Dyer Not Giving Up On Owls Playoff Hopes

Ahead of their week eight match-up with Jackson County, head coach of the Smith County Owls, Matt Dyer said he is not letting their 1-6 record dictate their future.

Despite their record the Owls are third in the district tied with Jackson County (5-2) and are ahead of Monterey (4-3). Dyer said seeing progress day in and day out has him confident for the home stretch of the season.

“We’ve still got a really good chance to finish in that one or two spot in our region depending on how everything else plays out,” Dyer said. “Now we’re not in control of our destiny, if we can be region champions with our loss to East Robertson. But we can very well be in charge of our destiny finishing second or third.”

In last Friday’s 43-13 loss to Upperman, Dyer said the Owls started five freshman and only two or three upperclassmen got in the game. With such an inexperienced roster playing what he called one of the hardest schedules in Tennessee, Dyer said these losses will pay off later.

“It’s not only a thing where you’re looking ‘well hey, we’re building this up for next year and the next few years to come’, but we’re also building up for this year,” Dyer said. “We’re gaining valuable experience for those young guys to not only have them for next year or the next couple of years, but to even have them for this year.”

Facing the Jackson County Blue Devils this week, Dyer said it can be tough to predict how a Sean Loftis led team will run on you.

“You never know what they’re going to do, because he’s just so good at what he does in getting guys prepared,” Dyer said. “They can come out in a wishbone, wing-t, split-back veer, spread, shotgun. They can run multiple offensive schemes because of his ability.”

The Owls will look to keep their playoff hopes alive this Friday against Jackson County, kickoff at 7pm.