San Marcos battles back at Buda Hays in season-opening loss to Rebels

BUDA — San Marcos fought back from a tough start Friday night against Buda Hays. 

But the Rattlers fell 41-13 to the Rebels at Bob Shelton Stadium        in Buda. 

“I think we battled at times,” head coach Mark Soto said. “We need to make plays when it's time to make plays. That's what the good teams do. But I like the effort. I like the grittiness. I like the toughness. We just didn't produce when we needed to produce.”

San Marcos (0-1) suffered a tough break to begin Friday’s game against Hays (1-0). Senior wide receiver Diego Cruz fumbled the opening kickoff and the Rebels recovered the ball in the end zone to go up 7-0 just 10 seconds into the game. 

The Rebels pushed their lead to 13-0 with a 2-yard run by junior running back Nathan Green midway through the opening quarter. Hays went up 20-0 when junior quarterback Durand Hill connected with running back Joeangel Carrasco for a 15-yard touchdown pass. 

But San Marcos responded when senior quarterback Alex Garcia capped off an 11-play, 76-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. The Rattlers cut the Rebel lead down to 20-13 when Gracia found sophomore wide receiver Malik Gordon on a 24-yard diving touchdown grab. 

“(Rallying in the second quarter) just shows the character of the kids,” Soto said. “I mean, they're not going to lie down for anybody. They're going to fight to the bitter end. And we'll make a couple plays here and there, we produce a couple touchdowns, take the ball away a couple of times and good things are gonna happen.”

San Marcos’ defense carried the momentum over to start the second half and forced a quick 3-and-out to start the third quarter. 

The Rattler offense picked up the pace with three straight runs of 43 combined yards to get deep into Hays territory. San Marcos got within the Rebel 2-yard line but an interception in the end zone ended the Rattlers’ possession. 

Hays took advantage of the turnover and scored off a 2-yard run by Quincy Jackson to extend its lead to 27-13. 

But San Marcos used a 41-yard run by Garcia to get to the Rebel 15 on the following possession. The Rattler drive ended on a turnover on downs. 

Hays scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to seal the 41-13 win over San Marcos. 

Following Friday’s result, Soto said his team learned the importance of producing in key situations. 

“At the end of the day, you gotta produce,” Soto said. “You gotta make tackles. You gotta score the ball. You gotta make the big quarterback sacks. You gotta produce.”

Garcia finished the night with 163 yards passing on 15 completions for one touchdown and two interceptions. The Rattler deployed a combination of Cruz, Garcia and Darren Garza in the run game, who rushed for a combined 149 yards and one touchdown. 

San Marcos’ season continues on the road against San Antonio Johnson on Saturday, Sept. 7, at 7 p.m. inside Jerry Comalander Stadium in San Antonio.