SMHS FOOTBALL
San Marcos’ season came to an end as the Rattlers fell to the Austin Vandegrift Vipers 24-7 in the regional semifinals at the Alamodome.
The Rattlers finish the season with an 8-5 overall record while the Vipers improve to 11-2.
“Our defense was stellar,” Head Coach John Walsh said. “They took a good team [to the wire], kept us in the ballgame, and we just couldn’t get the ball moving on offense. This game’s about blocking and tackling, and we didn’t do one half of that very well.”
The Vipers struck first, scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run to lead 7-0.
Vandegrift got an interception on the Rattlers first drive but the Purple Thunder Defense had a response on the ensuing drive.
Javian Rhodes made the interception in the endzone to both keep the Vipers off the score board and give the ball back to the Rattlers.
Vandegrift scored again in the second quarter, hitting a 57-yard touchdown pass to lead 14-0.
The Vipers later tacked on a 30-yard field goal to go up 17-0.
The Rattler offense struggled to gain any traction against the Viper defense as San Marcos was plagued with numerous penalties, including eight false start penalties in the first half alone.
After the Rattlers punted on their first drive of the second half, the Vipers looked to extend their lead and put the game away. But the Purple Thunder defense refused to give up, forcing and recovering a fumble.
The Vipers tried to score again following another Rattler punt but the Purple Thunder defense stood tall once more, forcing and recovering another fumble, their third turnover of the night.
San Marcos scored for the first time in the fourth quarter as Buck Steyn hit Elliot Gray for a 42-yard touchdown pass, cutting their deficit to 17-7.
But the Vipers answered back with a touchdown drive of their own, scoring on a 20-yard run to extend their lead 24-7.
The Rattlers attempted one last drive to score another touchdown but the pass was intercepted by the Vipers.
Vandegrift then drove down to inside the redzone to drain the clock out and seal the win.
Despite the loss, this season marks the first time the Rattlers have been to the third round of the playoffs since 2006 and marks the most wins in a season since 2017.
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY SMCISD
