FRIDAY FOOTBALL PREVIEW
SMHS FOOTBALL
The Rattlers go on the road this week for a district showdown against the No. 21 ranked Cibolo Steele Knights.
Steele enters the game with a 6-1 record coming off the bye week with wins over Liberty Hill, San Antonio Reagan and San Antonio Brandeis in non-district play. The Knights’ lone loss of the season came against Austin Westlake.
In their last game, Steele came away with a 56-3 win over the Converse Judson Rockets.
The Knights are led by quarterback Chad Warner who is currently committed to play at UTEP. Warner has passed for 1,846 yards and 21 touchdowns for the Knights and rushed for 21 yards on seven carries.
In the passing game, the 1-2 punch combination of senior wide receivers Jalen Cooper and Royal Capell have been terrorizing the opposing secondaries with Cooper committed to play at SMY and Capell committed to Oklahoma State.
Capell leads the team in receiving yards with 34 catches for 745 yards and four touchdowns. Cooper is second with 40 catches for 685 yards and five touchdowns.
While the Knights have been dynamite through the air, Steele is also strong in the running game with Oklahoma-commit Jonthan Hutton leading the way. Hutton has 100 carries for 858 yards and six touchdowns.
Offensively, the Knights are averaging 51.1 points per game.
On defense, Demarcus Smith leads the team in total tackles with 84 along with 18 solo tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss. Pearce Kemp is second with 60 total tackles, 17 solo tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss.
The Knights have held opposing offenses to just 26.5 points per game.
The series history between San Marcos and Steele is relatively short with the Knights first playing football in 2006.
The Rattlers’ first meeting with the Knights took place during the 2008 season when both teams were placed in the same district and played during the 2008-2013 seasons. The Knights dominated the Rattlers in a 49-17 defeat for San Marcos.
Historically Steele has dominated the series against San Marcos with the Rattlers trailing the series 10-0. The average score between the two teams is lopsided in favor of Steele with the Knights averaging 47.9 points per game compared to the Rattlers 11.2.
Kickoff for San Marcos- Cibolo Steele is set for tonight at 7:30 p.m. from Lehnhoff Stadium in Schertz.
cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
