The Rattlers fell to East Central, 45-21, in a game that was much closer than the final score. The Rattlers opened up the game with a 14-6 lead but weren’t able to regain it after a 15-0 run from the Hornets before halftime.
San Marcos’ offense looked in rhythm to open the game, but they couldn’t get out of their own way on their first drive. The Rattlers had two first downs on the possession, but both were called back due to penalties on San Marcos.
The Rattler defense bowed up though, and they had to do it twice due to a face mask penalty on a tackle that would’ve sacked East Central’s punter and given San Marcos field position inside the Hornet’s red zone. The Rattlers forced a three and out again, giving San Marcos possession.
San Marcos capitalized on the stop, marching 95-yards down the field off the back of chunk plays from sophomore running back Donovan Garcia and senior wide receiver Tony Diaz. Sophomore fullback Ryan Loera finished off the drive with a touchdown rush from 10-yards out to give the Rattlers a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.
East Central had a response of their own. The Hornets returned the kickoff to their 38-yard line to give them solid field position to start, and then used their rushing attack to methodically move down the field. East Central finished off the possession with a seven-yard rush for a score, but missed the extra point to make it 7-6 early in the second.
San Marcos’ rushing attack kept the wheels of their offense churning on the Rattler’s next possession. Garcia took a carry 46-yards to the Hornet’s red zone on the Rattler’s second set of downs during the drive, and finished it off with a one-yard score on fourth down to push San Marcos' lead to 14-6.
East Central kept swinging offensively as well. The Hornets took a page out of the Rattler’s book and had a 45-yard rush that moved them into San Marcos territory. The Hornets finished off the drive with a 17-yard rush for a score and a QB scramble into the end zone on a two-point conversion attempt to tie things at 1414.
San Marcos wasn’t able to keep their scoring going on their fourth possession. East Central forced a three and out with the Rattlers deep in their own territory because of a holding penalty on the kickoff return. The punt gave the Hornets less than half of the field to go, with the starting possession on the Rattler’s 48-yard line.
The Hornets milked the final three minutes of the clock in the second quarter on their way to an eventual 1-yard rushing score to take a 21-14 lead despite the San Marcos defense’s best efforts to keep them out of the end zone before half.
“Everybody's gameplan revolves around Tony. Tonight they doubled Tony from the beginning. That's why the run was breaking. They loaded the box and that’s what they did last week against Clemens and it's how they beat them,” head coach John Walsh said. “So we were prepared for that. And then they [went] one on one with Tony and then we hit some big [plays] but you know, in the game of football you got to run that sucker to have success.”
East Central came out of halftime with a bang. The Hornets returned the kickoff to the Rattler’s 49-yard line, and then distributed the football through the air in chunks before punching it in the end zone on an 18yard touchdown reception. The scoring drive extended the Hornet’s lead to 28-14 early in the third quarter.
San Marcos wasn’t ready to lay down yet, though. The Rattler duo of Webb and Diaz connecting through the air pushed San Marcos down the field, and ended with a short-yardage touchdown connection in the left side of the end zone to cut the Hornet’s lead to 28-21 midway through the third quarter.
East Central’s offense was looking just like it had its last possession, converting on third downs and moving the ball through the air–then the Rattler defense bowed up near their own red zone. San Marcos forced a turnover on downs on fourth and long after stuffing a QB scramble attempt, and would regain possession on their own 28yard line.
The momentum only lasted so long for the Rattlers. The Hornets got their first takeaway of the game on an interception on third and medium on San Marcos’ first set of downs during the possession.
“Yeah, I mean it just they did a great job. They kept getting off the field. That fourth and one–I mean that's momentum–we just got to capitalize we got to convert on first down to six minutes to go,” Walsh said. “And we just didn't get the ball going offensively to answer what they were doing on defense.”
It seemed like the Rattlers quickly got the stop they needed on defense thereafter, but the Hornets ran a fake punt and converted on fourth and medium. The Rattler defense kept fighting though, and got a second chance to force a turnover on downs when East Central went for it inside Rattler territory and forced an incompletion.
San Marcos did get one first down on their following drive, but were stopped at their own 38-yard line and forced to punt. East Central regained possession on their own 18-yard line, and drove all the way down to the San Marcos 20-yard line before the Rattler defense showed another impressive effort. The Rattlers stuffed the Hornets on fourth and short by just inches to regain possession and keep the game at just a one-score deficit in the fourth quarter.
The Rattlers were pushed to a fourth and short after two short-yardage completions and elected to go for it. Diaz was able to get a hand on the ball near the sideline–but it was just out of reach, leading to a turnover on downs for San Marcos and giving East Central (4-6, 2-3) possession on the Rattlers’ 24-yard line.
The Hornets would be stopped by the Rattlers once again, but would take the points and kick a 27yard field goal to extend their lead to 31-21 late in the fourth quarter.
San Marcos would try to push the ball down the field and score, but the Hornets got an interception and returned it for a touchdown to push their advantage to 38-21. The Rattlers would try again with the onside kick recovery still being an option, but East Central got another pick six to put the final at 45-21.
San Marcos (0-10, 0-5) finishes the season without a much-coveted win, but put on one of their best defensive performances of the season.
“There's nothing good you can tell your team on an 0-10 season other than what I told them,” Walsh said, adding, “They were always trying to prepare themselves and get ready for a win. It just wasn't in the cards. I told the seniors with what you had to go through, [you] come out here and hold your head up and keep going. There's going to be a time in your life, that it's not going to be easy, but you've already been through it. And that's just what athletics and football does.”
