Bears take third win on the road

San Marcos Academy notched a 27-7 non-district win Sept. 20 over New BraunfelsBrooks Academy of Science and Engineering Tigers (1-3), improving the Bears’ season record to 3-1. 

Senior quarterback Bryce Patterson, the stat leader for total yardage and passing yardage in TAPPS Division III, District 3, ended the night just two yards shy of a 200-yard game. He completed 11 of 18 passes for 174 yards, throwing for three touchdowns and adding 24 yards on the ground. Junior Robby Newman led the Bear rushing attack with 34 yards on 7 carries.

All the Bears’ offensive points came through the air. Patterson shared the wealth among his receivers, hitting junior Gino Dipollino, freshman Cole Krackau and senior Zach Whitaker for touchdown receptions. Dipollino added another touchdown on a kickoff return and sophomore Inaki Infante was true on three PATs to round off scoring for the Bears. Infante leads the district in extra points.

Brooks Academy added points to the board first at their home field, scoring on a 62-yard pass at the end of the first quarter The Bears came back quickly, however, as Dipollino took an early second quarter kickoff and ran it 80 yards for a score. The Bears and Tigers then traded sacks and punts, and the Tigers were threatening to score again. But senior Daven Meredith thwarted their plans with an interception, setting up a Bear field goal attempt with four minutes left in the half.

Infante’s kick was wide, and the Tigers took over on downs, hoping to take a halftime lead. Junior Julian Hernandez stepped in with a big tackle to force the punt and give the Bears the ball. With under a minute to go, Patterson found Krackau, who ran the ball in for a 48-yard touchdown reception. This was the second touchdown in as many games for the freshman Bear.

Brooks attempted one more play after the kickoff, but freshman Wilson Guenther took the quarterback down with a sack, and the Bears took a 14-7 halftime lead into the locker room. 

The second half of the game was all SMA. Patterson connected with senior receiver Brendan Loyd in the third quarter on a long pass to set up a Zach Whitaker touchdown reception of 14 yards. In the final quarter, sophomore Hudson Lee and Patterson each had good runs to set up the final touchdown of the night, a 35-yard pass to Dipollino with 6 minutes to go. The Bears defense held strong as the clock ticked down, with Meredith and senior Caleb Guenther making key stops to hold the Tigers. 

Senior Gordon Murphy bolstered his spot as district leader in tackles, with three solo stops and nine assists in the game. Meredith was close behind with 3 solo tackles and 8 assists. Meredith also intercepted a pass, which he ran back for 18 yards. Junior Brett Houston added five solo tackles and 3 assists, and Wilson Guenther had two sacks, assisted on one by Meredith. Guenther leads the district in the sack category with four on the year.

The 3-1 Bears will be back at home Sept. 27 for the Academy’s homecoming football game against the St. Gerard Catholic High School Royals (1-3) at 7:30 p.m.