For The Tribune
CORYDON
Seymour football coach Josh Shattuck was not pleased with the start of Friday night’s scrimmage at Corydon, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
“We had a really, really awful first session,” Shattuck said.
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“That first time out we started on ‘O’ we were very lethargic. We were losing the battle up front. It was man-to-man and we were just losing the battle of the guy across from us, point of attack stuff.
“We told them, when we had that four-minute break, that is has nothing to do with scheme. The guy across from you is just beating you right now. We’ve got to get our feet in the ground, get our feet underneath us and just start driving. It’s just technique, technique.”
Seniors Luke Dover and Colton Patrick agreed with Shattuck, saying that the team will have to get off to a better start in their season opener this coming Friday.
“We started off slow, but like the coaches say, ‘it’s about the next play.’” Dover, who played slot back and linebacker last fall, said. “We came out and we didn’t worry about the play, we just worried about the next play.”
The quality of the Owls’ performance improved as the night progressed.
“Defensively, we need to fill our gaps better on the run game,” Dover said. “It’s more technique for the linemen and stuff. The linebackers need to scrape better into the gaps.
“For our first game I think we did pretty well. We started off slow and it took some time for us to get into it.”
Patrick, who was unable to play last fall because of a neck injury, said he is looking forward to contributing on the field this fall, especially in the offensive line.
“I play more on the offensive side, but I can play on defense as well. We mainly run-block unless the quarterback yells in plays that are pass blocks.
“In this scrimmage we started out a little slow, but then we definitely picked it up. On defense we need to use our hands, use the technique that the coaches have taught us. On offense, we need to use our footwork that our coaches have taught us.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the Owls looked sharper.
“I thought defensively in that first series we were OK,” Shattuck said. “They were four-and-out. We stopped them on their first four plays. They didn’t get a first down.
“They have some good players. Their quarterback is a good player and their running back is a really good player. We missed some tackles on them and we had some play calls where they had good plays called for what we were doing. You tip your cap and go from there.”
Since it was a scrimmage, the Owls didn’t overly prepare for their opponent. Rather, they focused on their own team.
“We weren’t coming out here to game plan for Corydon,” Shattuck said. “We were here to play another team. My biggest thing was our mentality, how we responded to adversity, and how our technique was, and the results take care of themselves. The results are so secondary at a scrimmage.”
As the night progressed, and the jitters were out, Shattuck felt his team performed much better.
“After that first segment it was a very even scrimmage,” Shattuck said. “They beat us up in that first 12 plays, or whatever it was. After that we scored six times in 10 plays from the 10-yard line. Our goal line (offense) was pretty solid.
“Then when we had the ball on the 35 for eight plays and we scored twice, maybe three times so we did some good things. Our run blocking got better as the night went along.”
Sophomore Alan Perry returns as the starting quarterback for the Owls in 2015.
The Owls will open the season at home against Silver Creek.
“We’ll get those things fixed,” Shattuck said. “We’ll focus a lot on ourselves and a lot on Silver Creek, and it’s going to be a busy week for our coaches.”
Season tickets and all sport passes are on sale during school hours in the athletics office.
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Aug. 19 Silver Creek 7 p.m.
Aug. 28 at Jeffersonville 7 p.m.
Sept. 4 Columbus East 7 p.m.
Sept. 11 at Floyd Central 7 p.m.
Sept. 18 Bedford N. Lawrence 7 p.m.
Sept. 25 Brownstown Central 7 p.m.
Oct. 2 at Jennings County 7 p.m.
Oct. 9 New Albany 7 p.m.
Oct. 16 at Madison 7 p.m.
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Head coach: Josh Shattuck
2014 record: 2-8
Roster
Seniors: Nickson Cribs, Luke Dover, Austin Engleking, Jonathan Fields, Kem Floryell, Evan Frische,
Jordan Henry, Chris knight, Colton Patrick
Juniors: Austin Alcorn, Mark Ballinas, Brandon Barlow, Zach Carpenter, Andres Castro, Dawson Cravens,
Evans Cribs, Matt Fourman, Alex Franklin, Noah Golden, Alex Hofer, Nick James, Todd Kiewitt, Dalton
Miller, Jackson Morris, Nik Richert, Cailen Shepherd, Coby Shepherd, Braden Thomism, Jared Whisker
Sophomores: John Barrett, Shawn Bettice, Breadan Blocker, Reace Cavanaugh, Kody Engleking, Alex
Holt, Ross Jones, Tanner Kimble, Alizsae Louden, Brendan McCartney, Dustin Metz, Zach Moore, Scott
Nieves, Nathan Patrick, Leo Pena, Alan Perry, Dristan Schrink
Freshmen: Haden Mettert, Nathan O’Mara
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