Rattlers look to build momentum against Wagner

San Marcos travels to Converse to take on San Antonio Wagner in their first road trip of the season.

The Rattlers secured their first victory of 2022 during week two, beating San Antonio Madison 31-24 in overtime at Toyota Rattler Stadium. The purple and white’s matchup with the Thunderbirds is the toughest test San Marcos had this season in head coach John Walsh’s eyes, and Wagner played single-digit games against District 27-6A foes Cibolo Steele, New Braunfels and Converse Judson last season. The Rattlers face off with the Thunderbirds in a Thursday contest, making this week’s preparation a quick turnaround.

“Early in the year Thursdays aren’t ideal, because we got so much to work on even coming off a victory,” Walsh said. “As good as we might’ve looked in some areas, we really weren’t very good yet. So, not fun (during) the short week. (I’m) really not fond of it on our defensive side of the ball, because we’re seeing the academy, double-slot, triple-option midline and they do it really well. And they’re well-coached. That’s difficult. So it is what it is, you know, you try to teach all you can teach as far as how to handle the week in these non-district games. So we’ve already seen over time, we’ve already got a short week on a double-slot team. So we’re getting it all early.”

Facing a triple-option attack is something the Rattlers are familiar with playing cross-county rival Buda Hays over the past three seasons, but it doesn’t make it any easier. Walsh thinks the Thunderbirds present similar difficulties in their offensive scheme, and have some wrinkles that make it even more difficult.

“Well, they’re just consistent — very consistent — you don’t see it ever, you know, so you get used to this kind of spread football that’s out there,” Walsh said. “And then this comes at you and they hit you pretty fast. And you can’t simulate in practice, because, you know, we don’t run it. So we can hardly simulate it very well. You just gotta have really good eye discipline. We’re simple on defense. So trust your keys, trust what your coach (does), and then just go execute it.”

On the offensive side of the ball, the Rattlers will focus on mitigating the Thunderbirds’ athleticism when it comes to matchups. Scheme-wise the purple and white are honing in on Wagner’s multiplicity.

“They’re very athletic and they’re pretty multiple, too. So they’re never in the same spot twice,” Walsh said. “Their best player is number 10. Against Liberty Hill, he played defensive end. against (Dripping Springs), he was a free safety and outside linebacker. And then in their scrimmage he was a mike linebacker. He’s tough to block no matter where he’s at. But they’re multiple. They’re athletic. I think they’re an upgrade of what we’ve been seeing, so we got some work.”

Evaluating the team overall, Walsh wants the Rattlers to focus on themselves and keep improving. While the purple and white did come out victorious against Madison (0-2), Walsh feels the team has some progress to make before San Marcos can get where it wants to be on the field.

“When we watched the video, (being) two weeks into it — even though we got a bunch of new guys starting — I know on the offensive side of the ball that they’re learning, man, we won (and) people think we mashed them and we did great, but we really played awful, honestly. So I think they just want to get better. And we’re not changing a bunch of stuff right now. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. We’re just trying to get better a little bit each week.”

San Marcos will hit the gridiron in Converse at D.W. Rutledge Stadium to face off with the Thunderbirds on Sept. 8 with kickoff set for 7 p.m. The Rattlers will look to start their first win streak of the season in week three.