Matadors crush Rebels 50-7 in third straight district win
(Austin) – Jhalen Mickles accounted for 301 yards of total offense and four touchdowns Thursday night to help Seguin log its third consecutive lopsided win in District 12-5A-Division I and climb to .500 on the season (3-3) with a 50-7 rout of Austin-Travis at Burger Stadium.
The Matadors used a pair of Marques Washington touchdown runs, the first set up by a Micah Rodriguez interception, along with a one-yard quarterback sneak by Mickles, a seven-yard touchdown pass from Mickles to tight end Jonathan Patterson, and a pair of two-point conversion runs by Washington to build a 30-0 lead by the 6:24 mark of the second quarter.
Seguin was inches from extending that cushion after moving the ball to the Travis one-yard line following a John Michael Mata fumble recovery, but the Rebels’ Darian McFerrin stripped the ball loose near the goal line, broke through a wall of bodies, and sprinted 99 yards the other way to make it 30-7 with 2:04 left in the half.
The Matadors responded with a 38-yard touchdown pass from Mickles to Clark Ullrich to cap a six-play, 68-yard drive, and Washington’s third two-point conversion scamper gave Seguin a 38-7 halftime lead.
“That’s a huge momentum play to drive all the way down, get a foot away, fumble, they return it 100 yards, and you’ve got to right back out on the field” Seguin head coach Travis Bush said. “So hats off to the guys for coming out, and we talked about driving it down, and we did right before the half, and Clark Ullrich came up with a big play there to get in the end zone.”
Seguin took the opening drive of the third quarter 75 yards in 13 plays, and punctuated it with a 10-yard touchdown on an option keeper by Mickles to go in front 44-7. Mickles kneeled down on the conversion try, as instructed by the coaching staff.
Sophomore running-back Jeravin Contreras concluded the scoring with a three-yard rushing touchdown to finish a 43-yard drive by the second-string offense early in the fourth quarter.
Mickles enjoyed the most accurate passing performance of his varsity career, completing 21 of 24 attempts (87.5 percent) for 260 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 41 yards and two scores on nine carries.
Washington churned out 118 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries, and Contreras finished with 49 yards and a score on 10 attempts. Micah Rodriguez completed both of his passes for 25 yards with the second-string offense.
Trevor Waz led the receivers in catches with seven for 77 yards, while Tristan Moreno produced a team-high 80 receiving yards on four grabs. Ullrich finished with five catches for 68 yards and a touchdown. Patterson pulled in two catches for 15 yards and a score. Washington totaled 20 receiving yards on three catches, and Alex Concepcion snared a 24-yard reception.
The Matadors piled up 507 total yards, went 9-14 on third down, and converted all four of their fourth down attempts.
“We knew we’d have to earn everything tonight,” Bush said. “You could tell Travis was a much improved team. They didn’t give us anything. Guys had to earn it. We had to churn some yards out, and make some third down conversions. Some plays broke down, you saw Jhalen get on the move and find some open receivers, so hats off to them for making things happen when things broke down, continue those drives, and allow us to get a big lead in the first half.”
The Matador defense held the Rebels to 29 total yards and just six rushing yards on 15 carries, collected two turnovers, allowed just one first down and no third-down conversions in seven attempts, and forced six punts.
Sophomore linebacker Allen Martinez registered a team-high nine tackles. Ian Box and Chance Brewster each recorded three tackles-for-loss, and Brewster came up with two sacks.
The Seguin defense has only allowed one offensive touchdown in three district games.
“We just congratulated them,” Bush said. “It’s 10 straight quarters now without allowing a team in the end zone. I gave up seven points tonight. I called a bad play that resulted in the fumble. I told them I took the blame on that. But ultimately, they kept them out of the end zone, so in our house, they earned the shutout again this week.”
Seguin (3-3, 3-0) chases its fourth straight district win this Friday when Austin-McCallum visits Matador Stadium at 7:30 p.m. The game will air live on KWED 1580-AM and Seguintoday.com.
Panthers swat Yellow Jackets 55-14 in district opener
(Geronimo) – A game that appeared to have all the makings of a close battle on paper ended up a blowout on the artificial turf of Erwin-Lee Field Friday night as Navarro blasted Llano 55-14 in the District 13-4A-Division II opener for both teams.
Euler Deleon ran for 157 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries to lead a rushing attack that piled up 395 yards.
Jean “MoMo” Sims and Brody Whitson each produced 74 yards and a touchdown, Sims on eight carries, Whitson on four. Matthew Gilliam scored once on the ground as well.
Nick Billings tossed a 43-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Dietert, who also contributed to the rushing attack with 47 yards on three carries.
Johnny Alegria made his healthy return to the lineup and saw limited action offensively with eight carries for 15 yards while aiding the defensive cause with an interception.
Navarro led 35-0 at halftime and 42-0 in the third quarter before Llano finally broke up the shutout.
The Panthers out-gained the Yellow Jackets 454 total yards to 197 and held Llano to 2-11 on third down.
Ethan Thomas paced the defense with six total tackels and four tackles for loss. Kaid Qassom added five tackles, and Brian Holmes recorded a sack.
Navarro, ranked as high as No. 7 in the various 4A Division II state polls, remaings undefeated at 6-0. The Panthers look to go 2-0 in district this Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff against Eastside Memorial at Austin ISD’s House Park.
Marion streak ends in road loss to Jourdanton
(Jourdanton) – Jourdanton pulled away in the second half Friday night to hand Marion its first District 15-3A-Division I loss and halt the Bulldogs’ three-game winning streak in a 35-14 final at Indian Stadium.
The Marion defense kept it close for a half.
Jourdanton engineered an 11-play, 99-yard drive and capped it with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Cole Andrus to Jarel Lilly in the second quarter, but that was the only damage done on the scoreboard as the Indians took a 7-0 lead into halftime.
Jourdanton used touchdown runs by Nick Cordova, Andrus, and Aidan Borth in the third quarter to put Marion in a 28-0 hole heading into the fourth. Borth’s second score of the night stretched the margin to 35-0 with 4:51 left in the game.
The Bulldogs broke up the shutout with 2:57 to play when Zach Goodwin delivered a deep pass to Jacob Devora for a 32-yard touchdown at the end of a five-play, 65-yard drive.
Marion’s Ray Rayos recovered a perfectly executed, slow rolling onside kick by Juan Ortiz at midfield just seconds after the first touchdown.
Goodwin rifled a 45-yard completion to Jayden Williams on the first snap and darted in for the five-yard rushing touchdown a play later to generate the final margin.
Marion head coach Ryne Miller applauded the effort of defensive coordinator Tim Tesch’s unit against a Jourdanton team tha came in averaging 52.8 points and 529 total yards per game, but noted that the Indians’ depth ultimately got the best of the Bulldogs.
“I think the big thing is, we’ve got a lot of guys who play both ways, and they don’t,” Miller said. “They’ve got tons of numbers. You start wearing on teams, and that’s the difference when you’ve got 4A, 5A numbers on a team, and your’e a 3A football team. I’m not trying to make excuses, but it wears on you. But our defense played great throughout the whole game. I thought they did a lot of things, and we had a great plan in place.”
Goodwin finished with 151 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception to go with 61 rushing yards and a score. Rayos ran for 51 yards on 14 carries. Devora led the receivers with 85 yards on three catches, and Williams contributed five receptions for 74 hards. Free safety Hutch Rabenaldt intercepted an Andrus pass, becoming just the second player to do so through six games in Jourdanton’s season.
The loss drops Marion to 4-3 overall, 2-1 in district play. Jourdanton remains undeated at 6-0, 1-0.
The Bulldogs look to get back on track this Friday when Karnes City visits Veterans Stadium at 7:30 p.m. The open date in the schedule follows, and Marion continues its push for the highest possible playoff seed after that with a visit to Cotulla and a home date with Lytle.
“We talk about finishing all the time, and these guys did a great job finishing,” Miller said. “They never have any quit in them. There’s never an effort problem, and that’s why it’s so fun to coach these guys, because they’re always going to give their best, 100 percent, and they’re going to finish these last three games off.”
Falcons build early lead, outlast Ovilla Christian 66-36
(Seguin) – The Lifegate six-man football team raced out to a 27-0 halftime lead, extended it to 41-0 in the third quarter, and held on the rest of the way for a 66-36 home win over Red Oak-Ovilla Christian on Friday at Falcon Field.
Junior spread-back Quinten Shellnut was virtually unstoppable for Lifegate, darting his way to 288 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 28 carries while completing six of his 11 passes for 137 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown strike to Zach McCulloch.
Barson Schmidt chipped in with 52 rushing yards and a touchdown on six carries, three catches for 24 yards, and two pass completions for 48 yards and a score.
David Brewer caught the 42-yard touchdown pass from Schmidt and finished with four receptions for 76 yards. Joseph Menchaca scored a rushing touchdown and nabbed a 25-yard catch.
Schmidt and Blake Pruitt each intercepted a pass on defense, and Brewer forced a fumble. Schmidt recorded a team-high 15 tackles. Brewer added nine, Menchaca eight, and Shellnut seven (one for loss).
Lifegate (5-2) plays host to Harmony this Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Chargers snap Seguin volleyball streak with 3-0 sweep
(Seguin) – Seguin’s run of seven straight District 26-5A wins ended Friday night in a 3-0 loss to Boerne-Champion at Goldie Harris Gym.
The Chargers won the individual sets 25-16, 25-16, and 25-13.
Juilanna Harrington led Seguin on the front row with 10 kills and an attack percentage of .421, but the Matadors only recorded 27 kills as a team and hit 0.072 for the match.
Riley Brittain set for 16 assists. Amasti Canales came up with 15 digs and two service aces. Brinley Beicker added 11 digs. Julie Kocian recorded two solo blocks, Taylor Bode one.
The loss drops Seguin into a third-place tie with McCollum in the district standings. The Matadors and Cowgirls are both 8-4 in district play, one match behind second-place Boerne-Champion (9-3) and 3.5 behind 26-5A leader Champion (11-0). Seguin’s season record is 18-19.
Navarro volleyball handles Pleasanton in four sets
(Pleasanton) – Navarro won its third consecutive District 30-4A match Friday night in a 3-1 final over Pleasanton on the Eagles’ home floor.
The Panthers claimed the first set 25-17, came up short 25-23 in the second, and bounced back to win the next two 25-19, 25-18.
Kelly Helms paced Navarro’s attack with 16 kills, and Madison McCaig added 11. Sara Benner distributed 38 assists, and Sam Smith finished with 19.
Carolyn Burch sparked the defensive effort with 37 digs, and Ashley Gosch came up with 36. Nelly Brumley collected 26 digs and sent four aces over the net. Benner, Helms, and Haley Hoffman each registered a solo block.
With a 7-1 district record, Navarro remains in second place behind 8-0 La Vernia. The Panthers’ season record is 30-7.
Navarro visits Gonzales on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Marion volleyball sweeps Cole, moves above .500 in district play
(Marion) – Marion pushed its District 26-3A record to 3-2 and stayed within striking distance of first place with a 3-0 home sweep of San Antonio-Cole on Friday.
The Bulldogs edged the Cougars 25-22, 25-22 in the first two sets and sealed the match with a 25-17 win in game three.
Molly Rooke and Lizzie Abrameit each delivered six kills. Maddie Hill and Hayley Mabee contributed five apiece.
Abrameit set for 15 assists and served for five aces. Madison Doss added 12 assists. Lily Bek and Ingrid Nava each collected 11 digs, and Bek finished with three aces.
Marion (16-16, 3-2) continues district play with a 6 p.m. opening serve at Ingram-Moore on Tuesday.