Boerne — A flat start proved to be too much to overcome for the San Marcos Rattlers Friday night, who suffered a 49-24 loss at Boerne Champion.

The Chargers, on the other hand, really couldn’t have asked for a better start, scoring four times after five possessions, all four coming with the help of quarterback Taylor Davis.

The senior threw for three scores and ran for another, allowing Champion to jump out to a 28-10 lead at the half.

“They came ready to play. I didn’t do a good job getting our guys ready to play and they definitely played harder than we did,” SMHS head coach Steve Van Nest said. “We seemed to be a step slow offensively and defensively, and they jumped on us and we could never catch up. They got the momentum and we could never regain it.”

Davis’ first strike was a 23-yard bullet to senior wide out James Hurd on the Chargers’ first drive, as he found the senior wide receiver open on an inside slant route to give Boerne a 7-0 lead with 9:36 left in the opening frame.

San Marcos countered with a solid drive of its own on the team’s initial possession, but the drive stalled at Champion’s 10-yard line, forcing the Rattlers to settle for a 27-yard field goal from Aaron Nunez.

But Champion made it look easy again on its next drive, as Davis ended a 6-play, 70-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown keeper. Kyle Bullard’s kick gave the Chargers a 14-3 lead with 3:55 left in the first quarter.

The Rattlers failed to take advantage of another scoring opportunity on their next drive, watching it stall out again at the Chargers’ 10-yard line.

San Marcos lined up for the kick, but it was a fake, as holder Ryan Schweers picked up the ball and unsuccessfully tried to pass to Michael Wilburn in the end zone.

Champion wasted little time getting back on the scoreboard when Davis completed his second touchdown pass of the half, this one a 51-yard connection with Hurd that put the Rattlers down 21-3.

Davis’ fourth score of the half came with 4:49 remaining when he found Blake Allemand open for a 39-yard scoring strike, giving the Chargers a 28-3 lead.

The third time into Champion’s red zone was the charm for the Rattlers, who scored their only touchdown of the half on the ensuing drive when Tyler Walker capped a 42-yard drive with a 4-yard score on a right-side sweep. Nunez’ kick trimmed the Chargers’ lead to 28-10, one they would take into the half.

San Marcos tried to get back into the contest when Michael Wilburn broke free for a 58-yard touchdown run with 6:09 remaining in the third quarter, but it was quickly nullified by the Chargers, who answered with a 77-yard scoring drive on six plays, capped by John Free’s 3-yard touchdown run.

San Marcos dug itself deeper into a hole when Schweers fumbled the ball under pressure, allowing the Chargers to take over at the Rattlers’ 27-yard line. One play later, the Davis-Allemand connection was in the scorebook again, this time with a 27-yard touchdown connection to give the Chargers a 42-17 lead.

“Bottom line is we can’t come out flat. We came out flat and dug ourselves a hole. We didn’t make the plays we had to and they did, and we really paid the price,” Van Nest said. “It’s like we slept-walk through most of the game and you can’t make good things happen when you do that.”

The Snakes added a meaningless touchdown with 28 seconds remaining in the game when Emanuel Saldana scored his first varsity touchdown on 4-yard dive.

The Rattlers tied for the onside kick, but disaster ensued when Champion’s David Rogers scooped up the ball and returned it 48 yards for the final score of the game, giving the Chargers’ the final 49-24 margin.

With the loss, San Marcos’ postseason hopes officially ended as the Rattlers fell to 1-5 (2-6 overall) in District 27-4A play.

San Marcos will try to end the season on a winning note when the team host Seguin Friday night.

“We’re capable of playing a lot better than we did. We are going to regroup and go at it one more time next week,” Van Nest said. “This team is never going to give up. That’s not in our nature to do that.”