Bears fall at home to undefeated Spartans

San Marcos Academy suffered its first loss of the season on Friday, falling to Austin St. Stephen’s Episcopal inside McCoy-Remme Athletic Complex, 66-44.

The Bears (2-1) kept pace with the Spartans (3-0) early on, only trailing 15-14 after the first quarter. But the visitors pulled away in the second and remained in front the rest of the game.

SMA junior quarterback Mitchell Howard completed 6-of-17 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown thrown to senior Inaki Infante-Valenzuela. Howard also led the team with 84 rushing yards and three scores on 14 carries, followed by senior Chizi Efobi, who gained another 34 yards and one touchdown on three carries.

The Bears will look to bounce back this Friday, hosting San Antonio Lutheran at 7 p.m.