SAN MARCOS - Justin Tardy ran for 161 yards and three touchdowns and Donovan Garcia added another 106 yards and a touchdown as the San Marcos Rattlers opened their season with a 40-27 win against the Hutto Hippos at Toyota Rattler Stadium.
The Hippos, who trailed by as much as 20 with 7:13 remaining, recovered back-to-back onside kicks to cut the Rattlers lead to six, but could get no closer as the San Marcos defense forced Hutto to turn the ball over on downs.
Garcia put the game away two plays later with a 54-yard touchdown run with 1:27 remaining.
“It's been a while since that good feeling has been on this turf at Rattler Stadium,” Head Coach John Walsh said. “I'm glad the kids and coaches get to feel good. But most of all, I'm glad we picked up a win and learned there were a lot of situations in that football game for game one. So we got to go through all those situations. It was great.”
Rattlers quarterback Buck Steyn completed 10 of 16 passes for 171 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown to Jah’Marien Nichols to cap a nine-play, 75-yard drive to open the second half.
Tardy added another six catches for a team-high 89 yards, followed by Hank Harris with two catches for 56 yards.
Hutto quarterback Kaden Stefek opened the game with interceptions on back-to-back possessions, each of which led to Tardy touchdowns and a 13-point lead. Stefek finished with 206 yards and a pair of touchdown passes against three interceptions.
Hippos receiver Dylan Owens hauled in seven passes for 108 yards including a 30-yard touchdown, and Jaiden Fields added another seven catches for 72 yards.
The Rattlers defense held Hutto to 46 total yards rushing on 23 carries.
| HHS | 6 | 7 | 0 | 14 | -- | 27 |
| SMHS | 13 | 7 | 7 | 13 | -- | 40 |
First Quarter
SMHS - Justin Tardy 5 run (Julio Alvarado kick), 10:13
SMHS - Tardy 1 run (kick failed), 4:43
HHS - Brayden Daniel 31 interception return (kick failed), 2:31
Second Quarter
SMHS - Tardy 76 run (Alvarado kick), 3:38
HHS - Dylan Owens 6 pass from Kaden Stefek (Matias Aguilar kick), :42
Third Quarter
SMHS - Jah'Marien Nichols 14 pass from Buck Steyn (Alvarado kick), 7:31
Fourth Quarter
SMHS - Steyn 1 run (kick failed), 7:13
HHS - Josh Beckett 5 run (Aguilar kick), 3:32
HHS - Jaden Fields 30 pass from Stefek (Aguilar kick), 3:06
SMHS - Tardy 54 run (Alvarado kick), 1:27
| HHS | SMHS | |
| First Downs | 18 | 18 |
| Total Plays-Net Yds | 74-342 | 50-411 |
| Rushes-Yds | 23-46 | 37-270 |
| Passing | 206 | 171 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 16-38-3 | 10-16-1 |
| Sacked-Yds Lost | 5--25 | 1--8 |
| Punts-Avg-Net | 2-44.5-44.5 | 1-29.0-25.0 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 2-0 | 5-2 |
| Penalties-Yds | 6-41 | 14-101 |
| Time of Poss | 23:44 | 24:16 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING - HHS: Keilan Chavies 9-52, Josh Beckett 7-19, Kaden Stefek 6-(-19), Dylan Owens 1-(-6); SMHS: Justin Tardy 14-161, Jordan Lampkin 1-9, Donovan Garcia 15-106, Buck Steyn 7-(-6)
PASSING - HHS: Kaden Stefek 16-37-3 206, Jayden Fields 0-1-0 0; SMHS: Buck Steyn 10-16-1 171
RECEIVING - HHS: Dylan Owens 7-108, Jaiden Fields 7-72, Kelian Chavies 1-16, Carson Fields 1-10; SMHS: Justin Tardy 6-89, Hank Harris 2-56, Jah'Marien Nichols 1-14, Jordan Lampkin 1-12
PUNTING - HHS: Matias Aguilar 2-44.5-44.5; SMHS: Julio Alvarado 1-29.0-25.0
