SMHS FOOTBALL
COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF
The Countdown to Kickoff series takes a look at the upcoming 2025 season for the San Marcos Rattlers as they prepare to hit the gridiron this fall in the hopes of making a return trip back to the playoffs.
This week will preview the Rattlers district road game against the Schertz Clemens Buffaloes.
Clemens is coming off a 2-8 overall season where the Buffaloes won their two games against the Austin Del Valle Cardinals and San Marcos.
In the Rattlers district game against Clemens, the Buffaloes won 35-8, scoring 28 unanswered points in the second half after San Marcos led 8-7.
On offense, the Buffaloes scored an average of 19.6 points per game and, while on defense, allowed 33.0 points per game.
The Buffaloes return seven starters on offense including wide receivers Christian Dupree, Derrick Williams and Trey Burton. Defensively, Clemens returns five defensive starters featuring linebacker Cylean Whitley and Kameron Hoosier.
The history of the San Marcos-Clemens series dates back to the 1960s when the Rattlers and the Buffaloes were paired in the same district.
In the first ever meeting between the two teams in 1964, the Rattlers dominated the Buffaloes 56-0 en route to the district championship. The next season, San Marcos again defeated Clemens, winning 66-0 en route to another district championship for the Rattlers.
The series went on hiatus before the two teams were reunited in 1976 after being placed in the same district once again. There San Marcos and Clemens played against each other in consecutive seasons from 1976 through 1981.
Clemens defeated San Marcos for the first time during the 1976 season, winning 24-14 before the Rattlers went on to win three straight games against the Buffaloes.
During the 1980 season, the game against the Rattlers and the Buffaloes ended in a 14-14 tie, the only and final result of the series to end in a draw. San Marcos rebounded to defeat Clemens 14-8 in the 1981 season.
The series went on another hiatus and wouldn’t be played for 18 years. But when the teams finally did meet during the 1999 season, it resulted in perhaps the greatest game of the series.
Leading up to their showdown in 1999, San Marcos not only qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1997 but won their first playoff game since 1966. The Rattlers then went on to defeat Austin Reagan and Floresville, advancing to their first regional final since the 1966 season.
Meeting the Rattlers in the regional final was Clemens who stunned favorite Smithson Valley 30-23 in the regional semifinals.
Despite being a two-touchdown underdog, the Rattlers gave the Buffaloes all they had as Clemens escaped with a 21-13 win, advancing to the State-Semfinals.
San Marcos and Clemens met again during the 2003 season in the Bi-District round of the playoffs after the Rattlers captured the district championship. The Buffaloes ultimately had the Rattlers number once again, defeating San Marcos 28-6.
Following their playoff meeting in 2003, the Rattlers and the Buffaloes were placed in the same district for the first time since 1981 for the 2004 and 2005 seasons.
Clemens won both matchups, winning 2814 in 2004 and 34-24 in 2005.
After being split up once again for the 2006 and 2007 seasons, the series was reunited once more for 2008 and 2009 when San Marcos and Clemens were placed in the same district. Again, Clemens continued their winning streak over San Marcos with another pair of wins before the series went on hiatus for a decade.
Both the Rattlers and the Buffaloes met on the gridiron for the 2018 season when both schools were put in the same district.
Clemens’ dominance over the Rattlers, winning both games against San Marcos to stretch their winning streak eightgames.
While many wondered when San Marcos would be able to end their losing streak against Clemens, the answer was not far behind.
After being split up for district in 2020 and 2021, San Marcos and Clemens were once again district rivals for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. However the Rattlers would finally get their comuppance.
In their district game for the 2022 season, San Marcos snapped their eight-game losing streak to Clemens, beating the Buffaloes for the first time since 1981 28-24 after a 22-yard touchdown pass from Isaiah Deleon to Jaidyn Brown with less than a minute remaining in the game.
The Buffaloes bounced back with a 48-41 win over the Rattlers the next season.
In the 17 meetings between the two teams, Clemens leads the overall series 11-5-1.
San Marcos-Clemens is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday Oct. 3 at Lehnhoff Stadium in Schertz.
cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
