COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF

Rattlers square off with Thunderbirds

Countdown to Kickoff is back to highlight the upcoming 2023 season for the San Marcos Rattlers.

This week will take a look at the first home game of the season as the Rattlers host the San Antonio Wagner Thunderbirds.

Last year’s showdown between the Rattlers and the Thunderbirds was a thrilling one as Wagner held off a late San Marcos comeback to win 42-41 in overtime to win the first game of the season for the opposing team.

Though San Marcos scored the most points at this point in the season, the Rattlers were plagued with numerous mistakes with three turnovers and penalty killing drives that ultimately stopped the mighty purple from taking the win.

Despite starting the season at 1-3, the Thunderbirds rattled off five straight wins before losing the final regular season game of the season to New Braunfels Canyon to finish the regular season with a 6-4 record.

Wagner lost their Bi-District game against the College Station Cougars who then advanced all the way to the state championship game before falling to Aledo.

Coming into the 2023 season, the Thunderbirds are predicted to finish second in their district behind Smithson Valley while beating out Canyon, Seguin, and Hays.

Wagner comes into the Week 3 showdown returning five offensive starters and nine defensive starters.

One of the key matches for the game will be the strength on strength battle between the San Marcos offense and the Wagner defense with a particular focus on the war in the trenches.

The Thunderbirds will return three key starters on the defensive line in Greg Williams who had 12 sacks, 48 tackles and a one interception along with Jerry Allen and Azario Brooks who had 28 tackles and 22 tackles respectively.

For the Rattlers, the combination of Ory Williams, Brendon Jones and Elijah Ogunbase will look to hold down the front.

On the flip side, the battle between the San Marcos defense and the Wagner offense will be an interesting bout with both sides returning less than five starters.

The series history between San Marcos and Wagner is very brief with the Thunderbirds first football season coming in 2006.

This will be the sixth overall meeting between the Rattlers and the Thunderbirds with Wagner leading the series at 4-1.

Prior to their last meeting in the 2022 season, San Marcos and Wagner were district bunkmates for both the 2010-2011 and 2012-2013 realignment cycles.

In the first meeting between the two teams, the Thunderbirds rolled to a 42-7 victory during the 2010 season.

San Marcos took their first win of the series in 2013 when the Rattlers knocked off the Thunderbirds 33-22 at home.

cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc