Rattlers kick off 7-on-7 season with doubleheader

Kannon Webb called it the “No Fly Zone.”

The sophomore safety came up with the first interception of San Marcos’ 7-on-7 game against Marion inside San Marcos Toyota Rattler Stadium on Wednesday. The Bulldogs’ next four drives all ended in picks by the Rattlers. The hosts went on to win the game, 25-21.

“We started clicking and then once the defense gets the momentum, it’s just there for us,” Webb said. “It’s as simple as that.”

It was a decent start to the 7-on-7 season for San Marcos, especially after losing its first game to Buda Hays. Junior quarterback Alex Garcia explained that the Rattlers might have been overeager to begin the day.

“The first game, for the offense, we were just looking for the deep ball,” Garcia said. “That’s not really going to help us in 7-on-7. So, the second game, we came out here and just started going quick-game, just five-yard passes. And it gave us the dub.”

The offense was supported by the defense’s aggressiveness. On Marion’s next drive after Webb’s first pick, junior linebacker A.J. Gonzales snagged another interception. He tried illegally pitching it ahead to a teammate out of excitement, then walked off the field smiling, realizing his mistake.

Garcia found Webb, lined up at receiver, in the ensuing drive on a deep throw to the end zone for the Rattlers’ first score of the game.

“I feel like we responded well,” Webb said. “The first game didn’t really go our way. And the second game, we came out here and we competed, we executed our calls.”

That last part is important to the players’ coaches. They want to see well the players can carry over everything they learned from the spring.

“For us, 7-on-7 season is more about alignment, responsibilities and keys,” associate head coach Gilbert Rodriguez said. “Just remembering how to line up and make calls and execute the calls that we make. It’s kind of more practice, more repetition-type stuff for us. So, as long as we can compete and go through our scheme and stuff, we’ll be happy with that.”

Webb picked off the first throw from the Bulldogs after catching his touchdown. Junior safety Andres Alonzo followed suit on Marion’s next drive. Garcia threw for touchdowns after each turnover. 

The Bulldogs responded with back-to-back scores, but ran out of time to complete the comeback. 

“We just gotta learn how to play together,” Garcia said. “We’re still a young group right now and the way we run, we’re really good when we’re energized.”

Rodriguez agreed. He’s looking forward to seeing how the team can build the games as the team heads into the rest of its 7-on-7 season and summer practices.

“I think we did a very good job of bouncing back after the first game,” Rodriguez said. “Our guys regrouped and refocused and played their game. And we let the game come to us, like we like to call it and everything just worked out at the end for us.”