On Sunday, the Seymour football team celebrated its annual football banquet and awards ceremony.

The event took place at The Pines Evergreen Room in Seymour.

The Owls celebrated another football season that was successful, particularly on the offensive side of the field.

Tyson Moore, the head coach of Seymour, talked about the season.

“We came in with some real expectations this season. Obviously, we wanted to repeat as champions in the HHC,” he said. “We experienced some disappointments, played many close games and demonstrated our explosive offense to the conference.”

The Owls ended their season with a 6-5 record, scoring 410 points as a team, averaging 37.2 points a game and between Quarterback Bret Perry and wide receivers Jaylan Johnson and Jack Pennington breaking 14 school records during the 2023 campaign.

“Even through all the adversity, we always try to keep our eyes on the road and focus on the task at hand, so for us to be able end the season playing for a sectional championship this season was huge,” Moore said. “It has been awhile since we last did that, and it was a significant year,” he said. “I hate that we didn’t have a little more success with this special group of kids, setting the standard for Seymour football going forward.”

Pennington, Johnson and Owen Kruse were acknowledged for being part of the Indiana all-state football team.

Moore discussed the banquet that took place Sunday evening.

“We had a lot of awards that we handed out. We had a lot of people to acknowledge. It was a really nice night with great food and fellowship,” Moore said. “It was a great way to close out the 2023 season.”

Seventeen seniors were honored by the Owls this season. Moore spoke about this group of kids who were freshmen when he was hired as head coach.

“This is going to be a hard group to replace. It was the first full class that I had, and to watch them grow from freshmen to seniors was remarkable,” Moore said. ”They’ve worked for everything they have gotten, personal accolades, all-state, school records, part of a conference championship. It has been a special group and a special class. These guys have played a lot of football, and I wish them the best moving forward.”

The Seymour football program will now prepare for the 2024 season.

Awards:

Captain awards: Bret Perry, Owen Kruse, Jaylan Johnson, Jack Pennington

Defensive player of the year: Evan Royer

Offensive player of the year: Owen Kruse

Special teams player of the year: Cameron Wheeler

Most improved: Jesus Aguilar

Owl Award: Cameron Wheeler

Most outstanding players: Bret Perry, Jaylan Johnson, Jack Pennington

Academic excellence award (3.5 and above): Mikey Wright, Mason Nugent, Jackson Brock, Nicholas Wheeler, Mitchell Mellencamp

Academic excellence award (4.0 and above): Hunter Wick, Jack Pennington, Bret Perry, Will Mahoney, Cole Simmons, Sam Rockey

Volunteer service awards (10-plus hours): Nicholas Wheeler, Kyle Hileman, Hunter Wick, Cole Simmons, Jack Pennington, Evan Royer