Rattlers Fall to the Hippos in Season Debut

By Osmara Valles

Sports Reporter

HUTTO, Texas— The San Marcos Rattlers traveled to Hutto, Texas, Friday night for the first game of the 2024 football season where they lost to the Hutto Hippos.

The Rattlers now begin their season 0-1 for the second consecutive year, defeated by the Hutto Hippos with a final score of 63-8. With new faces starting on both teams, this was a way to showcase the students’ talents for the sport.

The Hippos entered the season with a powerful offense that was on display throughout the entire night. Leading them to success was junior quarterback Kaden Stefek. Acting as the starting quarterback for the Hippos, Stefek paved the way for his team to secure a victory.

Stefek finished the night with 227 yards on 57% passing (8/14), alongside five total touchdowns out of the nine scored from the Hippos. Of the five touchdowns Stefek scored, one of them was a rushing touchdown.

As the Hippos rallied on the offensive side of the ball, senior wideout Braeton Anderson tallied the most yards throughout the evening with 152 yards while also completing the hat trick with three touchdowns for the Hippos.

The Hippos dominated on offense all night, giving way to an opportunity for sophomore quarterback Hunter Frenette to see the field. Though Frenette only had 26 yards, he also scored a touchdown for the Hippos.

The Rattlers opted to take advantage of running the ball to make life easier for their new quarterback. The run game set the tone for the offensive side for the Rattlers.

Sophomore Kane Hernandez displayed his talent on the field, but it wasn’t enough to pull through. Hernandez had a total of 11 air yards on the night and a 50% completion percentage (2/4), with one of those incompletions resulting in an interception deep in the second quarter.

Rattlers Head Coach John Walsh said that Hernandez is “very young, and it’s going to take some time for him to develop, we’re going to be run heavy all year long.”

Junior running back Donovan Garcia led all Rattlers with 66 yards on 14 carries throughout the evening. The sophomore tailback Colson Geesee scored a touchdown for the Rattlers finishing with a total of 43 yards.

As previously mentioned, this is the Rattlers first game of the season with many players and coaches still adjusting to each other. With there still being plenty of football left to play this season, the primary goal is to break the losing streak. The next matchup for the Rattlers will be Friday, September 6th, at Rattler Stadium against the Pflugerville Weiss Wolves.