(Seguin) — The Seguin Matador defense came up with big plays and Elliot Weaver ran wild for two long scores as the Matadors took down the Corpus Christi Miller Buccaneers, 42-27 on Friday night at Matador Stadium.
The two teams exchanged touchdowns in the first quarter, with Miller scoring first after recovering an onside kick to start the game. Seguin responded with a 74-yard drive capped by a 10-yard TD run by quarterback Corey Dailey.
Seguin defensive back Marcus Troy would keep the game tied with an interception late in the first quarter and after each team turned the ball over on downs, Seguin would claim their first lead of the season on a 27-yard Edward Altamirano field goal early in the second quarter. The lead would be short lived as Buccaneer return man Roderick Taylor ran back the ensuing kickoff 86 yards for a score to put the Buccaneers back on top.
The Matadors would reclaim the lead with a defensive score. Seguin defensive lineman Mario Jackson strip-sacked Miller quarterback David James and linebacker Damian Garcia would pick up the ball and rumble 10 yards for a TD and a 17-13 Matador lead.
In the final minute of the half, the Buccaneers drove inside the Seguin five-yard line. On the half’s final play, Matador safety Kaiden De La Garza knocked a pass out of a Miller receiver’s hands in the end zone to preserve Seguin’s lead as the teams went into their locker rooms.
The Mats recovered an onside kick to start the second half and drove down for another Altamirano field goal for a seven-point lead. The Buccaneers tied it up on their next possession when Taylor caught a swing pass and took off down the left sideline for a 34-yard touchdown just a little over two minutes into the half.
The next two drives for the Mats would showcase the speed of Elliot Weaver. The senior caught a slant from Dailey and raced 76 yards to give the Matadors a lead late in the third quarter they would not relinquish. Following a De La Garza interception at the Seguin goal line, Elliot would turn another slant into a 58-yard TD on Seguin’s next possession in the fourth quarter to make the score 34-20. Each team would score one more touchdown to account for the final score.
Following the game, Seguin head coach Craig Dailey talked about the obstacles the senior Weaver has overcome in his Seguin career.
“I’m really proud of Elliot because it’s kind of been frustrating (for him) the last two years. He’s been injury prone,” Dailey said. “And this is what we thought he could do the whole time since he was a sophomore. He’s a big, strong kid and he can run. We threw him a short route; he broke two tackles and then he turned the jets on.
“And that’s what we need him to do. That’s what our offense is built on. Their outside backers stunted, Corey threw the ball behind them and Elliot did the rest. And that’s kind of how we need to work on offense.”
Weaver finished the game with five catches for 145 yards.
Defensively, Seguin had a number of stars. Linebacker Zayon Goldsberry played in his first game as a Matador. The senior transfer, who did not play last week as his transfer was being processed, had nine tackles including two for loss to go along with three quarterback pressures. Senior linebacker Julius Rivera had six tackles, two for loss and also had an interception. De La Garza broke up three passes on the night in addition to his interception.
Matador running back Ian Moreno returned to the lineup after missing last week with an injury. The senior grinded out 104 yards rushing on 34 carries. Dailey passed for 266 yards.
The Matadors (1-1) will look to move over the .500 mark when they play Brazoswood next Friday. The game will kick off at 7 p.m. in El Campo and we’ll have the game on KWED.
In other action in the area on Friday night, the Navarro Panthers lost a shootout to Antonian Prep, 66-43 in Geronimo. The Panthers play at Canyon Lake next week.