By Randy Stevens
Sports Editor
San Marcos —
There’s really only one thing a football team can do after suffering a lopsided, season-opening loss, like the San Marcos Rattlers’ 42-0 setback against Marble Falls at Bobcat Stadium.
Live and learn.
Which is exactly what SMHS head coach Steve Van Nest told his Rattler squad after Friday night’s loss, which turned out to be the worst season-opening loss for the Snakes in 16 years.
“Obviously, this wasn’t the start we wanted and it hurts. I thought we would be more ready to play than that,” Van Nest said. “But we have to keep swinging. We have been in this situation before where we haven’t played well before things started to come together and we just have to try to learn and get better.”
Turnovers and an inability to stop the pass were the main ingredients to the Rattlers’ weak start.
Two fumbles and three interceptions didn’t help out the Rattlers’ cause, nor did the arm of Marble Falls quarterback Zed Woerner, who competed 9-of-10 passes for 239 yards and four touchdowns in the win.
His favorite target proved to be six-foot, three-inch senior David Morgan, who caught four passes for 157 yards, three of which were touchdowns.
The Mustangs started out slowly and led 7-0 after the first quarter before tacking on four more scores in the second for a 35-0 half-time lead. The Mustangs’ final score came in the third quarter when Woerner connected with Morgan for an 83-yard touchdown, the longest play of the game.
“We knew Morgan was going to be tough to defend and he had a size advantage on everybody,” Van Nest said. “Our secondary fought hard, but that was just a tough situation to be in. They had some big-time players and were a lot more of a veteran club than us and it showed.”
San Marcos, on the other hand, never threatened in the game as the Rattler offense struggled with new quarterback Terrance Wilburn at the helm. Wilburn completed one pass for 24 yards and threw two interceptions. His back up, junior Jordan Sanders, didn’t fare any better, competing one pass for two yards with an interception.
The Snakes also failed to take advantage of a number of early opportunities, as the Mustangs coughed up the ball twice in the first quarter. But SMHS would either turn the ball over on downs or with turnovers on seven consecutive offensive series.
“When you lose the battle of turnovers that bad, you can’t win football games,” Van Nest said. “You don’t expect to lose 42-0, but you can’t turn the ball over seven times in a row and win.”
San Marcos couldn’t gain any momentum on the ground as well, an area in which SMHS has traditionally thrived. The Rattlers managed only 104 yards of rushing with Wilburn leading the way with 35 yards on 12 carries. In all, San Marcos had only four first downs.
Van Nest said his team’s timidness also played a factor in the loss.
“We still haven’t played with fire and intensity. We let the fight come to us and we don’t take the fight to them,” Van Nests said. “It’s a confidence thing, and right now we’re struggling with our confidence.”
With two weeks to prepare for their next game, a Sept. 3 date at Hays, Van Nest said the team will use the time to evaluate and heal.
“We have a lot to work on, so I guess it (the open week) is a good thing,” Van Nest said. “I still don’t think we have shown the kind of football team we can be.”
