SEGUIN, Texas — Homecoming had higher hopes for the Matadors than this offensive showing.
After eight days to prepare, Seguin slipped back into the loss column against Kyle Lehman 19-7.
The Matadors were led by running back Daniel Pinon as he ran for 100 yards.
In his second straight game with at least 100 yards on the ground, Pinon accounted for Seguin’s lone touchdown with 90 seconds left on an 89-yard kickoff return.
Unfortunately, his performance provided little consequence to the Lobos.
Quarterback Richie Saldana tossed two TDs to Nian Garcia and Miguel Martinez in the second half on a worn-down Matador defense.
The game started with Lehman’s Nian Garcia returning the opening kickoff 93 yards to set up Lehman with first-and-goal at Seguin’s six.
Enter the Matador defense. This underrated unit played tough all night and set that tone after forcing Lehman to kick a field goal on their opening drive after they were pushed back 6 from the line of scrimmage.
Seguin’s offense took over with the crowd energized by the Matadors’ strong defensive statement. Alas, that side of the ball would be left to carry the load most of the night.
The first half would run this cyclical pattern of Seguin squandering their offensive opportunity before the defense bailed out the team.
The Matadors defense had two takeaways after they recovered a fumble on Lehman’s second drive of the game before Kyler Forehand grabbed his fourth interception on the Lobos’ opening drive in the third quarter.
The problem was Seguin followed those huge defensive moments by going three-and-out in the first quarter and then fumbling the stolen possession back after Forehand’s pick one play earlier.
Simply put, it was not Seguin’s day on the offensive side of the ball.
Too many mistakes cost the Matadors a major moment.
The good news is the defense didn’t give away any touchdowns until the second half when they had worn themselves down after so many snaps. The Matadors went from four touchdown drives to open their win at Cedar Creek to punting away their first four possessions on Friday against Lehman.
The coin flipped and Seguin stumbled on a night where they wanted to shine for the homecoming crowd.
The loss drops the Matadors to 1-4 with a 1-2 district record. Lehman breaks their three-game losing streak to move up to 2-3 with a 1-2 district mark.
The Matadors will try to correct their course next Friday at Austin Anderson.
Other scores around the area:
Marion 52 (4-1), Cole 14 (2-3)
Geronimo Navarro (3-1-1) 34, Marble Falls (2-3) 17