For The Tribune
Sellersburg
The Seymour football team reached the championship game of a sectional for the first time since 2001 by whipping Silver Creek 40-21 Friday night.
The Owls will travel to East Central on Friday for the Class 4A Sectional 23 championship after the Trojans topped Shelbyville on Friday night.
“The real change happened on defense,” Owls coach Josh Shattuck said as Seymour recovered three fumbles that led to three touchdowns.
The Owls won the toss but elected to kick off to start the game.
Seymour held the Dragons and forced the punt.
Marching 88 yards in 16 plays, the Owls took an 8-0 lead with 4:13 left in the opening quarter as Jackson Morris scored on a 2-yard run and Zach Carpenter ran the extra point.
Seymour forced a fumble on the Dragons’ next possession, and Brendan McCartney recovered for the Owls.
Unwavering, the Owls drove 47 yards for a score, a 3-yard pass from Alan Perry to Carpenter with 41 seconds on the clock..
The conversion attempt failed, and the Owls led 14-0 to end the first quarter.
Silver Creek scored on its next two possessions.
The first score came on a 7-yard run by Josh Thompson, and the next TD was on a 5-yard run by Noah Jones, and Daniel Barrett’s PAT kicks tied the score at 14 going into the half.
Following intermission, the Owls scored on their first two possessions of the second half when Morris scored on a 10- and 7-yard runs.
After Morris scored his first touchdown in the third quarter, the Owls tried an onside kick, and Bradan Thomasma recovered for the Owls.
“That was huge,” Shattuck said. “Momentum shifted for us. We knew we had to go on a methodical drive. We couldn’t seem to get anything big over the top. Last week (against Franklin County) it was nothing but big play after big play.
“Now it had to be grind-it-out, and our kids had to get after it, so we did nice job with that. Getting a two-score lead against a team like that makes it tough on them.”
The Owls held a 26-14 lead going into the fourth period before Jordan Henry caught a 24-yard pass from Perry and Luke Dover raced 33 yards for the final score.
Shattuck said another key to the victory was the kicking game.
“Todd Kiewitt has been phenomenal kicking squib kicks,” he said. “They are tough to handle, and the guys right now are playing with a lot of energy.
“Offensively, I’m greedy. I feel like we should score 60 points every week.”
Perry completed 12 of 19 passes for 134 yards under center for the Owls, with Knight catching five passes for 74 yards, and Morris catching five for 33 yards.
Carpenter topped the Owls in rushing with 81 yards in 15 carries.
The Owls are 5-6 heading to East Central. Silver Creek, which topped the Owls 32-28 in the season-opener, finished 6-5.