The Rattlers Suffer a Blowout Loss on the Road Against Samuel Clemens

By Solomon Nash

KTSW Sports Reporter

SCHERTZ, Texas– The San Marcos Rattlers went head to head against Samuel Clemens Buffaloes where they would fall in a 69-32 defeat in their second district game of the season.  

After suffering a crushing overtime loss against Johnson a week before, the Rattlers looked to try and upset the 18-4 Samuel Clemens Buffaloes on the road. The beginning of the game was all Buffaloes as they quickly jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first quarter. The Rattlers would battle back after their timeout following a 5-0 run by Jordan Bernal himself and when the first quarter concluded it was a narrow 11-9 score in favor of the Buffaloes.  

Unfortunately that was as close as it got for the Rattlers as when the second quarter whistle blew the Buffaloes went on a ferocious 8-0 run to make it a 19-9 ballgame in a blink of an eye. The Rattlers Head Coach Dan Miller called timeout to try and get his team back on track but the defensive pressure and zones were too suffocating for the Rattlers to handle. The bleeding would continue into halftime where the Buffaloes had a  34-13 lead when the first half ended.  

Bryson Bell and Jakai Woods were the main culprits of scoring for Samuel Clemens as both had double digit points combining for 30 points themselves.  

The third quarter would be more of the same as the Buffaloes would outscore the Rattlers 19-9 to take a 53-22 lead leading into the final quarter.  

The fourth quarter saw both teams get their young players in the rotation as they would play only backups this quarter as the Buffaloes would cruise to a 69-32 victory when the final whistle blew.  

We spoke with Head Coach Dan Miller after the game, “Well, the first quarter was good and the other three weren’t, but I was happy to get the young players in the game and we were able to play all five returners on the court so that was cool”.  

He also talked about the turnover problem that the team has been suffering from all season, “Yeah it’s our Achilles’ heel and we just gotta try to keep working on it at practice’’.  

The Rattlers are now 0-2 in district play and in the new year, “We just gotta get back to work and I’m so proud of the guys for being together and looking ahead to Friday”, said Coach Miller.  

The Rattlers will continue their district schedule at home where they host the East Central Hornets looking for their first district win of the season.