The Rattlers Move On Up and So Do Some Former Players

Kyle Spencer
Sports Reporter

The San Marcos High School Rattlers have now been pushed up to the 6A classification (the largest classification for a high school) in the midst of the UIL realignment. On top of going up a rank in classification, the Rattlers have now been placed in a new district expanding to the north towards Austin. Facing new names like Austin Bowie, Del Valle, Austin Akins, Austin Anderson and Manor in District 14-6A.

Although most thought that San Marcos High School would be moving into the district with Hays and Lehman, both of those schools were placed with Austin area teams as well. It has been over 10 years since those three teams have faced off in district play and now it will be at least another two years before that is possible. Hays and Lehman will be joining a district with Lake Travis, Austin Vandegrift, Austin Westlake, Cedar Park, Vista Ridge and Leander.

Traveling will require a little less effort with Kerrville Tivy and Boerne-Champion off the district schedule. The farthest this team will have to travel in the 2016 season is to Anderson High School which is roughly one hour away. Compared to the almost two hour drive to Kerrville, the players and coaches should be excited about the new travelling arrangements.

As far as talent goes, San Marcos is moving into a district that is top heavy; similar to how their previous district played out. Manor and Bowie are the top teams in the district with Anderson, Akins and Del Valle only finishing with 2 district wins apiece last season. It is not much of a stretch to say that San Marcos is already one of the top 3 teams within District 14-6A. Now with a excellent leader in Coach Soto and the experience of a playoff team, the Rattlers could make some noise in 6A this coming season.

With the move to an Austin area district, San Marcos will now face teams out of the Houston area in bi-district, avoiding very difficult opponents out of the Round Rock and Pflugerville area. With San Marcos football making the playoffs for the first time in 7 years, and holding on to a coach that intends to continue that tradition, the Rattlers can look to make a serious push deep into the playoffs.

Wednesday, February 3rd was National Signing Day for football players across country. Many high school football players see their careers end in high school but a few get the chance to play at a higher level. For San Marcos High School they had more than one senior student-athlete make the jump from high school to college.

There was plenty of talent in the senior class for the Rattlers and on National Signing Day, it was no surprise that San Marcos had some players moving on to play at a collegiate level. Four kids were signed to play at the next level. Those names include Joseph Wilburn, A. J. Bosquez, Victor Martinez and Kaleb Johnson. While what these student-athletes accomplished on the field is obviously impressive, it was the effort off the field that Coach Soto was so proud of.

“We are so proud of our kids for one getting done in the classroom, because like I said most of the money is academic money. It wasn’t all athletic scholarship and then just being high character kids on all of their visits,” said Soto.

One of the biggest surprises for the Rattlers on NSD was Kaleb Johnson signing to Harden-Simmons. The receiver, who struggled at the beginning of the season but ended with some huge games, made the decision at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday night. KJ is a dual-sport athlete and is in the middle of making a playoff push with the basketball team. That may have been what caused the decision to be pushed back until late at night but Johnson definitely deserves a chance to make a name at a college level.

These players will be hard to replace for next season but with names like Cavion Garner and Austin Castillo, players who could be sending Letters of intent this time next year, the Rattlers still have a great chance to make some noise in their new district.