KNOXVILLE — Real football weather finally found East Tennessee as the Seymour Eagles traveled to take on the South-Doyle Cherokees in a conference matchup Friday night.

The Eagles had to get a win if they wanted to have a shot at breaking even in conference play, and that is exactly what they got, topping the Cherokees 35-0.

With the win, Seymour improves their conference record to 2-3 and moves to 3-5 overall.

The first quarter was a seesaw battle on the spongy turf at South-Doyle. Neither team’s offense was able to accomplish much on their first possessions, but Seymour had the field position advantage behind the strong play of the punt return unit and the legs of Blake Overton.

As the first quarter was winding down, the Eagles finally found their stride, putting together a long drive, blasting through the left side of the Cherokee defense. Overton, Keegan Newport, and quarterback Dustin Fain kept moving the ball down the field. The end of the first quarter did not end the Eagle drive, and despite a nice effort by the South-Doyle defense, the Eagles got on the scoreboard as Fain dove into the end zone from one yard out.

South-Doyle fumbled away their next possession, but Seymour returned the favor by throwing an interception.

The end result of the two turnovers gave the Cherokees the ball plus about four yards. The Cherokees gave those yards right back with an illegal procedure penalty.

South-Doyle was forced to punt and the Eagles got another great return by Overton. The Seymour offense continued to pound the ball up the middle against the South-Doyle defense, including a five-yard run by Fain on a fourth-and-one-inch.

Overton capped the drive with a three-yard run into the end zone. Stephen Martin’s kick made the score 14-0 at the half.

The Eagles opened the second half just as they’d ended the first half, with a long scoring drive. Keegan Newport finished this drive with a one-yard blast for another Eagle touchdown.

The South-Doyle offense had no answer for the Eagle defense, which devastated the Cherokees’ running attack and held them to just two first downs.

Meanwhile, the Eagle offense began to wear down the Cherokees’ defense, and the offensive line began to open up huge holes for the running backs.

In the fourth quarter, Keegan Newport took a very hard hit which drove his injured shoulder into the turf. He left the game and did not return. But after the game, Coach Moore said that the training staff had evaluated him and said there was no need for concern.

With five tackles, a touchdown, and just under 60 yards rushing, he’d already put in a good night’s work.

Seymour scored twice more in the fourth quarter, on a pass to Blake Overton, and a one-yard dive by junior Lee Knight, following up his 55-yard blast up the middle.

Next week, the Eagles will host the 2-6 Cherokee Chiefs. A win will make the Eagles eligible for the playoffs. It will be the Eagles homecoming game and will be played on Thursday, not Friday.

mpsports@themountainpress.com