Buck Steyn’s 2-yard touchdown run capped a season-long 19-play, 75-yard drive that ate up more than nine minutes of the third quarter and put the San Marcos Rattlers back into the lead for good in a 27-17 win against District 29-6A opponent Converse Judson at D.W. Rutledge Stadium.
San Marcos, which had several starters serve first-half suspensions for participating in last week’s brawl in the loss to East Central, scored on its first two possessions while the Rockets kept pace using long scoring drives of their own, then took the lead briefly on a 26-yard field goal just before halftime.
But once the Rattlers’ suspended starters took the field in the second half, it was a different story. Judson gained a total of 56 yards in the second half, punting twice and losing the ball a final time on downs.
San Marcos running back Justin Tardy ran for 66 yards and two touchdowns on a team-high 16 carries, followed by Steyn with 47 yards and a score on 13 carries. Steyn added another 110 yards passing and a touchdown, a 53-yard catch-and-run to Jordan Lampkin.
It was Steyn’s only pass attempt of the half.
Steyn kept the 19-play drive going with a 15-yard strike to Hank Harris on third-and-15, ran for seven yards on third-and-3, and connected with Elliott Gray on a 23-yard sideline catch on fourth-and-9 before the quarterback scored his touchdown on third-and-goal.
Steyn’s completion to Gray may have been his best pass of the night as rolled right and dropped the ball between Gray’s back shoulder and the sideline near the Judson 3.
Judson quarterback Dominick Davis completed seven of 13 passes for 107, while Kayden Graham and L.J. Shipman ran for Rockets touchdowns.
The win moves San Marcos to 3-1 in district heading into this week’s matchup at New Braunfels Canyon. The Cougars advanced to 3-0 in district last week with a 28-7 win against East Central.
San Marcos 27, Converse Judson 17
| SMHS | 14 | 0 | 6 | 7 | -- | 27 |
| JHS | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | -- | 17 |
First Quarter
SMHS - Justin Tardy 4 run (Julio Alvarado kick), 7:33
JHS - Kayden Graham 2 run (Pablo Trevino kick), 2:51
SMHS - Jordan Lampkin 53 pass from Buck Steyn (Alvarado kick), 1:10
Second Quarter
JHS - L.J. Shipman 5 run (Trevino kick), 5:45
JHS - FG: 26, Trevino, 0:04
Third Quarter
SMHS - Steyn 2 run (pass failed), 2:44
Fourth Quarter
SMHS - Tardy 1 run (Alvarado kick), 9:16
SMHS JHS
First Downs 18 14
Total Plays-Net Yds 53-329 51-216
Rushes-Yds 42-219 38-109
Passing 110 107
Comp-Att-Int 6-11-0 7-13-0
Sacked-Yds Lost 0-0 1-0
Punts-Net Avg. 0-0 1-18
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 3-0
Penalties-Yds 10-78 5-35
Time of Poss 27:08 20:52
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING - SMHS: Justin Tardy 16-66, Elliott Gray 4-55, Donovan Garcia 9-51, Buck Steyn 13-47; JHS: Kayden Graham 10-43, A.K. Davis 5-39, J.J. Clay 3-14, Brayden Smith 4-12, Dominick Davis 11-10, Kedrick Hedrick 1-3, L.J. Shipman 3-0, Pablo Trevino 1--12
PASSING - SMHS: Buck Steyn 6-11-0 110; JHS: Dominick Davis 7-13-0 107
RECEIVING - SMHS: Jordan Lampkin 2-55, Hank Harris 2-25, Elliott Gray 1-23, Justin Tardy 1-7; JHS: A.K. Davis 2-45, Jay'Maree Bowens 1-36, Kayden Graham 2-14, J.J. Clay 2-12
