SEYMOUR — For one drive it looked like the Cherokee Chiefs might give the Seymour Eagles all they wanted Thursday night at Benton Householder Field.

About 48 minutes and 44 points later, the Eagles had erased all memory of the early Cherokee lead, blowing out the Chiefs 44-6.

The win cliched playoff eligibility for Seymour, as they Eagles’ have now guaranteed a spot among District 2-AAA’s top three 5A schools.

The Chiefs scared some Seymour fans early, scoring a TD just 1:25 into the game by using a double-pass from QB Hunter Hamilton to wide receiver Ty Ryans to receiver Landon House for an untouched 43-yard score.

But the Eagles weren’t impressed, and it showed.

Over the next 48 minutes of the game, the Eagles were never in danger of giving up another point to Cherokee, and their offense scored points in bunches.

Kicker Stephen Martin got the team on the board first with a 29-yard field goal on the Eagles’ first drive of the game.

In the second quarter a big defensive play sparked the Eagles’ next score.

Junior Lee Knight blocked a Chiefs’ punt and recovered it just five yards’ from their end zone.

One play later Seymour senior running back Keegan Newport plunged in on a five-yard run, and after the point after, the score stood at 10-6.

After a Cherokee turnover on downs in Seymour territory, the Eagles used a seven-play drive, fueled by a first down catch from Corey Clark and a 15-yard scamper from Blake Overton, the Blue and Gold found paydirt again. This time it was Overton running into the end zone from 19 yards out for the score to make it 17-6 after the PAT.

In the third quarter things got ugly for the Chiefs.

Seymour put up 20 points in a matter of minutes to start the half.

Keegan Newport scored his second TD of the night on a 1-yard plunge, and following a Cherokee punt less than two minutes later, the team went right down the field and scored again.

This time the drive was led by a 35-yard Overton run and a 14-yard dash from sophomore Corey Todd, who got the 3-yard TD one play later.

Still later in the third, second team quarterback Ryan Chadwick burned the Chiefs’ defense on 2nd-and-18, tossing a pass across the middle to a streaking Overton, who took it 24 yards for his second score of the night.

But the senior running back wasn’t done.

Early in the fourth quarter he took a Cherokee punt to the house for his third score of the game, a fitting total for a 12th grader on Senior Night.

That score got the game clock running with a lead of more than 35 points, and the Eagles’ cruised to the 44-6 win.

The defense played a big role all night, as the defense line and linebacker corps came up with multiple tackles in the Cherokee backfield. Chase Ketron also had a first quarter interception in the contest.

The team will play its final game of the regular season at Morristown West next Friday.