Matadors chase fourth straight win, 3-0 district start vs. Harlandale, Friday’s Homecoming game to air on KWED
(Seguin) – Harlandale’s defense draws the unenviable task of trying to keep Seguin’s Devin Matthews from delivering an encore to one of best offensive performances in state football history when the Indians play the visitors role in the annual Homecoming game at Matador Stadium on Friday.
Matthews was named the Built Ford Tough Texas High School Football Player of the Week in Class-5A for Week 6 after totaling a school record 345 receiving yards and four touchdowns on eight catches against La Vernia. The yardage total is the 10th best for a single game in state history according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine. The four touchdowns alone covered 265 yards, including a school-record 99-yard score.
Seguin resumes the District 12-5A-Division I schedule Friday after filling the open date in the schedule with the road win over La Vernia. The Matadors are 3-2 overall, 2-0 in district play, and riding a three-game winning streak in Craig Dailey’s first season as head coach.
Harlandale comess off its open date with a 4-1 record and a 1-1 district mark under fifth-year head coach Albert Torres. The Indians followed a 3-0 run through non-district play with a 33-14 win over Kyle-Lehman and a 28-21 loss to Veterans Memorial in the first two district games.
A Harlandale defense allowing just 9.6 points per game this season will face its toughest test against a Seguin offense picking up steam as the weeks go by.
Matthews enters Friday with 24 catches for 566 yards and seven touchdowns on the season. Senior quarterback Troy Falgout has completed 57 percent of his passes for 957 yards and nine scores, and has gone three straight games without an interception. Sophomore tailback John Jackson comes in with 470 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 93 carries.
The Seguin defense looks to slow down Harlandale’s dual-threat quarterback Joseph Rodriguez. The 6’1″, 195 lb. senior enters Friday with 690 yards and 10 touchdowns passing to go with a team-high 366 yards and five scores rushing.
“Our defense has got to do a good job of getting pressure on him and containing him,” Dailey said. “It’s a little different than what we’ve been doing. We’ve been harping on stopping the run and making people throw, but they’re kind of different. We want to stop the pass first and kind of force them to try to run the football against our front, and that’s not really what they want to do. It’s going to be a challenge for our defense. Offensively, the longer we keep the ball, the less he has it, so that’s better for us.”
Rodriguez’s top teammates include senior running-back Andrew Perez (359 rushing yds.., 3 TD) and junior receiver Saxon Langenberg (16 rec., 216 yds., 5 TD).
Seguin’s secondary has returned interceptions for touchdowns in two of the past three games, with junior cornerback Christian Soefje running one back in Week 4 against Veterans Memorial and sophomore safety Donovan Cray doing the same last week in La Vernia.
Friday’s Homecoming kickoff at Matador Stadium is set for 7 p.m. The game will air live on KWED 1580-AM and Seguintoday.com. Pre-game coverage starts at 6:15 with the Navarro and Marion coaches’ shows.
Panthers travel to open district slate vs. improved Titans
(Manor) – Navarro opens the District 14-4A-Division II football schedule Friday with a road game against the Titans of Manor-New Tech.
The Panthers return from the open date in the schedule seeking a five-game winning streak after posting a 4-1 non-district record with wins over La Vernia, Needville, Cuero, and Giddings following the Week 1 loss to Port Lavaca-Calhoun.
New Tech went 2-4 in non-district play. The Titans defeated Austin-LASA 50-30 in Week 2 and Schertz-John Paul II 20-17 in Week 5, with lopsided losses to Caldwell, Carrizo Springs, Poteet, and Bandera mixed in.
Navarro’s fourth-year head coach Rod Blount sees a better 2021 New Tech team on film than the 2020 bunch his Panthers steamrolled 81-0 at Erwin-Lee Field.
“I think the biggest improvement we’ve seen is on the defensive side of the ball,” Blount said. “They’ve got skill kids everywhere. They’ve got a lot of kids that can run and play, but defensively they’re getting more physical. The offensive line is improving as well, but the main thing is we’ve got to control those skill kids. They can go up and get a ball. If we let them get running, they can break one at any time.”
The Titans’ offensive leaders include senior quarterback Jackson Williams (536 total yds., 6 TD) and junior running-back Andre Spence (243 yds., 1 TD). New Tech is averaging a respectable 151.5 rushing yards per game and 5.3 per carry as a team.
The improved New Tech defense faces a monumental task in the district opener against Navarro’s dominant Slot-T rushing attack.
Despite playing a tough non-district schedule full of perennial playoff programs, the Panthers racked up healthy averages of 33.4 points and 399.6 yards per game over the first half of the season.
Navarro’s statistical leaders include senior half-back Brody Whitson (513 rushing yds., 150 receiving yds., 8 total TD), senior fullback Cole Mouser (485 yds., 9 TD), and senior quarterback Nick Billings (262 passing yds., 283 rushing yds., 6 total TD).
The Panthers and Titans kick off at 7:30 p.m. in Manor. A complete interview with Blount can be heard during the Panther Report at 6:15 on KWED 1580-AM and Seguintoday.com.
Marion seeks bounce-back in Homecoming tilt vs. Cotulla
(Marion) – The Marion football program looks to rebound from its first loss of the season and notch a District 14-3A-Division I win over Cotulla in Friday’s Homecoming game at Veterans Stadium.
The Bulldogs are 5-1 overall with a 1-1 district record in Ryne Miller’s fourth season as head coach after a 27-14 road loss to Jourdanton last Friday.
Cotulla (1-4, 0-1) opened the season with a 47-12 win over La Pryor, but has suffered four straight losses since. The Cowboys dropped the district opener to Jourdanton 39-16 in Week 5 before the open date in their schedule last week.
Marion hopes to get its prolifif offense (41.3 ppg) back on track after a season-low point total in the loss to Jourdanton.
Junior running-back Aidan Rios enters Friday with a team-high 825 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. Senior QB Tanner Beakley has registered 1,024 total yards with eight touchdown passes and three scores on the ground. Dominic Castellanos has been the most explosive receiver with 18 receptions for 363 yards (20.2 avg.) and five touchdowns.
Cotulla’s offense is built around a ground attack churing out 150.6 rushing yards per outing and 7.6 per carry. Junior running-back Jesse Sanchez has been the most productive player in that effort with 273 yards, six touchdowns, and a 7.4 average per attempt.
The Cowboys’ defense has kept the team competitive this season, allowing just 19 points per game.
Friday’s Homecoming kickoff in Marion is slated for 7:30 p.m. A complete interview with Miller can be heard during the Bulldog Report between 6:20 and 6:30 on KWED 1580-AM and Seguintoday.com.