OWLS LAND FINAL PUNCH; SCHS out duels Purple Tigers, first win over program since 1965

By Terry Collins Courier Sports

WATERTOWN — Long drought. 

The Smith County High Owls football team traveled to Watertown last Friday night for their 2025 season opener.

The Owls had not beaten Watertown for a 60 year span dating back to 1965 when they beat the Purple Tigers on their home field in The Lions Bowl.

Watertown had won seven straight games in the series with the last one coming at home in the 2018 regular season.

The two teams have faced off in scrimmages and jamborees many times through the years during that span.

“I’m very proud of our players and coaches,” said Smith County head coach Matt Dyer. “We have made it a point of emphasis this offseason and preseason, that at some point you are going to face adversity — how you respond reveals your character and resiliency. We threw an interception our first play of the York scrimmage but came back with a 4th down stop and score and never let up. Then we go down 14-0 to DCA in the jamboree and clawed back with a little over 3 minutes to tie it up at 14 in the first quarter.”

Dyer continued, “So these players and coaches know how to fight their way out of a hole and respond. That’s what good teams do, they find ways to win. And that’s exactly what our guys did.  We had a lot of moments in the game where we could have laid down or felt sorry for ourselves and quit. Being able to withstand the ebbs and flows of a game shows growth and maturity, and our guys showed some signs of that.”

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