SMHS FOOTBALL
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The Countdown to Kickoff series takes a look at the upcoming 2025 season for the San Marcos Rattlers who look to make a return trip back to the postseason.
This week will preview the Rattlers final game of the regular season when San Marcos goes on the road to New Braunfels in a showdown with the Canyon Cougars.
Canyon finished the regular season with a 6-4 overall record and finished tied for second place with San Antonio East Central.
Against San Marcos, the Cougars defeated the Rattlers 52-7 in the final game of the regular season.
The Cougars defeated Medina Valley in the Bi-District round before defeating Brownsville Veterans Memorial in Area. Canyon’s season ended in the Regional Semifinals against San Antonio Harlan.
The Cougars return five starters on both offense and defense from last year’s team as Canyon looks to make back to back postseason appearances.
Leading the Canyon offense is senior running back Jackson Regan. Regan rushed for 1,860 yards and 25 touchdowns while catching 15 passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns.
On defense, junior linebacker Logan Andrews led the team in total tackles last season with 65, including 32 solo tackles and 10 tackles for loss. Joining Andrews is senior linebacker Elijah Delgado who made 51 total tackles along with 35 solo tackles and six tackles for loss.
The series history between San Marcos and Canyon dates back to 1998 where the two teams have played consistently against each other throughout the 2000s, 2010s and the 2020s.
The first ever meeting between the Cougars and the Rattlers took place in the 1998 season when San Marcos dropped down to Class 4A [Now 5A] into a district consisting of Canyon, Bastrop, Hays, Lockhart and Smithson Valley.
Despite the Cougars being the favorite, the Rattlers took down Canyon 45-15. Canyon qualified for the playoffs with an upset win over Hays while San Marcos missed the playoffs despite their 7-3 overall record.
The rematch in 1999 was highly anticipated as both teams looked to gain an advantage in the playoff race for the district opener.
In the highest scoring game of the series, the Rattlers defeated the Cougars 49-42 when running back Gilbert Palomares scored on a two-yard touchdown late in the game to seal the victory. Future Texas State quarterback Bradley George passed for 319 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for two more in the loss.
San Marcos and Canyon continued to play as nondistrict opponents after being separated into different districts following that year’s realignment. The Rattlers continued to dominate the Cougars winning both games in 2000 [48-0] and 2001 [46-7].
The series took a four year hiatus before resuming in 2006 where the Cougars notched their first ever win against the Rattlers 23-21, scoring the game winning touchdown with less than two minutes in the game.
San Marcos got their revenge the next season, defeating Canyon 28-21.
The Cougars racked up four straight wins against the Rattlers during the 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2013 seasons.
San Marcos snapped their losing skid against the Cougars with a 27-20 win in 2016 before racking up another victory in 2017 [39-20]. Canyon got their revenge in 2018 with a 49-21 win.
The showdown between the Rattlers and the Cougars during the 2019 season was another memorable moment for the series but for the wrong reasons. Heading into the final game of the regular season, both teams entered with 0-9 records with the loser getting the dreaded 0-10 season.
The Rattlers went up 279 over the Cougars in the fourth quarter before Canyon scored two late touchdowns to make it a one possession game. However, San Marcos recovered the ensuing onside kick to seal their first win of the season at 2722.
San Marcos leads the overall series against Canyon 8-7.
Kickoff for San Marcos and Canyon is scheduled for Friday Nov. 7 at Cougar Stadium in New Bruanfels. Start time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
The Rattlers defeated the Cougars 49-42 in the highest scoring game of the series during the 1999 season. Daily Record archives
