The fourth week of the season is roughly the halfway point throughout the entire High School Football Season. It is also homecoming week for the Owls, hosting Hoosier Hills Conference opponent in Floyd Central.

During the matchup with the Highlanders last season, it was absolute pandemonium as Floyd Central emerged victorious in the final minutes to defeat Seymour 50-47. It could be argued that last season’s high scoring affair was the craziest game in the Hoosier Hills Conference last year.

The 2024 Owls (1-2) are coming off a 30-14 loss to Columbus East last week, looking to turn their season around over the next month and a half.

Head Coach Tyson Moore believes the team must stay focused on the task at hand on Friday, which is keeping their focus on football.

“It’s homecoming and we’ve had some real tough battles with Floyd Central,” Moore said. “We must understand the importance of staying the course and keeping our focus on football. We cannot let the things that don’t matter distract us from the game.”

The coach has taken away some good things from the last two weeks, even though they ended in losses for the Owls.

“The biggest thing I saw is that we have been competitive in those games. We have also shown a lot of resiliency,” Moore said. “We are not a young team, but we are an inexperienced team in some parts of the game. We have not played our best football, but we are working to get better. Our competitiveness has shown and given us a chance to win each game.”

Floyd Central has only played two games, losing their opener to St. Xavier in Louisville.

St. Xavier is the 3rd ranked team in Class 6A in Kentucky and the 5th highest ranked team in all classes throughout the state.

The Highlanders bounced back last week against Silver Creek, defeating the Dragons 33-22 to get back to .500 on the season.

Coach Moore gave his opinion on some strengths for the incoming Highlanders.

“They are always a disciplined team, which is always a big strength in my opinion,” Moore said. “They are kind of in the same boat as us, losing a lot of starters from last season. We will have to match their intensity and come ready to play, they are always well coached and have played two solid football teams this season. They’ve seen a lot of good football already this year.”

“It’s always a tough and hard-fought game with them,” he added. “I don’t see this one being any different and we must limit what they do best.”

The coach still has not lost hope and knows there is time to fix things.

Our team is starting to understand that each week we must work to be better than we were last week, Moore said. “We have to find ways to win football games and push on. This year’s team has responded well in my opinion through a lot of adversity.”

We will see how the Owls respond on Friday night at Bulleit Stadium when they host the Highlanders.