SEVIERVILLE - It looked like a Smoky Bear runaway early, but it took Sevier County until the final play to put away the hungry visiting county and district rival underdog Seymour Eagles, 24-23, in a double-overtime affair Thursday night in Sevierville.

“It was just a good game,” said SCHS coach Steve Brewer, following the win. “I congratulated (Seymour) coach (Jim) Moore and a lot of their players, because I thought they played hard.

“I thought our kids played hard. It was just one of those classic games that you don’t soon forget. We’re just glad to be 6-0.”

Despite the disappointment of not connecting on a game-winning 26-yard field goal attempt in the first overtime, and being within one play of victory in the second OT, coach Moore said his team will take a lot of positives away from Thursday night’s Eagle heartbreaker.

“I’m very proud of the boys,” said Moore. “They played a great ball game.

“Both teams played well.”

Sevier County (6-0, 3-0) jumped in front 14-0 to start the contest, but Seymour (2-4, 1-2) never threw in the towel.

“They never quit,” said Moore, speaking about the players on his ball club. “They haven’t all year, and that’s the way they’re going to play, and that’s the way they’re expected to play.”

With the game knotted at 17-17 with 1:35 remaining in regulation, Sevier County had a shot for a potential game-winning 20-yard freshman Jared Baxter field goal. The kick sailed wide right by inches, however, allowing Seymour to run out the regulation clock for OT.

Sevier County took first possession in OT No.1, but senior QB Zach Flynn suffered a vicious backside hit and fumbled as he attempted to release a pass. The fumble was recovered by Seymour senior Nick Smith, and the Eagles assumed possession after one play with a chance to win it.

Instead of sending the offense onto the field, the Eagles chose to kick for the win on first down. Senior kicker Stephen Martin missed the 26-yarder wide right, however, breathing new life into the Smoky Bear sideline.

Seymour took first possession of the OT No.2 and wasted little time. The Eagles earned their first lead of the night on 2nd-and-Goal from the 9 when junior QB Dustin Fain connected with senior WR Hunter Crain, who ran a slant into the end zone from the right side. Martin missed the PAT kick wide right again, allowing an opportunity for the Bears to seize the game.

The Bears did capitalize on that opportunity, but it didn’t come easily.

The Eagle defense stood firm by stuffing a run and forcing two Flynn incompletions with a blistering pass rush.

The Bears were down to their final play, a 4th-and-Goal from the 9.

Brewer called time-out to make an adjustment and ran the same play on fourth down that went for an incompletion on a pass attempt to junior WR Bryant Gilson on third down.

“They were bringing a lot of pressure from the backside,” said Brewer. “It was the exact same play, but the only thing we did was take out a wideout and put a tight end in on the backside ... so that Zach wouldn’t be hurried.

“We just extended the edge a little bit and ran the same play, and (Gilson) was wide open. It worked. It was do, or die. I was a real good through, a clutch catch and we had really good blocking on that play.”

And the Smoky Bears sideline rushed the field in pandemonium, although several SCHS players were seen helping disappointed Seymour players off the ground and congratulating them for their wining effort that ended in defeat.

It didn’t look good for the Eagles at the start of the game. Not a second had expired off the clock before Seymour committed its first of two turnovers on the night, when Seymour senior Blake Overton couldn’t handle what appeared to be an awkward-looking game-opening miss-kick, but what amounted to a long surprise onside attempt for the Smoky Bears.

“I didn’t see it,” said Brewer. “But I think he missed (hitting the ball squarely on the kick). I had my back turned to the play, and when I turned around, we had the ball already.”

Starting at the Eagle 40 after the turnover, Sevier County capitalized in four plays when junior Dakota Cogdill pounded it in through the 5-hole from five-yards out. Baxter made it 7-0 Bears with the PAT kick with 10:37 in the first. Flynn connected through the air with Cogdill and senior Jeremiah Foster on the first two plays from scrimmage, setting up the score with a first down at the 12.

Things kept getting worse for the Eagles when stud FB Keegan Newport left the game with 10:13 in the first quarter after taking a hit on his first rushing attempt of the game. Newport had just returned to the offensive side of the ball last week after suffering a nasty double break of a single finger during the preseason, but Thursday’s injury turned out to be a reportedly separated shoulder after the pile landed on him awkwardly. Newport did return to play.

Near the end of the first quarter, Flynn connected with Gilson for a 59-yard strike down the right sideline, one play after Flynn took a punishing hit from blitzing Seymour senior LB Cody Sands. Gilson was eventually forced out at the Seymour 19, but the play set up the second Smoky Bear score of the night.

In all, the drive went 79 yards on eight plays, but the end of it didn’t come easy. Seymour forced Sevier County into a 4th-and-Goal from six inches out, but Cogdill picked up his second TD of the night by flying over the 2-hole, taking a hit while in the air at the line of scrimmage and then flipping head-over-heels into the end zone with 11:17 in the first half. Baxter’s PAT was good, making it 14-0 SCHS.

Moments later, SCHS junior backup QB Danny Chastain returned a Seymour punt with a series of shifty moves down the left sideline, running it 58 yards all the way to the Eagle 16.

But two consecutive Bear penalties not only wiped out what would have been Chastain to senior Bryce Whaley 18-yard TD throw, but ended up putting the Bears into a 4th-and-31 from the Seymour 38 and prevented Sevier County from doing further damage to the scoreboard.

It was the first of three SCHS TD passes called back for penalties. In all, Sevier County was flagged nine times for 102 yards.

The Seymour offense finally showed some signs of life late in the second quarter when Fain connected on two straight passes to Crain for 31 yards to the Sevier County 48. Newport, back in the game from the reported shoulder separation, took his second carry of the game on a reverse left to the Smoky 40, but the drive eventually stalled after a SCHS junior Brandon Tinker sack.

The Bears drove to the Seymour 17 on the ensuing possession, but a pair of personal fouls ended with a 1st-and-40 situation for Sevier County.

Seymour’s Crain forced a Flynn fumble on two consecutive plays, and the second time was the charm for the Eagles when Newport came up with the loose ball at the Sevier County 40 with 1:03 in the half.

Four plays later, Seymour made it a game when Fain connected with junior Cory Clark on a slant from the left for a 13-yard score with just 30.7 seconds until intermission. Senior kicker Stephen Martin connected on the PAT kick, cutting the Smoky Bear lead to 14-7, the halftime score.

Despite the Bears holding a 204 to 107 total-yard advantage at the half, it was just a one-score game headed into the third quarter.

“That score at the end of the half was really the first thing (Seymour) had done all first half,” said Brewer. “Seymour gained the momentum, and we had a hard time getting it back after that.”

The Seymour defense forced the Bears into a three-and-out punt to start the third quarter, and then the Eagle offense went to work, driving 48 yards on seven plays for the tying score with 6:51 in the third quarter, capped by a one-yard QB sneak by Fain. Martin’s kick knotted it at 14s, and it was a new ball game.

The Bears again were forced into a three-and-out punt, but Seymour junior Cory Clark fumbled the kick and Sevier County junior Tyler Wischer recovered at the Eagle 29 with 5:51 in the third.

A couple plays later, Foster took a reverse left and weaved his way through some traffic for a 1st-and-Goal at the Eagle 9.

Two plays later from the 11, Flynn rolled right and connected with Gilson for an apparent TD with 4:07 in the third, but a holding flag on Sevier County wiped it out and put the Bears in a 3rd-and-Goal from the Seymour 23.

Flynn answered on the ensuing play with a 23-yard strike deep down the left side to Whaley, who jumped over Seymour’s Chase Ketron for another apparent score.

But again a yellow flag for holding negated the play, and this time Seymour’s defense held when senior Cody Watson sacked Flynn on 3rd-and-Goal from the Seymour 34, keeping the score knotted at 14s.

Seymour went nowhere on the ensuing possession, and Chastain came up with another big punt return for 21 yards to the Seymour 31.

A few plays later on 4th-and-5 from the Seymour 26, Flynn connected with Gilson deep down the middle for a huge 1st-and-Goal from the 8.

But the Eagle defense held and limited Sevier County to a 21-yard Baxter field goal with 11:05 in the fourth quarter, giving the Bears a slim three-point edge, 17-14.

Seymour took the ensuing possession and kept pounding away with Newport up the gut, repeatedly churning out tough yards and moving the sticks.

But then the Eagles decided to go with a pass, and Fain was sacked and stripped by Kel McCarter and Brandon Tinker. Fain recovered, but Seymour was in a tough spot with a 3rd-and-20 from the Bear 45.

Fain rolled right on the next play, but nobody was open and he just threw it deep and out of bounds. But another flag against the Bears came in for roughing the passer, giving the Eagles new life with a 3rd-and-7 at the SCHS 32.

Overton came up huge with a 13-yard run to the right, giving the Eagles a first down at the Bear 19.

On 3rd-and-10, the Eagles attempted a screen left, but McCarter leaped high and deflected the ball into the air, nearly coming down with the pick that would have gone for about a 75-yard SCHS score but ended in an incompletion.

On fourth down, Martin tied it at 17s with a 35-yard field goal with 4:34 in the game.

The Bears were limited to just 84 total yards in the second half and overtimes and finished the night with 288 total yards, compared to Seymour 213. The Bears held an 18-14 advantage on first downs. The Eagles outrushed Sevier County 148-127 yards. Sevier County averaged 4.8 yards per offensive play, while the Eagles averaged 4.1 yards per attempt. Neither club threw an interception, and both teams fumbled four times and lost two apiece.

Gilson led all players with 106 receiving yards on six catches. Flynn led the passers with a 16-of-27 performance for 220 yards and a TD.

Sevier County next travels to District 2-AAA rival Morristown West next Friday night. Seymour next hosts District 2-AAA rival Morristown East next Friday night.