Eagles blank Cocke County on homecoming

Homecoming night brought out the best in the Seymour Middle School Eagles last Thursday against Cocke County. The Eagles (4-2) have now won four in a row since beginning the 2006 slate with back-to-back losses. Last week’s 34-0 blanking of Cocke County provides some added momentum as head coach Chad Pfeffinger’s Eagles close out the season this week with a game against Jefferson Middle at Oak Ridge’s legendary Blankenship Field tonight (Tuesday) and a rare Saturday game against the undefeated Sevierville Cubs. The much-anticipated county grudge match with Sevierville is a make-up game. The first meeting that was scheduled to be held last month in Sevierville was delayed due to inclement weather. The winner of the Seymour-Sevierville contest will be declared Sevier County Middle School Champions. The upstart Sevierville club will try to thwart Seymour’s current four-year streak of winning the coveted county championship. Seymour’s recent resurgence this year gives the Saturday clash at Sevierville an added dose of anticipation as the undefeated Cubs wait to claim bragging rights once and for all. “We’re playing two tough teams to finish our season,” said Seymour’s Pfeffinger. “Our two opponents this week—Jefferson and Sevierville—are probably, along with Webb, the best teams on our schedule.” The Eagles were ravaged by a balanced Spartan team last month before embarking on their current winning-streak. Pfeffinger thinks the new-look Eagles are prepared to finish the season in typical Seymour-fashion. “We’ve made some adjustments and the kids have started working together as a team,” Pfeffinger remarked. “I think that’s really the key. We’ve came together like a family, and that’s what it takes in football. You have to play together as a team to be successful. That’s been a big part of all our success in the past too.” The two losses this season equals the sum of setbacks Pfeffinger’s Eagles have been dealt in the past three seasons. Last week’s performance against Cocke County looked much like one of those Seymour teams of the past four years when the offense dominated with balance and the defense overwhelmed with quickness and aggressiveness. Seymour’s Logan Sims opened the scoring on homecoming night with a 63-yard jaunt to the end zone early in the first quarter. Lee Knight dashed in for a successful two-point conversion and the home team led 8-0. The second quarter was all Seymour, as Dylan Size bounced in on a 10-yard scoring run and Sims added the ensuing two-point conversion. Quarterback Dustin Fain threw his fourth touchdown pass in the last three games later in the second stanza when he unleashed a 38-yard dart to teammate Cory Clark just moments before the halftime break. The Eagles added to their first half lead after a nice defensive stand put Fain and the offense back in business. Knight did the honors once again for Seymour, capping the drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge behind a nice surge from the Eagles’ offensive front. Pfeffinger eased his foot off the gas pedal in the second half but the Eagles did manage to add a Ben Whisler two-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to make it 34-0. Defensively, the Eagles were sparked by Logan Sims, Brandon Willis and Jared Swaney, who each came up with a fumble recovery. Knight, Jeremy Hurst and Dalton Bridges had sacks in the game.