San Marcos Academy (SMA) bested six-man newcomer Menard 68-57 in the Bears’ third matchup of 2022 on Sept. 8.
The Bears and Yellowjackets went back and forth throughout the game, with special teams being the main factor that got SMA the win. One thing that really made the difference for us was special teams. Senior Cole Krackau hit all but one of his PATs and Menard had to settle for one-point attempts after several unsuccessful PAT attempts.
Krackau is one of the Bears’ senior leaders and is having to take on even more responsibilities with the absence of fellow senior Mitchell Howard. Howard was injured on Sept. 2 during SMA’s 66-54 win against Bracken Christian. Another key to the Bears’ victory was senior TJ Murphy. TJ had successful snaps throughout the game at the center position, caught five passes and returned an onside kick attempt for a touchdown. TJ was also impactful defensively totaling five unassisted tackles, nine assists, a tackle for loss and forced a fumble and recovered it.
In Howard’s absence, the Bears started junior CJ Crauthers who came up big — throwing for 267 yards and six touchdowns.
“This was a tough, hard-fought win. Menard is new to six-man, dropping from 11-man for the first time this year. They made the most of a size advantage, and Jaykob Guerrero really carried the load for the Yellowjackets offensively, rushing for over 400 yards,” Athletic Director Toby Wade said via email. “We knew Guerrero, a senior, would be a handful. He ran for over 1,700 yards last year on a team that struggled in their last season of 11-man football.
“The game was an offensive shootout for sure, but was a hard-hitting battle. Our defense made stops when they were needed most, and the two fumbles we recovered were both big. We have some work to do, on (Sept. 17) we host Emery-Weiner — our opponent in last year’s state championship game.”
The rematch of last year’s TAPPS Six-Man Division II state championship will take place on a Saturday, with kickoff at San Marcos Academy set for 6 p.m on Sept. 17.
