Rattlers make trip out to border in showdown with Eagle Pass
Countdown to Kickoff is back to preview the final non-district for the San Marcos Rattlers in the 2023 season.
In a week five showdown, the Rattlers will make a trip to the border on the Rio Grande River where San Marcos faces off with the Eagle Pass Eagles.
This will be the second straight opponent San Marcos will face from District 30 as the Rattlers will have played Laredo Alexander the week before.
In their last meeting, Eagle Pass stormed back from a 19-6 halftime deficit to defeat the Rattlers 39-31 in a homecoming loss for San Marcos.
San Marcos was plagued with penalties and turnovers that ended up haunting the Rattlers as they finished non-district play at 2-3.
Eagle Pass finished the season with a 9-1 record and captured the 6A District 30 Championship with their lone blemish coming against Laredo United South.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, Eagle Pass was upset in the Bi-District round of the playoffs losing to San Antonio Warren 47-28.
Eagle Pass is predicted to win the District 30 once more, according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine, beating out Laredo United, Laredo Alexander, and archrival Del Rio.
The Eagle front seven is considered to be the strength of the team led by defensive end Gunnar Caballero who finished the season with 87 tackles and 14 sacks.
Eagle Pass will also be headed up by two stout linebackers in Diego Villareal and Devonte Moncivais.
Villareal led the team with 138 tackles and Moncivais finished the season with 112 tackles.
Though the defense will be tough, the Eagle offense will be no slouch either with Eagle Pass returning starting quarterback Andres Garcia.
Garcia led the Eagles with 841 passing yards and nine passing touchdowns while rushing for 820 yards and 11 touchdowns.
This will be one of the toughest tests for the Rattlers, as not only will they take on a district contender but they will also have to make their longest road trip of the season, as the schools are 191 miles apart–a near 3-hour road trip.
The history between San Marcos and Eagle Pass is an extremely brief one as last year’s game was the first ever meeting between the two teams.
The Eagles have a long history as a football program having played since 1920.
Eagle Pass has qualified for the playoffs 26 times and won nine district championships.
The Eagles also have one of the more historic rivalries in the state of Texas with their rivalry with Del Rio which has been played 103 times since 1920.
Kickoff for Eagle Pass-San Marcos will be September 22 at 7 p.m. in Eagle Pass.
cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
