The Gazette-Enterprise

SEGUIN — For all intents and purposes, the game was over.

Holding a 44-41 lead with less than two minutes left in a back-and-forth contest, Boerne Champion (4-4, 1-4) had just converted a huge third-down play to leave the Matadors (2-6, 0-5) defending inside their own 10-yard line with no timeouts left and little hope for a comeback.

All the Chargers had to do was run the ball a few times to chew up the remaining seconds and the final buzzer would sound, securing Champion’s first District 27-4A win of the year.

Then again, against the Matador defense, nothing is ever as easy as it seems.

Seguin came up huge with just under a minute remaining by causing a fumble, with linebacker Codie Brooks picking up the loose ball and turning up field with nothing but the goal line ahead of him.

But Champion lineman Coulten Chapman made a game-saving tackle by grabbing Brooks from behind, putting the game in the hands of the Matador offense with 55 seconds left and a long way left to travel.

As it happened, Seguin never even got a foot off of the doorstep, as the Chargers’ Mitchell Setliff intercepted Brig Gerlich’s first throw of the drive, returning it 20 yards for the game-clinching score.

The final count was 52-41 in favor of the visitors, as Seguin ended up being done in by two busted coverages and six painful interceptions.

“You can’t turn the ball over that many times and you can’t miss that many tackles and be successful,” said head coach Jim Carson. “Not in (District) 27-4A.”

The lead changed hands six times in the contest, as each team’s offense answered the bell with crucial scoring drive after crucial scoring drive — and all of this after Champion looked as if it might walk away with a lopsided win after a hot start in the first quarter.

The Chargers scored on their first two possessions, going up 14-0 with less than eight minutes gone in the game. Seguin rallied to cut that deficit to 14-7 on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Gerlich to Dustin Read, but Champion was soon on the march again, regaining its 14-point advantage with a 50-yard touchdown pass from Taylor Davis to James Hurd.

There was no one within 20 yards of Hurd in the Matador secondary, but Seguin didn’t show any ill effects from the miscue, instead appearing to use it as a wake-up call.

In fact, what resulted after the score was a 16-0 run by the Matadors that saw them enter the locker room with a slim 23-21 lead — setting the table for one of the most bizarrely entertaining finishes of the year.

After Champion went up 21-7, Seguin answered back on its ensuing drive by going 56 yards in six plays, capped by a one-yard sneak from Gerlich.

The Chargers looked to add a field goal on their next possession, but the 26-yard attempt was smothered by Justin Carpenter, setting up another Matador score. Again, Seguin only needed six plays, but this time the offense drove 83 yards, aided by two big passing plays to Popeye Carter and Jared Curnel.

Read became the recipient of his second score of the night, as Gerlich hit him for a 14-yard touchdown that pulled Seguin within a point of tying the game. The extra point from Israel Rodriguez was wide right, but the placekicker made up for his rare miss by adding a 21-yard field goal to give his team a 23-21 lead going into halftime.

Carson said he was proud of the way his team battled back all night despite being a few men down.

“As the game went on, we had kids who were injured and wounded and we had kids fight hard the entire game,” he said. “I was very proud of their effort, I thought they showed a lot of courage under really rough situation and we’re all really proud of them.”

The second half began with a quick exchange of turnovers — a Ronnie Lawson fumble recovery and an interception by Champion’s David Rogers.

The ensuing Charger drive was snuffed out, however, thanks to the efforts of senior linebacker Nick Kolbe. Kolbe flew through the line of scrimmage and cut down Davis as the quarterback attempted a sneak on third-and-one, forcing Champion to go for it on fourth down.

But a false start penalty prior to the next snap made the Chargers’ coaching staff decide to kick it away. The long snapper then sailed the ball over the head of the punter, giving Seguin a short field and a great chance to extend its lead.

It would turn out to be nothing more than another opportunity missed, as Rogers secured his second consecutive pick, giving Champion the momentum right back.

“When we look at the film, there will be a lot of missed opportunities that we had that we didn’t take advantage of,” Carson said. “This was a tough loss because of what could have been.”

The Chargers took the ball right down the field, converting a four-play, 80-yard drive into the go-ahead score. Davis, who finished the game with 112 yards rushing on 22 carries, reached pay dirt on a 29-yard run and then hit Hurd on a two-point play to make the score 29-23.

Back came the Matadors, recapturing the lead after marching 72 yards on seven plays. Senior Thomas Cockrum, who had a huge night for Seguin, caught a slant route from Gerlich, broke a tackle and jogged in for a 18-yard touchdown.

All told, Cockrum hauled in 13 of Gerlich’s 29 completions, racking up 142 yards and two scores.

Champion stole the advantage right back on a 32-yard field goal from Derek Tyner on the very next drive, only to watch the Matadors’ Rodriguez boot a 27-yarder of his own to give Seguin a 33-32 edge with just over eight minutes left in the ballgame.

That’s when the Chargers hit their second big pass play of the night, as Davis found a wide open Blake Allemand for a 57-yard strike. Champion’s conversion failed, but thanks to another Matador interception, the visitors added another touchdown — this one on a three-yard run from John Free.

Not yet beaten, Seguin completed a gutsy 12-play, 68-yard drive capped by a five-yard pass from Gerlich to Cockrum. The junior signal caller then found Curnel for a two-point conversion, making the new score 44-41 in favor of the Chargers — with just 2:10 left on the clock.

The ensuing onside kick attempt was then recovered by Champion, with Brooks later giving his team one final shot at the win. And although they came up short, Carson said his Matadors played well amidst several off-the-field issues and more than a few nagging injuries.

“There were some guys who stepped up who were in backup roles who did a good job for us tonight,” Carson said. “You’d have to be where we’ve been the last week to understand how proud I really am of them.”

In addition to Cockrum, Seguin had four different receivers catch for over 50 yards, including Gerlich, who snagged a 54-yard reception from Curnel on a beautiful reverse pass play.

Popeye Carter finished with four catches for 90 yards, followed by Read’s 66 yards and two scores on six receptions. Curnel also added five catches for 62 yards.

Gerlich threw for 370 yards and four scores on 29-56 passing, but was hampered by his six picks on the night. Seguin didn’t do much on the ground, rushing for 47 yards on 20 carries.

The same can’t be said for Champion, which boasted two rushers over the 100-yard mark — Davis and tailback Brent Sutherland (14 carries, 116 yards). In all, the Chargers racked up 539 yards of total offense — a bad sign given that first-place Steele comes to town next Friday.

Still, Carson says there’s no quit in his Matadors.

“We’ve played our last few opponents off their feet and we need to continue that,” Carson said. “We’ve got a lot of young guys on this team that have a lot of football left to play at Seguin and they need to improve. Then we have some seniors that have been great leaders all year and have stood tall in tough situations.

“That gives us something to build on.”

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