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 year and make a return trip back to the playoffs.
This week will preview the Rattlers home district game against the San Antonio East Central Hornets.
The Hornets are coming off a 7-3 regular season where they finished third in the District 29 standings.
Against San Marcos, the Hornets defeated the Rattlers 50-0.
Going into the Division 1 bracket of the 6A playoffs, East Central defeated Laredon United South 49-28 to capture the Bi-District title. In the Area round, the Hornets defeated Weslaco 37-30 to advance to the third round of the playoffs for the first time since 1985.
East Central’s season ended in the regional semifinals against Lake Travis where the Hornets fell 52-7 to finish their season with a 9-4 record. The Hornets averaged 40.8 points per game on offense while the defense allowed 30.5 points per game.
East Central returns three offensive starters and two defensive starters from last year’s team who are predicted to finish fifth in district according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine.
Looking to lead the offense is the wide receiver duo of Dei’Rionn Smith-Cline and Joseph Kelly.
Kelly led the team in receiving yards with 51 catches for 776 yards and 12 touchdowns. Smith-Cline was second with 40 catches for 749 yards and 13 touchdowns, a team high last season.
Also returning for the Hornets on offense is wide receiver Jay Crosby, who caught 28 passes for 359 yards and three touchdowns.
On defense, the Hornets are led by the linebacker duo of Braylon Blair and Gabriel Chavarria. Blair led the team in total tackles with 127 along with 46 solo tackles and 13 tackles for loss. Chavarria was fifth in total tackles with 50 along with 27 solo tackles and 11 tackles for loss.
The series history between San Marcos and East Central dates back to the late 1980s where the two high schools have become common opponents for one another including having played 10 out of the 11 years.
The first ever meeting between the Rattlers and the Hornets took place during the 1986 season where the two teams were paired as district opponents. East Central took the first game, beating San Marcos 23-20.
The two teams played eight consecutive games against each other from 1986-1993 with the Hornets winning seven out of the eight games. The Rattlers lone and first victory over East Central came during the 1988 season when San Marcos won a thriller 28-26.
The series was put on hiatus for over a decade until both teams were put in the same district again for the 2004 and 2005 seasons.
This time the Rattlers flipped the script and dominated both games, winning 69-20 in 2004, their first win over the Hornets since 1988, then winning 48-21 in 2005.
The series went on another long hiatus until 2014 where the teams have been consistent opponents for each other.
The Rattlers continued their winning ways against the Hornets with a pair of high scoring and thrilling victories, defeating East Central 59-56 in 2014 followed up with a 45-44 in 2015.
The 2014 game featured quarterback and current Boston Red Sox David Hamilton passing for 131 yards and one touchdown while rushing for 387 yards on 19 carries and six touchdowns.
East Central snapped their four-game losing streak against San Marcos, winning their 2016 showdown 40-21 before the Rattlers defeated the Hornets 28-0 in 2017. The Hornets rattled off two more victories in 2018 and 2019 in district play.
San Marcos and East Central were scheduled to play as non-district opponents during the 2020 season, but the Covid-19 Pandemic shortened the non-district schedule for 6A and 5A schools, forcing the game to be canceled.
The series returned for the 2021 season with the Rattlers defeating the Hornets 28-16.
Reunited as district rivals once again for the 2022 season, the Rattlers and the Hornets faced off in another classic. San Marcos defeated East Central 20-16 after the Rattlers completed a double-reverse pass to score the game winning touchdown with less than a minute remaining in the game to clinch a playoff berth.
East Central bounced back to win the last two meetings between the two teams.
The Hornets lead the overall series against San Marcos 12-8.
Kickoff for San Marcos- East Central is set for Friday Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m.
cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
