Rattlers head to Smithson Valley for final road game of season

With two games left on the schedule, head coach Mark Soto still has a big task left on his to-do list.

“We want to make this season memorable,” Soto said.

San Marcos has been up-and-down all season long, but the Rattlers are hoping to close out on a high note. 

The team hits the road one last time this week to take on Smithson Valley. San Marcos hasn’t faced the Rangers since the two teams shared the same district from 2012-13. Before that, the Rattlers won a 35-34 shootout over Smithson Valley in 2006.

“They’re a well-coached bunch,” Soto said. “They’re a good group of kids, but they’ve got some things in their scheme that we think we can take advantage of.”

Soto will hand the keys of the offense over to quarterback Noah Stubblefield for the sophomore’s second start this season. Stubblefield completed 8 of his 18 passes for 61 in his first career start last week against New Braunfels, but the head coach believes the quarterback can take another step forward in his development this week.

“I thought Noah played well (against New Braunfels),” Soto said. “He probably had some jitters in his first start. But he’s been taking reps in practice all week and he’s looked pretty good.”

San Marcos (1-7, 0-5 district) will head to Spring Branch on Friday for the last road game of the season against Smithson Valley (3-4, 3-2) at 7:30 p.m. Soto said he thinks his team still has what it takes to put up a strong performance.

“We just want to show the kids that they have gotten better each game,” Soto said. “And they just have to keep fighting.”

Rattler Gameday
San Marcos at Smithson Valley
Where: Ranger Stadium, Spring Branch 
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m. 
Radio: KTSW 89.9