‘Do your job and execute’: Arlington Seguin thwarts Ennis’ comeback attempt to secure win

The Arlington Seguin Cougars came out hot against the Ennis Lions, scoring 23 points in the first ten minutes of the game.

They had to fend off an Ennis comeback attempt, securing a 37-34 win at Wilemon field on Thursday. It was the big plays that put the Cougars ahead quickly.

“We wanted to attack,” said Seguin head coach Joe Gordon. “It was really important for us to jump on them early.”

Within the first three minutes, the Cougars scored on a 76-yard pass to wide receiver Malachi Meche, who outran all Ennis defenders down the sideline.

A high snap from Ennis on a punt attempt flew out of the end zone, giving the Cougars another two points via a safety. On the kickoff, Seguin’s Cam Cole put the Cougars right back into the end zone with a 60-yard return for a touchdown.

Meche was out of the game for a while with an injury, but not before having another reception over 75 yards. An Ennis defender held him out of the end zone, barely, after being dragged by the receiver for another 10 yards.

“We’ve known since summer we have guys that can catch and go,” said Gordon on Meche’s performance.

This led to a late-first quarter score by the Cougars, giving them some insurance going into the second quarter.

After that, the offenses were silenced for both teams until Seguin showed some signs of life at the end of the first half. They relied heavily on their running back Jeremy Brown Jr., who rushed for one touchdown and almost 150 yards.

The tempo looked like it caught Seguin off guard, forcing them to use a timeout to slow the Cougar momentum.

In the second half, the Cougars fended off a comeback attempt by the Lions, who scored all of their 34 points in the third and fourth quarters.

Gordon related the game to a boxing match.

“Anytime you go into the ring with a heavyweight, you can’t sit back and let them get off to a fast start,” he said. “You have to win the early rounds and hang in there until the end.”

Hanging in until the end was exactly what the Cougars did, matching the Lions as they made their way into the end zone and then recovered an onside kick to give themselves a chance to get back into the game.

At the end, Seguin relied on running back Chase Ramirez, who neared 100 yards rushing with most of his action coming in the second half. He also had two rushing touchdowns and added on the point after every Seguin touchdown.

“We also have our running back [Ramirez] that can catch swings in the backfield,” said Gordon. “We knew we had weapons coming in and it was just a matter of time before we clicked and did what we were capable of doing. Tonight, it came together.”

Ramirez said the plan for tonight was simple.

“We knew it was going to be a dogfight,” he said. “Win, do your job and execute.”

Ramirez and Gordon both talked about the importance of tonight’s win and it being one step closer to the playoffs.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Ramirez. “It’s going to help us get into the playoffs, which we’ve been working toward every week.”

Ennis head coach Sam Harrell will have to wait another week to gain his 200th win as a Lion when Ennis, now 3-5, faces Burleson at home. Seguin, now 5-3, will be at home again next week against Midlothian Heritage.