Matadors look to maintain momentum in non-district visit to La Vernia, Friday game to air on KWED
(La Vernia) – Seguin looks to extend its winning streak to three games on the open Friday of the District 12-5A-Division I football schedule with a non-district road win over La Vernia.
First-year head coach Craig Dailey’s 2-2 Matadors hope to build on the momentum of a 2-0 district start after holding off New Braunfels-Canyon 28-21 at home last Friday.
La Vernia, a 4A Division I program, is 1-4 in Chris Taber’s fifth season as head coach. The Bears struggled in 62-7 and 35-6 losses to Cuero and Navarro, respectively, before edging La Grange 28-20 in Week 3. Taber’s bunch has suffered consecutive close losses since, falling to Taylor 18-14 in Week 4 and Floresville 37-35 last Friday.
The La Vernia defense has allowed averages of 34.1 points, 432.6 total yards, and 289.4 rushing yards per game. That should bode well for a Seguin rushing attack led by sophomore John Jackson, who has 423 yards and three touchdowns after topping the 100-yard mark in three of the first four games.
Dailey still expects the Bears to provide a good discipline test for his offense.
“They’re probably the most multiple defense we’ve seen,” Dailey said. “Every game, they’re lined up in something a little different. We’ve been practicing for every front, so it’s a big rule week for us. We’ve been preaching to our kids, you’ve got to follow your rules on whatever the blocking scheme is, and that should take care of it. So they’ve got to communicate up front. It will be another good challenge for us, another growth as a young offense on how to really apply your rules in the system no matter what other teams give you.”
The La Vernia defense has been exceptional at forcing turnovers, collecting 16 takeaways in five games.
Seguin’s defense has been stingy in the two district wins, holding Veterans Memorial and Canyon well below their season scoring averages. The Mats allowed just 227 total yards and four yards rushing to the Cougars last week, and have given up just 78.8 rushing yards per outing this season.
An improving La Vernia offense is likely to attack Seguin through the air with junior quarterback Stratton Hayes and his receivers. Since taking over the starting job in Week 3, Hayes has thrown for an average 257 yards per game and tossed seven touchdowns with only one interception.
The Matadors’ passing attack has progressed in the past two weeks as well. Senior quarterback Troy Falgout has completed 58 percent of his throws for 307 yards, two TDs, and no interceptions in that span, with a different receiver topping 100 yards in each game.
Junior receiver Devin Mathews enters Friday with a team-high 16 catches for 221 yards and three touchdowns.
Friday’s kickoff at Bear Stadium in La Vernia is set for 7 p.m. The game will air live on KWED 1580-AM and Seguintoday.com. Pre-game coverage starts with the Navarro and Marion coaches’ shows at 6:15 p.m.
Marion visits district rival Jourdanton chasing sixth straight win
(Jourdanton) – The Bulldogs look to move their unblemished record to 6-0 and post a 2-0 start in the District 14-3A-Division I football race Friday with a road clash against defending district champion Jourdanton.
Marion (5-0, 1-0) crushed Lytle 56-0 to open district play last Friday and keep the “L” column clean in Ryne Miller’s fourth season as head coach.
Jourdanton (2-3, 1-0), coached by Darrell Andrus, was tasked with replacing the All-State duo of quarterback Cole Andrus and receiver Jarrell Lily in the off-season.
The Indians have recovered from an 0-3 start with a 30-21 non-district win over Eagle Pass-Winn in Week 4 and a 39-16 district blowout of Cotulla last Friday.
Clyde Schucart has taken over for Andrus at quarterback, and Luke Tapp has become Jourdanton’s go-to receiver after complimenting Lily with 52 catches for 799 yards and 10 scores in 2020. Complete stats for the current season have not been made publicly available.
Schematically, Miller says the defensive challenge of facing Jourdanton hasn’t changed much from years past.
“Jourdanton, they love taking their shots and making big plays,” Miller said. “They’ve always had great athletes out on the edge, and they’ve always got these big, tall quarterbacks, so they’re going to take their shots. They’ve got a big, physical offensive line, and trying to to establish the run game too. They’ve got guys like Luke Tapp making big plays out on the outside, and our defense is going to have to do a great job of getting lined up and playing great coverage this week, and making sure we stop the pass and all that.”
Marion’s statistical leaders entering Friday include junior running-back Aidan Rios (767 yds., 10 TD), senior quarterback Tanner Beakley (523 yds., 7 TD passing, 322 yds., 3 TD rushing), junior receiver Dominic Castellanos (13 rec., 274 yds., 4 TD), junior linebacker Kross Kelso (46 tackles, 12 TFL), and sophomore DB Chase Hallmark (2 Int.).
Friday’s kickoff in Jourdanton is set for 7:30 p.m. A complete interview with Miller can be heard during the Bulldog Report between 6:50 and 7:00 on KWED 1580-AM and Seguintoday.com.
Bulldogs host Belhaven in ASC tilt, Saturday’s Alumni and Family Weekend game to air on KWED
(Seguin) – Texas Lutheran looks to snap a two-game losing streak and turn the 2021 football season around Saturday evening when American Southwest Conference foe Belhaven visits Bulldog Stadium for the Alumni and Family Weekend (Homecoming) game.
The Bulldogs are 1-3 overall with a 1-2 ASC record in Ricky Matt’s second season as head coach after a 12-10 loss to Sul Ross State on a touchdown pass with four seconds to play last Saturday in Alpine.
The 2-2 Blazers are also 1-2 in the conference under fourth-year head coach Blaine McCorkle after recovering from close losses to Southwestern and Hardin Simmons to rout Austin College 41-14 last week.
TLU’s defensive task is to slow down Belhaven’s senior backfield tandem of quarterback Mayowa Asagunla and All-ASC running-back Brad Foley. Asagunla enters Saturday with 633 yards and five touchdowns through the air to go with 242 yards on the ground and a team-high five rushing touchdowns. Foley leads the Blazers with 285 rushing yards, and has four TDs to his name.
The Bulldogs hope to counter with a bounce-back offensive performance of their own after mustering just 247 total yards and losing four fumbles in the loss to Sul Ross State.
TLU’s statistical leaders entering Saturday include sophomore running-back Jacob Forton (279 yds. 4 TD), junior quarterback Seth Cosme (556 yds. passing, 4 TD), and junior receiver Trent Stefka (10 rec., 200 yds.).
The Belhaven defense features an All-ASC performer from the spring season in each position group – defensive tackle Demetrius Brokenberry, linebacker Connor Fordham, and junior safety Corey Toliver.
Sophomore linebacker Markel Turner and safety Sultan Abdullah lead the TLU defense with 22 tackles apiece. Trent Ward, Anthony Jackson, and David Augustin have each nabbed an interception. Senior leader Nile Pollard has moved from safety to outside linebacker to bolster the run defense with additional speed on the perimeter.
Saturday is just the fourth all-time meeting between TLU and Belhaven. The Bulldogs are 3-0 in the series and have outscored the Blazers a combined 94-14 in those meetings. The programs last squared off in 2019, with TLU prevailing 34-14.
Saturday’s kickoff at Bulldog Stadium is set for 6 p.m. The radio broadcast will air live on KWED 1580-AM and Seguintoday.com, with free streaming video at tlubulldogs.com. Pre-game coverage starts at 5:30 p.m.