Promise Fulfilled: Rattlers down Eagles to earn first playoff berth since 2017

AUSTIN — The promise for head coach John Walsh and San Marcos is complete.

After making a deep 2017 playoff run, San Marcos went 4-25 over the next three seasons combined, missing the playoffs every year. Two-time state champion head John Walsh took over the program in 2020 and is no stranger to turning teams around, building his former school, Denton Guyer, into a state powerhouse from the ground up.

After a loss to New Braunfels in the 2021 season opener, Walsh made a promise to his team and the Rattler community that he would not let them miss the postseason. All eyes locked onto the purple and white over the next nine weeks — and they answered. 

With injuries to a long list of players, facing two state-ranked opponents and working with a generally inexperienced team, San Marcos had been counted out by almost everyone.

The Rattlers’ playoff hopes still hung in the balance heading into the final week of the season. The whole community knew it was win-and-in — win, and the words that clouded around Walsh’s promise could officially be lifted.

San Marcos took care of business on Friday, defeating Austin Akins at Burger Stadium, 49-28, clinching its first playoff berth since 2017.

.@RattlersSM HFC John Walsh on tonight’s win over Austin Akins, and San Marcos’s first trip to the playoff since 2017. ⤵️

Part 1:@smdrsports pic.twitter.com/R5vG322uRA

— Jude McClaren (@judemcclaren) November 6, 2021

“It really wasn't a false promise. It's just that I trusted the boys,” Walsh said. “I knew we had a good offseason. I knew how we stacked up talent-wise in the district. And some of it was comparable that we had to win some games. I said it a year and a half ago when I got here, the most impressive thing was how fast they trusted what we were saying.  And we never faltered on that … So that promise wasn’t hard to make.”

To start the game, San Marcos (5-5, 4-3 District 26-6A) went with the opposite of what its opponents have figured out they like to do: run the ball. Junior quarterback Isaiah DeLeon started the game with a deep pass to sophomore receiver Tony Diaz that fell right in front of his feet. Two plays later, the two connected on a 39-yard pass which looked like it would jumpstart the offense.

The unit suffered a setback, though. A pass intended for junior receiver Ryan Hix was picked off near the end zone, falling straight into senior athlete Kimani Smith's hands, who returned it all the way to the house and ignited the Akins sideline with the first score of the night.

Earlier this week in practice, San Marcos offensive coordinator Lee Vallejo said this team had seen it all. And after a deflating first drive, it showed. The Rattlers went back to their regularly scheduled program with a drive that concluded with junior running back Jaidyn Brown breaking off a 46-yard touchdown, knotting the score at 7-7 with 5:31 left in the first quarter.

San Marcos wasn't done responding to the slow start. Senior receiver Jamil Gordon found the end zone for a one-yard touchdown on a jet sweep to the right side on the next possession. The score gave San Marcos its first lead of the night, 14-7, just ahead of the second quarter.

It was Akins’ turn to respond. Initially, the visitors gave up a facemask on 3rd and 9 which kept the Eagles (4-6, 2-5) on the field. The Eagles found a successful offensive formula after punting on their first drive of the game by giving the ball to their playmakers. After his pick-six, Akins handed the ball off to Smith, who scored a five-yard touchdown two minutes into the second quarter. The hosts’ defense impressed again, holding San Marcos to zero total yards on the next drive and then swarming sophomore punter Kutter Gage Webb, who was tackled on San Marcos’ 10 after a fumbled long snap. Three plays later, Akins retook the lead on a one-yard keeper by senior running back Zach Cagle, making it 21-14 with 8:02 in the half.

Junior running back Jake Rodriguez-Scholz knotted it back up with a seven-yard touchdown. San Marcos got a stop with 39 seconds left in the half and it seemed as if the Rattler offense was going to take the game into halftime tied.

But the game was for a playoff berth. So on 4th and 2 with less than 30 seconds remaining in the second quarter, DeLeon dropped back like he was going to look deep for one of his receivers but burst through a big hole instead, like a stunt double out of a rocket. His legs churned out 52 yards and a score, taking San Marcos into halftime with a 28-21 lead. 

.@RattlersSM QB Isaiah DeLeon (@imd_14) and Edge Ja’Kwavius Simmons (@jakwavius) on tonight’s win and the team’s mindset heading into Playoffs. ⤵️

Part 1:@smdrsports pic.twitter.com/vYBohVnpLV

— Jude McClaren (@judemcclaren) November 6, 2021

“I mean, it's really just a game of a touchdown. We gotta go back, score again, get it back and then it's just keep doing your job,” DeLeon said. “You're doing what you need to do and your team will help you out with the rest.”

DeLeon’s performance is indicative of the team’s ability to respond to adversity. His playmaking wasn’t done. The quarterback skated in front of his sideline on a broken play and threw the ball across his body Patrick Mahomes-style to junior receiver Ryan Hix for a 32-yard touchdown, giving San Marcos a 35-21 lead. DeLeon expanded on his vision of the touchdown from his point of view.

“I threw it and then, as it was like halfway there, I said, ‘That's a touchdown,’” DeLeon said. “And then whenever he caught it and it was a touchdown, I just turned around because I ended up right in front of Walsh and (co-offensive coordinator Marvin) Nash. I turned around with big eyes. That was almost bad, but it worked out.”

Akins didn't let the play deflate their playoff hopes yet. A long 5:13 drive capped off by another Cagle one-yard touchdown cut San Marcos’ lead down to one score heading into the fourth. The Eagles wouldn’t score for the rest of the night due to immense pressure from the defensive line, specifically from Jaqwavius Simmons, who was lined up all night against senior offensive tackle and Kentucky commit Nickolas Hall. 

“(I had to) bring all my tools out of my toolbox and just work him,” Simmons said. “Mainly using my speed, my strength and agility.”

Brown reached the end zone two more times in the fourth quarter, securing a 49-28 win and postseason entrance for the Rattlers.

San Marcos went from a 2-7 overall record in Walsh’s first season to 5-5 in his second. The head coach explained what it took to turn the program around.

“When you're building a program, there's two things you have to really stay steadfast on and that is: you have to be patient when you're building a program, and then you gotta be loyal within that patience. We’ve got lots of loyalty,” Walsh said. “We've been patient. I'm glad in year two, we got into the playoffs.”

San Marcos finally gets a taste of postseason football for the first time in four years next week, taking on No. 24 Austin Vandegrift (9-1, 6-1 District 25-6A), who has only trailed in one game all year.

Playoff football is here. The Rattlers and Vipers have a date on the football field on Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. inside Ed W. Monroe Memorial Stadium.

“They’re a great football team. I have watched (Vandegrift) and they're gonna be a tough out. But they can get out and I've played in a lot of playoff games,” Walsh said. “I'm gonna watch that (Buda) Hays video (from the 2020 playoff game between Hays and Vandegrift) and try to learn a bit from (Hays head coach) Les Goad because we’ve got a similar team that they had last year. And we run the football and we can throw, as you saw tonight, so we're just going to go to work.”

San Marcos Stats

QB Isaiah DeLeon
10-17, 196 passing yards, TD, INT
16 carries, 163 rushing yards, TD

RB Jaidyn Brown
17 carries, 158 rushing yards, 3 TDs
1 catch, 15 receiving yards

RB Jake Rodriguez-Scholz
7 carries, 17 rushing yards, TD
2 catches, 46 receiving yards

RB Kanui Guidry
4 carries, 24 rushing yards

WR Jamil Gordon
1 carry, 1 rushing yard, TD

QB/P Kutter Gage Webb
1 carry, -15 rushing yards

WR Tony Diaz
4 catches, 68 receiving yards

WR Ryan Hix
3 catches, 37 receiving yards, TD