Scrappy Eagles impress coach

If asked before the start of the current basketball season, there probably weren’t a lot of folks who thought the Seymour Eagles would have seven wins after their first 10 games. But surprise, surprise, the Eagles are 7-3 after last week’s overtime win over Sevier County and a 46-34 win over Donalson Christian Academy. Seymour tried to avenge an earlier defeat when it played the then-undefeated Pigeon Forge Tigers Tuesday night at Seymour. The Tigers knocked off the Eagles 55-49 in a tightly-contested contest two weeks ago at Pigeon Forge. Seymour head coach Randy Moore might not have foreseen seven wins in the first 10 games for his team, but at the same time, he isn’t overly surprised by the Eagles’ early success. The veteran Seymour coach holds this installment of the Seymour Eagles in high regard. “As far as being good practice players, being coachable and tough competitors, the first five on this year’s boys team may be the best group I’ve coached in a long time—at least the last five years,” Moore stated. “These guys can take a coach fussing at them every day and keep coming back for more. They don’t do a lot of fussing, they play well together and they just seem to have a good team-chemistry.” Much of the team’s attitude is attributed to the leadership of Derrick Lee and Duncan Smith, the squad’s only seniors. Another solid force in the paint that has came on strong this year, while gaining the confidence of his coach in doing so, is junior post Zach Pace. Lee, a scrappy guard with a nice touch from the perimeter, had an inspired effort in the win over the Smoky Bears that had to carry over to the rest of the team. He took a shot to the head midway through the first half, causing a gash that flowed blood and forced him to go to the locker room to get bandaged up. He came back out with a white gauze-type bandage wrapped under his chin up over his ears and around the top of his head, giving him the appearance of some kind of dribbling, driving, sharpshooting, mummy, elephant man kind of being. He ended up leading his team in scoring and an overtime win. After the final buzzer he got a lift to the hospital where medical personnel slammed five staples in his shaved head and sent him out the door. He didn’t miss a beat and returned the next night to lead the Eagles to victory over DCA. “He’s a great kid,” said Moore of his senior leader. “He’d die for you on the court. He’s that type of player and you gotta love him for that.” Moore said Pace is cut from the same mode as Lee and is really coming into his own this year. “Pace is another one of those guys that you could stick a dagger in him and he’d just get right back up ready to go some more,” said Moore. “He’s just a junior but he’s a warrior when he’s on the court. I love him to death. “He plays so hard that sometimes he gets in foul trouble because he makes stupid mistakes. But I wouldn’t trade our team for anybody. Seymour ends this week with a game at district foe Carter on Friday night.