Eagles get well against Tigers

Seymour makes up some ground in playoff race with region win By Rusty Odom rusty@theheraldnewspapers.com Could it be a thrashing of an undermanned county foe is what it will take to get the struggling Seymour Eagles well again and back in playoff contention? Despite losing its first two conference contests to Carter and Rutledge, the Eagles have to be feeling pretty good about themselves and their current playoff predicament after a 48-0 dismantling of a winless Pigeon Forge team Friday at Seymour’s Benton Householder Stadium. “These last three weeks have been tough,” said Seymour head coach Gary Householder. “Tonight it was on the other foot, they made some turnovers and we were able to take advantage of it.” When Seymour’s Matt Lynam bounced through the middle of the Pigeon Forge defense and into the end zone with 5:19 left in the first quarter, it was like the opening of the floodgates for the Eagles’ offense. Todd Ogle then stepped in front of a Pigeon Forge pass for an interception that gave the Eagles the ball again at the Tigers’ 11. On the very next play, Lynam took a handoff up the middle and bounced around the left end for an 11-yard touchdown run. Carlos Lopez’s second extra-point in less than a minute gave Seymour a 14-0 lead with 4:26 left in the first. Pigeon Forge quarterback Paul Harper then lost control of the ball and fumbled on the first offensive play at the Tigers’ 31. Seymour defensive back Michael Kennedy pounced on the loose ball to put quarterback Duncan Smith and the Eagles’ offense back in business with another short field. This time Seymour’s offense used three plays as Smith hit receiver Ryan Williamson on a perfect strike over the middle on a 30-yard touchdown pass. Williamson caught the pass in stride at the five-yard line and made a move at the three that faked the Tigers’ defensive back out of his socks before skipping into the end zone. Pigeon Forge took over at its 20 after a touchback and went backwards as Brandon Dockery sacked Harper for a two-yard loss on first down. Two short runs on second and third down went nowhere and the Eagles got the ball back after a Pigeon Forge punt at the Tigers’ 46. On first down with 52 second left in the quarter, Smith found tailback Chase Parrott down the visitor’s sideline on a fly-pattern that Parrott hauled in at the 15-yard line, and run untouched into the end zone. Lopez came on to kick his fourth extra-point in a span of four minutes, as the Eagles took a 28-0 lead with 41 seconds left in the first quarter. Dockery and Parrott added second quarter touchdowns for the Eagles. Nikkos Bierworth scored on a short run in the third quarter for Seymour, as the home team coasted for the resounding 48-0 win. If Seymour wins our in their remaining three regular-season games against Union County (October 13 at home), Claiborne (October 20 on the road) and Gibbs (October 27 at home) it would clinch home field advantage in the state playoffs by virtue of a second-place regular season finish