SEGUIN — Two difficult weeks have put Seguin through plenty of adversity to begin the Gary Gutierrez era.
Friday night offers the Matadors something considerably more important: a fresh start.
Seguin returns to Matador Stadium Friday at 7 p.m. to host the Manor Mustangs in the District 13-5A Division I opener for both teams. The Matadors enter district play 0-2 after losses to New Braunfels and Hays, while Manor arrives at 1-1 under first-year head coach Peter Hopkins.
The records, Gutierrez emphasized, no longer matter nearly as much as what begins Friday.
“There are teams that are 2-0 right now that will not have an opportunity to be in the playoffs,” Gutierrez said. “There are teams that are 0-2 that will be district champions.”
Seguin’s goal now is simple.
“Our goal is to be 1-0 in district.”
Getting there will require the Matadors to solve an offensive problem that Gutierrez has repeatedly boiled down to one word: consistency.
Seguin has scored seven points through its first two games, falling 38-7 against New Braunfels before being shut out 54-0 at Hays.
One source of that inconsistency has been unavoidable. Seguin started sophomore Avery Franklin at quarterback in the opener before having to turn to Matthew Hoblin last week when Franklin was unavailable.
Now Franklin is back.
“Week one we started one quarterback, and then week two we started a different quarterback,” Gutierrez said. “Not because we wanted to, just we had to. That was the situation we were dealt. But [Avery’s] back, so we’re back together.”
That could be a significant development for a Seguin offense still trying to establish its identity.
Gutierrez, however, appears less concerned with finding one player to transform the offense than getting all 11 players functioning together.
The Matadors have yet to establish sustained offensive rhythm through two weeks. Against Manor, Gutierrez wants Seguin to move the chains, control possession and prevent the Mustangs’ athletes from receiving additional opportunities.
That becomes particularly important because Manor has already shown what it can do when its offense gets going.
The Mustangs opened the season with a 30-14 victory over Elgin before being held to a field goal in a 14-3 loss to Manor New Tech last Friday. Like Seguin, Manor is adjusting to a new head coach, with Hopkins taking over the program this year.
“They’re in the same situation in terms of they’ve had a coaching change,” Gutierrez said. “During the season they’re finding their way like we are. We’re both in Week 3 together as we’re learning each other.”
That makes Friday an interesting meeting between two programs attempting to find their footing under new leadership at the same time.
Gutierrez expects Manor to challenge Seguin with its athleticism, particularly on the ground. His defensive objective is to take that strength away and make the Mustangs find another way to consistently move the football.
“Manor is known for having athletes throughout their history,” he said. “Containing their run game, forcing them to throw the ball will be a point of emphasis defensively.”
Seguin has found some encouraging signs defensively despite the difficult start.
Gutierrez specifically pointed to John Hernandez and Nathan Walter as two young players who have begun establishing themselves during their first varsity seasons. More important to Gutierrez than their production, however, has been the way they have approached their work.
“They’re leaders,” Gutierrez said. “One thing about them is they’re consistent. They’re good kids, and their consistency is what’s leading them to get better and better and better every week.”
That word — consistency — connects almost everything Gutierrez wants to see Friday.
Consistency at quarterback. Consistency moving the football. Consistency against Manor’s running game. Consistency through the inevitable changes in momentum.
And, perhaps most importantly for a program undergoing considerable change, consistency in how Seguin responds when something goes wrong.
“Games are like roller coasters,” Gutierrez said. “You have your roller-coaster ride of momentum up and down. Pushing through the down moment, if momentum turns away from us, finding a way to fight to get it back.”
The Matadors have already experienced plenty of those down moments.
They turned the football over multiple times against New Braunfels before allowing 54 unanswered points at Hays. Through two games, Seguin has been outscored 92-7.
Yet none of those 92 points count toward the district standings.
Friday begins the portion of the schedule that determines whether Seguin reaches the postseason, and Gutierrez believes the difficult first two weeks have revealed something about his young team that a pair of comfortable victories might not have.
“We’ve learned that we can count on each other through thick and thin because we’ve been through some thin,” Gutierrez said. “My belief systems and our belief systems haven’t changed and are not going to change.”
The district opener also carries additional significance because it falls on Sept. 11, exactly 25 years after the terrorist attacks of 2001.
Gutierrez said he still remembers where he was that day and views Friday as an opportunity to recognize both those who were lost and those who have served the country since.
“It’s a great day to honor who we are as a country and who we’ve lost at that tragic moment,” Gutierrez said. “It’s also a day to honor our men and women who serve our country, and who have served and who will serve.”
For Seguin, the football portion of the night comes down to whether two weeks of lessons can finally become four quarters of execution.
Gutierrez said the Matadors have produced one of their better weeks of practice, particularly with an improved tempo. Now he wants to see that translate across offense, defense and special teams.
“The biggest thing I want to see is kids playing extremely hard together and putting together with consistency everything we’ve practiced,” Gutierrez said. “Just putting it all together from special teams to offense to defense.
“I think we have a great opportunity to really show that this week.”
After two weeks of learning, changing lineups and absorbing adversity, Friday provides the Matadors their first opportunity to show it when the games count toward November.
Kickoff: Manor (1-1, 0-0) at Seguin (0-2, 0-0), Friday, Sept. 11, 7 p.m., Matador Stadium.