 yards on a run to put South in prime position. Adams then took the next carry in for an easy 4 yard rushing touchdown.

Mikey Wright then took the following kickoff back past midfield to the 45. Wright shot out of a cannon when he caught the ball, sending the home fans into a frenzy. Unfortunately, South made a stop to force the Owls to punt, putting the Panthers inside the 15 to start their drive.

D’Andre Black then struck for the Panthers with a 40 yard receiving touchdown. The lead was now 14-7 in favor of Bloomington South with Seymour getting the ball back to try and tie it.

A huge roughing the passer penalty would help the Owls to give them a first down, moving the ball down the field. A reverse trick play turned into a pass from Jaylan Johnson who threw a dot to Jack Pennington. Despite being held and a tipped pass, Pennington managed to come down with the ball. The grab was straight out of Julian Edelman and Lynn Swann’s playbook.

Seymour continued to move the ball on the No. 1 team in Class 5A, coming down to a huge third and goal from the five yard line. Perry took the snap and found Jaylan Johnson in the end zone for the game-tying touchdown. Pennington added the extra point to tie it at 14 with 4 minutes left in the first half.

South then got the ball back, passing the ball down the field, moving across midfield into Seymour territory. The Owls forced South to go for it on 4th and 8, working for the Panthers with a 17 yard touchdown pass to Black. The air was let out of the stands with the score, allowing Bloomington to take the 21-14 lead with a minute left in the second quarter. Perry then threw another interception after it was believed to be incomplete.

The officials called the interception, giving the ball back to the Panthers, who were looking to add to their lead before the half. South then added to their lead with Jarrin Alley finding Adams with a pass for a touchdown with ten seconds left in the half. Bloomington took a 28-14 lead going into halftime and they wouldn’t look back.

The Panthers came out firing on all cylinders in the second half, taking the ball into the Owls red zone, eventually scoring with a Lucas Waldon rushing touchdown. South then took a 35-14 lead, seizing total control of the matchup. Seymour got the ball back and couldn’t do much with it, allowing a sack for a big loss on second down.

After picking up a huge third down conversion, the next pass ended up in Miles McKay’s hands with a Panthers interception, giving Bloomington solid field position to add to the lead, and they did just that. Alley found Black for his third receiving touchdown of the game. It wouldn’t be long and the Panthers would get the ball again, scoring quickly to make it a 35 point game, marking the start of the running clock. Forcing the Owls to punt to give possession back to Bloomington South with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The Panthers ran out the rest of the third, continuing into the final quarter. The final minutes of the 2023 season dwindled, with Bloomington South emerging victorious and advancing to the regional game next Friday. Seymour battled to the end, but it wouldn’t be enough in the end.

Moore spoke about the team never giving up in the championship.

“We came out swimming and didn’t go down without a fight,” he said. Hats off to the Panthers for how they played. Sometimes you get beat, and tonight we got beat, but not without a fight.”

The Owls had 17 seniors who wrapped up their football careers.

Jesus Aguilar, Dametreous Collins, Kyle Hileman, Benjamin Marks, Owen Kruse, Sam Rockey, Jack Pennington, Bret Perry, Ryan Pike, Jordan Ritter, Brayden Rorick, Sam Rockey, Evan Royer, Evan Rudicel, Cameron Wheeler, Hunter Wick and Alexander Franklin all finished up football for Seymour. Moore spoke about the class and what they meant to Seymour football.

“It’s tough for me to see these kids go,” Moore said. “They were my first group as a coach, and they have been great to be around. A big part of their legacy is setting the standard for the guys who follow them in the coming years.”

The Owls finish their 2023 season with a 6-5 record.

High School Football

Panthers; 49

Owls; 14

Bloomington South; (10-1); 0;28;14; 7;—; 49

Seymour; (6-5); 7;7;0;0; —; 14

First Quarter

S: Bret Perry 3 yard passing touchdown to Jack Pennington (Pennington Kick) 0:41

Second Quarter

BS: Gavin Adams 4 yard rushing touchdown (Perez Kick) 11:46

BS: Jarrin Alley 40 yard passing touchdown to D’Andre Black (Perez Kick) 9:21

S: Bret Perry 5 yard passing touchdown to Jaylan Johnson. (Pennington Kick) 4:25

BS: Jarrin Alley 17 yard passing touchdown to D’Andre Black (Perez Kick) 1:40

BS: Jarrin Alley 8 yard passing touchdown to Gavin Adams (Perez Kick) 0:10

Third Quarter

BS: Lucas Waldon 3 yard rushing touchdown (Perez Kick) 9:51

BS: Jarrin Alley 4 yard passing touchdown to D’Andre Black (Perez Kick) 6:32

BS: Jarrin Alley 56 yard passing touchdown to Lucas Waldon (Perez Kick) 5:30

Fourth Quarter

BS: Jarrin Alley 7 yard passing touchdown to Lucas Waldon (Perez Kick) 11:00

Individual Statistics

Passing: B. Perry 20-for-34 for 145 passing yards, 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

Rushing:

J. Pennington, 3-36 C. Wheeler, 9-33. K. Hileman 2-16. N. Wheeler, 6-0. B. Perry, 2 for -5. J. Johnson 1 for -1.

Team: 23-79

Receiving:

J: Pennington 9-66. J. Johnson, 4-59. K. Hileman, 2-2. S. Rockey, 1-10. C. Wheeler, 3-7. N. Wheeler, 1-1

Team: 20-145