Arlington Seguin football stuns Red Oak in thriller at Choctaw Stadium

Quarterback Chevy Andrews connected with G’Manii Smith on a 22-yard touchdown strike with 38 seconds remaining as the Arlington Seguin Cougars held on for a wild 41-34 victory over the Red Oak Hawks in a non-district matchup on Thursday night at Choctaw Stadium.

Red Oak managed to reach the Seguin 21-yard line with five seconds left, but the Seguin defense stopped a pass completion at the five-yard line as time expired and the Cougars celebrated a hard-earned victory. “Amazing game,” exclaimed Arlington Seguin head coach Joe Gordon. “Back and forth. Neither team wanted to lose. Just a great game between two good teams.”

Arlington Seguin appeared to be in control, leading 34-27 and using a 12-play drive, chewing up over six minutes off the clock, with just over five minutes left. However, Red Oak’s Javonte Motley scooped up a fumble at the Hawks' 15 and returned it 56 yards to the Cougars' 29.

Two plays later, Hawks running back Renard Thomas scampered in for a 10-yard TD and with the PAT deadlocked the contest at 34-34. The Cougars responded, but missed a 38-yard field goal attempt with 1:44 left, and it seemed the matchup was headed to overtime.

However, Seguin’s Brysin Green pounced on a Red Oak fumble at the Hawks 24 yard-line with 53 seconds remaining. On second down at the 22, Smith grabbed a swing pass from Andrews and darted 22 yards for what proved to be the winning score.

“We had been pounding and pounding the ball with the run,” said Andrews. “I knew if I just got the ball to G’Manii, he would make the play. Great players make big plays. G’Manii is a great player, and he made the big play.”

Smith said he was just doing his job.

“It was a great play call, and it was up to us to execute it,” said Smith. “And we had all the confidence in the world in making the play. We wanted that win.”

Coach Gordon lauded Smith’s versatility.

“We can line him up out wide, line him up in the backfield,” said Gordon. “And he will make plays all over the field.”

Andrews did a fantastic job of “managing the game,” said Gordon.

“He left it all out there on the field. The whole team did.”

Red Oak jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead on the game’s opening possession. Renard Thomas III capped a four-play 65-yard drive with a 35-yard TD scamper. Seguin responded with a 14-play 69-yard march, consuming 7:53 off the clock, on its initial offensive possession, but settled for a 24-yard Oscar Lopez field goal.

The Cougars coverage team pinned the Hawks at their own 8 on the ensuing kickoff. After a 32-yard keeper by Red Oak quarterback Billy Middleton III was nullified by a penalty, Seguin senior linebacker Da’Shaun Marable returned an interception seven yards for a Seguin score with 2:22 left in the opening quarter.

G’Manii Smith ran in a two-point conversion for an 11-7 Seguin lead. Red Oak scored back-to-back TDs in the second period, as Thomas powered in for a two-yard TD run and Middleton scored on a 17-yard keeper.

Seguin blocked the PAT on the latter TD, which left it with a 20-11 deficit. Aided by a personal foul penalty against Red Oak on third down, Andrews connected with Smith on a 30-yard scoring strike, 45 seconds left before halftime.

Marable then came up with a fumble recovery to thwart a Red Oak drive as the Cougars trailed 20-18 at intermission. Smith regained the lead for Seguin, 26-20, at the 5:24 third-quarter mark, with a one-yard TD run on fourth-down on a play that shifted from a field goal attempt formation, and then added a two-point conversion run -- his second of the game.

Brayden Robinson, a Notre Dame pledge, gave Red Oak the edge on a 66-yard punt return for a TD with 1:47 left in the third quarter that left Seguin with a 27-26 deficit.

The Cougars answered on their ensuing possession, as Andrews found a streaking Johnaven Polk on a 56-yard TD, with Polk adding a two-point conversion run for a 34-27 Seguin lead.

That set the stage for the frantic fourth period. Andrews finished with 11 completions in 17 attempts for 188 yards and three TDs (two to Smith and one to Polk). Polk had a game-high 108 receiving yards on seven catches, while adding 34 rushing yards on two attempts.

Smith gained 36 rushing yards on three carries and hauled in three passes for 61 yards. Defensively, Marable had the pick six and a fumble recovery, while Green came up with the key fumble recovery. Arlington Seguin did an excellent job in containing Red Oak standout Robinson, who recorded four receptions for 45 yards.

“He had the punt return for the TD,” said Gordon. “But we game-planned to just try and limit that guy, and we did a great job in doing that.”

This story was originally published September 5, 2025 at 12:51 AM.