COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF

Countdown to Kickoff series continues once more to take a sneak peek at the San Marcos Rattlers 2023 football season The Rattlers are coming off of a 4-7 year while qualifying for the playoffs for the second straight season including beating Schertz Clemens and East Central in district to qualify.

San Marcos will also come into the season with a little bit of momentum as the Rattlers also qualified for the State 7-on-7 tournament, which will take place in June at College Station.

In their first regular season game, San Marcos will make the trip up into the Austin area as the Rattlers will take on the Hutto Hippos.

The Hippos are coming off of a 5-5 season where Hutto was unable to make the playoffs in a tough District 12 featuring Bryan, Copperas Cove, Harker Heights, Hewitt Midway, Pflugerville Weiss and Temple.

Some common opponents for Hutto during the 2022 season were a 49-16 loss to Cibolo Steele and a 24-23 win over Converse Judson.

In the first ever meeting between San Marcos and Hutto, the Hippos rolled to a 46-27 win over the Rattlers.

The Hippos threw for 329 yards behind then junior quarterback Will Hammond while rushing for 204 yards.

Though the passing game had their fits, the Rattlers run game was on point rushing for 198 yards in the loss.

Heading into this year’s matchup, one of the keys for San Marcos will be their ability to contain Hammond who threw for 2763 yards and 30 touchdowns while rushing for 728 yards and nine scores.

Hammond is also considered to be one of the top quarterback recruits in the state having committed to play for Texas Tech.

But while the defense will surely have their hands full, the other side of the ball will have their own unique challenge as well.

For the Rattler offense, San Marcos will see a slew of new faces take the field against the Hippos including a new starting quarterback, running back and a couple of wide receivers.

However, what will not change is the offensive line which returns the majority of their starters including senior Ory Williams.

Without a doubt, this will be an excellent measuring stick for San Marcos in the season opener.

Next time in the Countdown to Kickoff series for San Marcos, the Rattlers continue their road trip by driving the opposite way on I-35 to travel to San Antonio Madison to battle the Mavericks in a rematch of a thrilling overtime game between the two teams last season.

cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc