HS Countdown to Kickoff: Rattlers take on Unicorns in season opener

Last year’s season opener against New Braunfels was one of the better showings for San Marcos in 2020 on both sides of the ball.

The Rattlers offense picked up gains of 20 or more yards on six different plays. Junior running back Kanui Guidry broke free for a 99-yard touchdown and finished the night with 257 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries. And the defense earned two takeaways — a fumble recovered by senior linebacker Nelson Coleman and an interception grabbed by senior safety Kannon Webb.

But San Marcos still came up short, 35-31, after surrendering eight penalties, a turnover of their own and four missed PAT attempts.

The purple and white will look to avoid their self-inflicted mistakes when they match up with the Unicorns in the 2021 season opener. New Braunfels went 4-4 overall last season and 2-4 in District 27-6A play, finishing in sixth place.

The Unicorns will be without three-year starting quarterback Peyton Driggers, who graduated in the spring, and will need to find a new signal caller behind center. Whoever does win the starting job will inherit many of Driggers’ top targets. Senior and junior wide receivers Trace Higginbotham and Jacob Redding each caught a touchdown against the Rattlers last year and will both be back. Senior running back Ryker Purdy will also return after a strong season in which he ran for 942 yards and 12 scores on 156 rushes.

New Braunfels will have a lot of rebuilding to do defensively after losing their top three producers of tackles, sacks and interceptions. The Unicorns will likely lean on senior defensive back Kobe Smith, who finished the year with 54 tackles, including two for a loss, five pass deflections and one forced fumble. Senior linebacker Ryan Wilson could be another name that makes a leap after 53 stops and two tackles for a loss.

San Marcos and New Braunfels kick off the 2021 season opener on Aug. 27 at 7 p.m.