PRIDE FUELS RIVALRY

Two area schools may not play often, but competition is strong when game is on

Despite its short history, the rivalry between Hays Consolidated and San Marcos is perhaps one of the most fierce in Texas.

As one of the longest tenured coaches at San Marcos High School, head baseball coach Brian Webb is all too familiar with the Hays County Showdown.

“It’s about bragging rights,” Webb said. “You can go to a store bragging about how we beat Hays or we beat San Marcos. It’s a pride thing. Both schools have a lot of pride in their communities.”

Though Hays High School first came into existence in 1968, following the consolidation of Buda High School, Kyle High School, and for a brief time, even Wimberley High School, the first Hays County Showdown was played in 1988.

Despite the fact that there have been only 18 football contests played in the Hays County Showdown in their 35 year history, the showdown remains one of the most exciting games of the season, no matter the sport.

“When you just play once a year, there is a lot of talking that goes on between the last game till the next one,” Webb said. “You can play a team from DFW or West Texas ,and it’s not as popular as the Hays game is.

'You can ask my ballplayers about the last 17 years and they can tell you everything about the Hays game to the exact detail. It’s just a fun and intense ballgame. The crowds are electric and both teams play extremely well, no matter what their records are.”

In the first Hays County Showdown, both teams met in the opener of the 1988 season.

As a precursor to future games to come, that game quickly became a classic.

Tied at 10-10 late in the fourth quarter, San Marcos faced a 3rd and 27.

Quarterback Chris Smith found wide receiver Juan Malanado for a 37-yard pass, keeping the drive alive for Smith’s only completed pass of the second half.

Running back Martin Flint put the Rattlers out in front, with a touchdown run with 5:42 left in the game.

But the Rebels were not done yet, driving all the way down to the San Marcos 12-yard line, using both a double option trick play and a halfback pass trick play.

But the Rattlers killed the drive, forcing a fumble with just 26 seconds left to seal the win.

Perhaps, though, the biggest game in the Hays County Showdown came in 1998.

Both Hays and San Marcos came into that Hays County Showdown with a pair of 7-0 records, with the district championship on the line.

In front of a sell-out crowd at Bobcat Stadium, with 16,300 in attendance, Hays stormed back from a 21-7 deficit in the second quarter to stun San Marcos 28-21.

The win was punctuated with a 3-yard touchdown run by Hays running back David Evans, for the then named Rebels first lead of the game with 4:47 left in the game.

The win was a part of a nine-game winning streak for Hays, after losing the first meeting to San Marcos.

The Rattlers finally broke the streak in 2002, when San Marcos went into Bob Shelton Stadium to knock off Hays 20-10.

Trailing 10-0, San Marcos scored 20 unanswered points en route to breaking the streak of losses.

The Rattlers defeated Hays the next year, before Hays ripped off another five-game winning streak, winning the 2010, 2011, 2018, 2019 and 2020 games.

San Marcos finally ended that streak when the Rattlers defeated the now named Hays Hawks in the highest scoring game of the Hays County Showdown, winning 62-49.

“It was kind of a breakthrough game for us,” Webb said. “Not just for us, but as a community and as a program. Hays is a perennial playoff contender, so to be able to go into a heated environment and score 62 points on them is pretty big. It puts us in the position to make a playoff run.”

The 2021 game remains the final time San Marcos and Hays have played on the gridiron Though no one is sure when the next game will be, what is certain is the next Hays County Showdown will be another barn-burner.

coltonbmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc