(Alamo Heights) — The special teams bounces didn’t go the way the Seguin Matadors needed them to go in a season opening 51-48 loss at Alamo Heights on Friday night.
Three plays on special teams after the midway point in the third quarter turned a tie game into a 16-point deficit for the Matadors that they were unable to over come. With just over five minutes to go in the third quarter, Matador running back John Jackson sliced through the Alamo Heights defense for a 45-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 28. Seguin’s defense would force the Mules to punt on the ensuing drive and that’s when special teams would turn the tide on the Matadors.
Alamo Heights punter Michael Terry would launch a 74-yard wind aided punt that would sail over the head of a Matador return man and roll all the way down to the Seguin one-yard line. On the next series, running back Devin Hall would slip on the turf in the endzone and fall down for a safety, making the score 30-28.
On the free kick following the safety, Alamo Heights return man Parks Zunker would take the kick back the other way for a 65-yard score to increase the Mules’ lead to 37-28. The Mats would go three-and-out on their next drive and Seguin punter Landon Trost would bobble the snap on the subsequent punt and lose a yard trying to run the ball for a first down. Alamo Heights would then score on a one-yard run by Terry following the turnover-on-downs to make the score, 44-28.
Seguin would rally in the fourth quarter. The scoring started with a 45-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Corey Dailey to receiver Creed Weaver. Dailey hit his wide-out in stride as he streaked down the right sideline and into the endzone.
John Jackson would run to paydirt with his fourth touchdown of the night on a nine-yard scamper later in the quarter and Nik Henry bobbed and weaved through the defense on a 32-yard pitch and catch TD from Dailey later in the quarter to end the scoring on the night. A three-yard TD run by Michael Terry put the Mules over the half-century mark early in the fourth stanza.
The Matadors will look to rebound when they host the New Braunfels Unicorns for the Guadalupe River Bowl next week. New Braunfels fell on Thursday night to Denton Ryan 27-24 in Belton. Next week’s game will be held on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Matador Stadium in Seguin and we’ll have the game on AM 1580 KWED and streaming at SeguinToday.com.
In other action on Friday night, the Navarro Panthers took out Navasota 34-8 in Geronimo and the Marion Bulldogs fell 41-31 at Hondo.