Inter-county rivalry ends in favor of Smoky Bears

Three second half rushing touchdowns prove to be the difference in 24-6 win. By Rusty Odom rusty@theheraldnewspapers.com The Sevier county Smoky Bears slowly, but surely defeated the Seymour Eagles at Householder field Friday night. Sevier County once again began leisurely, but this time, Seymour’s defense was to be credited. “Our kids played hard, but I hate to be proud of a loss,” said Seymour head coach Gary Householder. A defensive battle in the first two quarters flourished into a trio of Sevier county touchdowns in the second half. The first trip to the endzone came on behalf of the fleet-footed Tyler Thomas from 60 yards out. Corey Watson and Blake Wallace also added 60+ yard scores on the ground to make the final tally 24-6. Watson averaged 11.9 yards per carry in the contest to lead the Smoky Bears. The only Seymour score came when senior quarterback Duncan Smith ran a three yard touchdown in during the final minutes of the contest. It was too little, too late. The Eagles struggled to get points on the board all evening. And while Smith threw the ball well, completing nine passes for 195 yards, Seymour could not match the Bears on the ground. Householder’s Eagles squandered away many trips into the redzone, the first of which ended with a missed Carlos Lopez field goal from 44 yards away. The field goal would have tied the score going into halftime. To say that the remainder of Sevier County’s schedule is tough is quite an understatement. Match ups against Bearden and 2005 state champion Dobyns-Bennett are on slate for the last half of the Bears’ season. Perhaps the better second half play in ballgames can be related to the second half of the season. The Bears will need to continue to finish strong against the rest of their opponents, but starting swiftly is the focus of head coach Steve Brewer. “For some reason, we don’t get off to a real good start and it’s going to hurt us down the road if we continue it…that is a concern,” said Brewer of his team’s lackluster beginnings. With a bout against defending region champion Carter next week, Seymour has no time to lick their wounds. Even still, Seymour will be ready to avenge the shutout from last year’s game against Carter. Read tomorrow as more in-depth evaluations of this inter-county rivalry will follow.