SMHS FOOTBALL
Rattlers close out non-district at home against Lake Travis
The Countdown to Kickoff series takes a look at the upcoming 2025 for the San Marcos Rattlers as they prepare to hit the gridiron this fall.
This week will take a look at the Rattlers final non-district game of the season when San Marcos hosts the Lake Travis Cavaliers.
Lake Travis is coming off a 9-1 regular season where the Cavaliers finished in second place in District 26 behind Austin Westlake who gave them their only regular season loss. In the Cavaliers showdown against San Marcos, Lake Travis defeated the Rattlers 6213.
Lake Travis defeated both Round Rock and San Antonio Johnson to advance into regional semifinals. The Cavaliers defeated San Antonio East Central 52-7, advancing to the regional final where they met rival Westlake once again. Lake Travis fell to the Chaparrals 24-17.
The Cavaliers averaged 45.4 points per game on offense while the defense held opponents to just 16.3 points per game.
Lake Travis will look to rebuild on offense after losing their starting quarterback and leading wide receiver from last season.
Looking to help lead the offense is senior running back Vann Hopping. Hopping was the Cavaliers work horse, rushing for 1,528 yards on 210 carries and scoring 29 touchdowns. Also returning for Lake Travis is senior running back Wesley Glass. Glass rushed for 635 yards and seven touchdowns for the Cavaliers on 87 carries.
In the passing game, a pair of senior wide receivers will look to carry the offensive attack through the air. Senior Patrick Colby returns as the Cavaliers returning leading receiver with 33 catches for 560 yards and six touchdowns. Senior Lark Sidle also returns having caught 37 passes for 544 yards and seven touchdowns.
On defense, senior Carter Buck will look to lead the defense as Lake Travis’ returning lead tackler with 78 total tackles and 46 solo tackles.
The history of the San Marcos-Lake Travis series dates back 2000 when the Rattlers and the Cavaliers were paired in the same district.
The first meeting during the 2000 season between San Marcos and Lake Travis was a historic one for the Rattlers. After defeating Lake Travis 47-0, the Rattlers won their first district championship since 1966 before completing a perfect season.
The second meeting between the two teams ended with another win for the Rattlers who defeated the Cavaliers 45-7.
Both San Marcos and Lake Travis would not meet again on the football field until the 2020 season as both schools were once again put in the same district.
Between 2001 and 2020, Lake Travis established themselves as one of the biggest football powerhouses in the state, winning six state championships in that time span.
The Cavaliers defeated the Rattlers for the first time, winning 58-3. Lake Travis again defeated San Marcos during the 2021 season, winning 45-6.
Lake Travis leads the overall series 3-2.
Kickoff for San Marcos- Lake Travis is set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday Sep. 19 at Toyota Rattler Stadium.
cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
