Rattlers Fall Short in District Opener

By Daven Meredith

KTSW Sports Reporter

The San Marcos Rattlers (0-6, 0-1) fell short in their comeback against the Schertz Clemens Buffaloes (3-3, 1-0) in a 41-48 loss.

San Marcos opened up district play Friday, looking for their first win of the season, falling behind early to a dominant Buffalo offense that was able to put up 42 points in the first half. The Rattlers would answer with 28 points in the second half, just a touchdown short of the comeback.

The Rattlers got off to a rough start, down 14-0 until putting a drive together in the first quarter for the first points on the board for the offense, bringing the Buffalo lead to seven.

San Marcos would have little to no success in the first half, as the Buffs would put up 28 unanswered points just in the second quarter. The Rattlers would show signs of life thanks to a fake punt that led to a 45-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Tony Diaz for the score right before the half, bringing the Buffalo lead to 28.

“The first half went how the season has gone,” said Coach Jon Walsh. “Things didn’t go our way; we didn’t finish drives off and get turnovers, but the second half didn’t happen by accident.”

If the Rattlers first half performance was Hyde, then their second half was Jeckle, beginning with a 30-yard touchdown reception to cut the Buffalo lead to 21. San Marcos would get the ball right back, thanks to a forced fumble by the defense. The Rattlers would recover, putting them on the Buffaloes 42, which would lead to a score.

“If you didn’t know who we were or read the paper and came to our practices,” Walsh said, “you would see good coaching taking place, good player effort, and a positive attitude; you would not be able to tell we were 0-5.”

The Buffaloes would have a chance to ice the game late in the fourth quarter with the Rattlers down 14 on a 4th and 23 senior quarterback Kutter Gage Webb connected with Diaz on a 50-yard touchdown reception, putting them within seven. Diaz ended the night with 186 yards and 4 TD’s.

With the game on the line, the Rattlers would attempt an onside kick, which the Buffaloes hands team would recover.

With no timeouts left, the San Marcos would watch as the Buffalo offense took the field to take victory formation to end the game on their homecoming night.

Coach Walsh and the Rattlers look to use some of their momentum into their next matchup against Cibolo Steele. Walsh credited character as being the key in their next matchup.

“If you don’t have character and you’re 0–5,” said Walsh. “Football is a physical game; if you’re a loser, you’re gonna play like a loser. I’m still coaching a bunch of winners. It’s just not showing on the scoreboard, but it is showing on the field Monday through Thursday.”

The Rattles next matchup will be at Cibolo Steele on Friday, Oct. 13, at 7:00 p.m.