CHAMPIONSHIP SPOTLIGHT

The Championship Spotlight highlights some of the greatest teams in San Marcos High School and the people who put on the Rattler uniform.

This week's article will take a look at the 2000 San Marcos Rattlers football team.

San Marcos came into the 2000 season coming off an 11-3 record in 1999, but the roots of their success came in 1997.

Prior to the 1997 season, San Marcos had not qualified for the playoffs since 1966, let alone win a district championship. In fact, between 19671996 San Marcos had only six seasons where the Rattlers won more than six games.

In April of 1997, San Marcos hired Bruce Bush to be the new football coach and athletic director. Bush, known for his patented Slot-T offense, had previously coached at Alice, Gregory-Portland and Donna.

Despite coming off a 1-9 season, the Rattlers bounced back with a 7-4 season and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1966.

The next season, San Marcos again finished the season with seven wins but missed the playoffs before going 11-3 in 1999 with the Rattlers season ending in the Regional Final.

With the Rattlers moving into 4A District 26, San Marcos wasn’t just a playoff favorite but also the top choice to win the district championship.

San Marcos returned both running back Lukinrick Ellison and fullback Juan Batiste. The duo led the team in rushing. Batiste ran for 1,583 yards and 18 touchdowns while Ellison ran for 1,067 yards and 12 touchdowns. Quarterback Jerry Montemayor also returned for the Rattlers having rushed for 158 yards and three touchdowns while passing for 518 yards and six touchdowns.

On defense, linebacker Joseph Lopez returned having made over 100 tackles last season along with defensive end Earl Anderson, who had 59 tackles and three sacks.

Despite a shaky start against Austin LBJ, San Marcos rolled through non-district play with a 5-0 record beating LBJ, Austin Travis, New Braunfels Canyon, Cedar Park and Austin Bowie.

The Rattler defense allowed a combined 11 points through five games and shut out their last three district opponents.

The San Marcos Slot-T offense averaged 31 points per game during non-district play.

The Rattlers continued their dominance in district play walloping both Austin Del Valle and Dripping Springs in blowout wins to set up a showdown with the Bastrop Bears.

In a hard fought battle, San Marcos knocked off Bastrop using two third quarter touchdowns to the Bears 22-14.

The Rattlers clinched the district championship for the first time since 1966 by beating Lake Travis 47-0.

But San Marcos was not satisfied with just a district championship and a playoff appearance. The Rattlers wanted a perfect season, which had not been done since 1966.

Against longtime rival Lockhart, San Marcos blasted the Lions 49-7, running for 506 yards on the ground in front of 10,000 fans at Bobcat Stadium to secure a 10-0 season.

In the Bi-District round, San Marcos faced off with the Austin Anderson Trojans.

The Rattlers led by a point at halftime at 7-6 but rattled off 21 points in the second half to secure the playoff win at 28-12.

In the Area round, San Marcos met up with an old foe in the Smithson Valley Rangers.

The Rattlers met their match and couldn’t overcome the Rangers offense, losing to Smithson Valley 42-34.

The 2000 season produced one of the best offenses and defenses in Rattler football history from a statistical standpoint.

The San Marcos offense averaged 36.8 points per game over 12 games. A mark that wouldn’t be topped until the 2015 season.

The San Marcos defense held offenses to an average of 9.4 points per game, which has yet to be topped in the 2000s. Prior to the Rattlers game against Smithson Valley, San Marcos held offenses to an average of 6.5 points per game.

cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc