Sophomore receiver Clark Ullrich leads Seguin in receptions (36), receiving yards (450) and touchdown catches (6) through seven games of the regular season. Photo by Dustin Wyatt.
Matadors march into Dripping Springs chasing sole possession of first place, Friday’s game to air on KWED
(Dripping Springs) – A year after Seguin wrestled the outright District 12-5A-Division I lead from Dripping Springs in a 42-39 overtime thriller at Matador Stadium, the teams find themselves in the same Week 9 scenario on the Tigers’ home field.
Seguin (4-3) and Dripping Springs (6-1) are both 4-0 in district play, a game ahead of third-place Austin-LBJ (3-1), who dropped a 17-14 nail-biter to the Tigers two weeks ago.
Seguin staved off Austin-McCallum 40-14 last Friday, while Dripping Springs blanked Austin-Navarro 46-0. The Tigers’ only loss came by a single point, 22-21 to Buda-Hays on Sept. 6.
Galen Zimmerman, 42-12 in less than five full seasons at Dripping Springs, has utilized two quarterbacks in 2019. Sophomore Preston Alford has emerged as the most productive with 545 yards and three touchdowns through the air to go with 469 yards and 10 scores on the ground.
Junior Cameron O’Banan has thrown for 269 yards and four touchdowns, and has also been Alford’s top receiver with 15 catches for 204 yards. Running-back Curtis Cox enters Friday with a team-high 480 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
As has been the case in recent years, a stout offensive line is the glue that holds the Dripping Springs offense together.
“They’re going to be big, and they do a good job,” Seguin head coach Travis Bush said. “Offensively, we’re very similar. Schematically, whether it’s run or pass, they’re going to kind of take what the defense gives you, so they’re going to have a good plan. Both of those guys, Alford and O’Bannan, they’re both going to go quarterback and receiver, and whatever they feel is going to give them the best matchup to win, they’ll stick with.”
Seguin counters with a balanced offense churning out 207 rushing yards and 246 passing yards per game. Senior quarterback Jhalen Mickles threw five touchdown passes last Friday against McCallum, lifting his season totals to 1,040 yards and 11 scores with a 70 percent completion rate and just one interception.
Sophomore Clark Ullrich (36 rec., 450 yds., 6 TD) has emerged as Mickles’ top receiver, with Tristan Moreno (11 rec., 245 yds. 2 TD) and tight end Jonathan Patterson (21 rec., 322 yds., 4 TD) coming on strong while early-season star Dravan McKnight has nursed an injury.
Junior running back Marques Washington (945 yds., 13 TD) is only 55 rushing yards away from 1,000 this season.
Both defenses have been dominant against district competition. Seguin, paced by sophomore linebacker John Michael Mata (80 tackles), sophomore defensive end Ian Box (5.5 sacks, 18 TFL), junior cornerback Micah Rodriguez (2 INT), and senior cornerback Desvonn Smith (9 pass breakups) has only allowed three offensive touchdowns against four district opponents.
Dripping Springs, led by senior linebackers Hunter Northrup (8.7 tackles per game) and Jakob Joy (All-Dist., 7.4 tackles per game), and returning All-District cornerback Andres Flores Perry, has only allowed 9.8 points per game in district play and held an Austin-LBJ squad averaging 34.3 points to just 14 on Oct. 11.
Friday’s kickoff at Tiger Stadium in Dripping Springs is set for 7:30 p.m. The game will air live on KWED 1580-AM and Seguintoday.com. Pre-game coverage starts at 6:30 with the Navarro, Marion, and Lifegate coaches’ shows.
Panthers host Texans in battle for district lead
(Geronimo) – Navarro can take driver’s season the District 13-4A-Division II championship race Friday with a home win over district co-leader Wimberley at Erwin-Lee Field.
The Panthers, ranked as high as No. 5 in the various 4A Division II state polls, are 7-0 in Rod Blount’s second season as head coach and moved to 2-0 in district play with a 54-0 shutout of Austin-Eastside Memorial last Thursday, Oct. 17.
The Texans, 6-1 in head coach Doug Warren’s seventh year, also own a 2-0 district mark after a 56-28 blowout of previously unbeaten Bandera last Friday.
The fuel in a Wimberley offensive machine producing 40.7 points per game is dual-threat senior quarterback Cooper McCollum. Through seven games, McCollum has completed 57 percent of his passes for 1,541 yards, 19 touchdowns, and five interceptions while running for 424 yards and 10 scores on 63 carries.
“He’s a very talented young man,” Blount said. “He makes a lot of good decisions, throws a really good ball, and he can beat you with his feet or his arm. The guys up front are taking care of him, and he’s letting them protect for him, and if something’s not opened up, he’ll pull it down and run it, so he’s definitely a guy you’ve got to contain if we’re going to be able to stop these guys.”
McCollum’s top receivers include 6’3″ Christian Marshall (26 rec., 556 yds., 7 TD) and Josh Limely 16 rec., 330 yds., 5 TD). The Panthers look for speedy defensive backs like Myles McCord, Johnny Alegria, MoMo Sims, and Mark Wozniak to match up with those weapons while the front seven tries to pressure McCollum.
Navarro looks to keep the Wimberley offense sidelined by controlling the clock with a Slot-T rushing attack churning out 402 rushing yards per contest and 9.2 per carry. Senior fullback Euler Deleon (1,050 yds., 17 TD) has topped the 1,000-yard mark in two straight season and averages a whopping 12.5 yards per carry. Sims (431 yds., 4 TD), Alegria (294 yds., 2 TD), and Kyle Dietert (289 yds., 4 TD) figure to see plenty of carries as well.
Navarro and Wimberley played one common non-district opponent, Giddings, with the Panthers defeating the Buffaloes 46-32 and the Texans triumphing 29-22.
Friday’s kickoff at Erwin-Lee Field is slated for 7:30 p.m. A complete interview with Blount can be heard during the Panther Report at 6:30 on KWED 1580-AM and Seguintoday.com.
Lifegate hosts Mount Carmel in Saturday six-man tilt
(Seguin) – The Lifegate six-man football team looks for its third straight win Saturday when Mount Carmel Academy makes the trip from Houston to Falcon Field in Seguin.
The 6-2 Falcons shut out Austin-Harmony 50-0 last Friday, while the 2-5 Mount Carmel Bulldogs snapped a four-game losing streak with a 44-33 win over Sanchez.
Lifegate gained 248 of its 273 total yards on the ground against Harmony, but head coach John Stout says the attack could be more balanced Saturday based on Mount Carme’s defensive tendencies.
“They do a pretty good job of covering the run, but as far as the pass, they don’t do that well – they kind of bite too much on the run, and then the pass is side open,” Stout said. “So we’re probably going to get a lot of passing yards this game. I think we’ll get the rushing yards too, but if we have to, we’ll go to the pass.”
The Falcons’ senior spread-back Quinten Shellnut has excelled in both phases, completing 61 percent of his passes for 639 yards, eight touchdowns, and one interception while gashing defenses for 1,379 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns on 124 carries (11.1 avg.). He also leads the defense with 55 tackles and two interceptions.
Lifegate’s other statistical leaders include Barson Schmidt (16 rec., 6 sacks, 2 INT), and Zach McCulloch (194 rec. yds., 4 TD).
Saturday’s kickoff at Falcon Field is set for 5 p.m. A complete interview with Stout can be heard Friday between 6:45 and 7:00 during the Falcon Report on KWED 1580-AM and Seguintoday.com.
Texas Lutheran hunts sixth straight win in ASC visit to Sul Ross State, Saturday game to air on KWED
(Alpine) – For the second straight Saturday, Texas Lutheran looks to stay unbeaten in American Southwest Conference play against an opponent that has visibly improved this season after struggling in 2018.
TLU (5-1, 5-0 ASC) takes a five-game winning streak to Alpine for a conference matchup with 3-3 Sul Ross State at Jackson Field. The Lobos went 1-9 last year.
Second-year head coach Carl Gustafson’s Bulldogs staved off Howard Payne’s upset bid 27-14 in Brownwood last week. SRSU, led by sixth-year coach John Pearce, earned its second straight win on the road and moved to 3-2 in the ASC with a 34-13 rout of Louisiana College.
Sul Ross State ranks at the bottom of the conference in scoring (13.8) and total offense (245.7), but those stats are a bit skewed by the first two games of the season – a 64-0 loss to Hardin Simmons and a 72-0 defeat at the hands of Division II Texas A&M-Kingsville.
The Lobos feature the ASC’s second leading rusher in Williton Grear (643 yds., 4 TD), and the conference’s No. 9 receiver in Dre’Chon Moody (22 rec., 266 yds., 2 TD). Grear carved up the LC defense for 252 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries last week. Quarterback Trey Johns threw for 150 yards and two scores.
Sul Ross State’s winning record in conference play has come on the strength of a defense that has surrendered seven, nine, and 13 points in wins over McMurry, Southwestern, and LC. Freshman linebacker Levah Terry ranks third in the ASC with an average of nine tackles per game, while freshman defensive back Isaiah Jacobs has three interceptions to share the conference lead with TLU safety Daniel Enriquez.
On the season, the Lobos have struggled to stop the run, ranking ninth in the ASC with 244.8 rushing yards allowed per game.
That should bode well for a TLU offense rolling up 34.2 points (3rd), 416.8 total yards (3rd) and 262.8 rushing yards (2nd) per outing. The Bulldogs boast three of the league’s top seven rushers in Chris Monroe (416 yds., 3 TD), quarterback Wade Freeman (408 yds., 5 TD), and Austin Matthews (379 yds., 4 TD).
Freeman has been an efficient passer as well, comleting 67 percent for 832 yards, nine touchdowns, and no interceptions. His passer efficiency rating of 164.3 ranks third in the ASC. Mason Perkins (25 rec., 314 yds., 2 TD), and C.J. Romero (6 TD) have been Freeman’s top targes.
The TLU defense continues to lead the conference in turnover margin (+15) and ranks second nationally in that department. The Bulldogs’ 19 takeaways represent the highest total in the ASC and the 11th most in Division III football, and they share the national lead in defensive touchdowns with four.
Texas Lutheran is 17-18 all-time against Sul Ross State, but the Bulldogs have won the last five meetings by an average margin of 31.4 points, including a 63-20 rout in Seguin last season.
Saturday’s kickoff at Jackson Field in Alpine is slated for 6 p.m. The game will air live on KWED 1580-AM and Seguintoday.com, with streaming video at tlubulldogs.com. Pre-game coverage starts at 5:30.