Saturday, April 30, 2016

Cortland upsets the Mighty Owls

Entering the 1926-27 season the Seymour Owls were filled with high hopes. The previous season had brought them a sectional title and now four of the five starters were returning. Adding to the optimism of the Owls and their followers was the addition of Charles Henry to the team. He had been the star player at Patriot High School and had recently moved to Seymour. The addition of Henry to the already loaded Seymour squad had the players, coaches and fans expecting far more than a sectional title in 1927. Their expectations were nothing less than the state finals at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis.

Seymour Head Coach JR Mitchell

Right from the start, the season went as the Owl's hoped it would. They opened at home with a thrilling come from behind victory over highly touted Mitchell. The mighty Owls began to steamroll through the 1st half of the season. They crushed county rival Crothersville 61-9, neighboring North Vernon 60-5 then highlighted the early season with another thrilling win over a highly touted Shelbyville team..... Then came the bombshell.

Soon after the rout of North Vernon came word from the Indiana High School Athletic Association that they had determined that Charles Henry was ineligible for the 1st semester as he did not live with a parent or guardian and would not be eligible until he completed a full semester at Seymour. Thus the IHSAA ordered the 1st 10 games of the season to be forfeited.

Seymour appealed the ruling and Henry accompanied by the Seymour superintendent Norman Lasher and principal Stewart traveled to Indianapolis for a hearing. Unfortunately for the Owls the IHSAA was then ruled by 'King' Arthur Trester who seldom reversed their rulings and did not do so now. The Seymour appeal was denied. Seymour's 1st 10 wins were erased.

With the distraction of the IHSAA ruling weighing on them, the Owls traveled to state power Washington for a much anticipated game. 600 Seymour fans boarded a chartered train for the trip down the B&O but it was to be a long ride. Seymour was not able to keep up with the strong Washington team and for the first time tasted actual defeat on the court, 36-21.

Despite the loss, Seymour recovered and cruised through the remaining games routing North Vernon once again, then winning easily over Edinburg, Greenfield, Jeffersonville and Scottsburg. Although they tripped up at Mitchell in a rematch 39-38 their expectations for a trip to the state finals still seemed well within reach as sectional time rolled around.

As usual Seymour was the host for the sectional which mostly consisted of Jackson Co schools. Although the Owls did not get the best draw, nobody thought it really mattered. Most thought that the only team who could possibly give them trouble would be the arch-rival Brownstown. Adding to the flavor of the rivalry was that it was now well-known that it was Brownstown's coach, Earl Chambers, who had turned Seymour in to the IHSAA in the Charles Henry affair. The brackets set up for the two to meet in the semi-final round where everyone thought fireworks would fly.

The sectional progressed just as expected. Seymour routed tiny Freetown and Clearspring to face Brownstown in the semi-final. For the most part cooler heads prevailed in the Seymour/Brownstown match-up and the game was a great barn burner with Seymour pulling out the thriller in the final minute to win 34-31. With Brownstown behind them the only thing left in Seymour's way to the Bedford regional and beyond was tiny Cortland.

It seems tiny Cortland was forgotten about even though they had 16 wins in the regular season. As Seymour was packing their bags for Bedford, Cortland jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead in the championship game. Seymour answered and the two played a see-saw game throughout the 1st half. In the final seconds Cortland tipped in a rebound basket and went into halftime with an unlikely 17-13 lead.

It was no fluke, Cortland held on to the lead in the second half. Playing sure and steady ball they even started to extend the lead late in the 3rd. By the middle of the 4th quarter Cortland held a 31-20 lead setting the stage for a wild finish. Seymour was not about to roll over and die. Indeed they began an incredible rally. With Seymour playing tight defense, Cortland would not score another field goal. Bit by bit Seymour chipped away at the Cortland lead and with just under a minute left, tied the score at 31.

But here the tight defense failed the Owls. As Cortland held on to the ball for a last shot, Seymour committed a foul sending Cortland to the line. Cortland drained a free throw, fell back on defense and Seymour could not find the bucket again. Final score Cortland 32 Seymour 31.

Cortland celebrated their 1st and only sectional title that night in 1927 as the dreams of the Owls and their fans were gone with the wind.