San Marcos drops road game to No. 10 Converse Judson

CONVERSE — San Marcos caught No. 10 Converse Judson off guard. 

The Rattlers began Friday’s matchup against the Rockets inside D.W. Rutledge Stadium in Converse with an onside kick. It worked to perfection as San Marcos came up with the recovery and went to work on offense. 

Sophomore running back Benito Canales picked up a quick 10 yards on two carries to fuel a 10-play scoring drive. San Marcos found the end zone when senior quarterback Alex Garcia hit senior wide receiver Takai Madgett on a 9-yard slant to go up 7-0. 

But Judson answered immediately with a 74-yard touchdown run by senior running back De’Anthony Lewis on its first offensive play from scrimmage. The Rockets recovered their own onside kick on the ensuing kickoff and used it go up 14-7 after a five-play, 49-yard drive — capped off by a 6-yard touchdown run from senior quarterback Mike Chandler II. 

Judson never surrendered the lead following Chandler’s scoring run. The Rattlers (0-5, 0-2 26-6A) dropped Friday’s road game against the Rockets (5-0, 2-0), 62-14. 

“Really good start to the game offensively and defensively,” San Marcos head coach Mark Soto said. “We came out ready to go. We gotta learn how to overcome mistakes and we gotta understand that when something goes bad for the Rattlers, that doesn’t mean the whole game’s got to be bad. Then we’ve got to make some decisions midgame, you know, I think that’s the biggest thing, is it’s between our ears sometimes. We’re going to keep on working, that’s all we can do.” 

Trailing 28-7 in the second quarter, San Marcos scored its second touchdown of the night when speedy senior wide receiver Diego Cruz burst through the Judson defense for an 82-yard scoring run. 

But the Rockets took a 55-14 lead into halftime. 

Judson added a touchdown in the third quarter to secure the 62-14 victory. 

Following Friday’s result, the Rattlers head into a bye week looking for some much-needed rest. 

“We’re pretty banged up right now,” Soto said. “So, one, we’re going to get healthy, and two, we’re going to do some team bonding, and three, we’ll get ready for our next opponent.” 

San Marcos returns to action against Cibolo Steele on Friday, Oct. 11 inside San Marcos Toyota Rattler Stadium at 7:30 p.m. 

#BryceStrong

San Marcos wore orange wristbands and hung signs off the visiting bleachers that read “#BryceStrong” on Friday in support of Converse Judson player Bryce Wisdom, who is currently battling cancer. 

The two teams met at midfield after the game in a moment of reflection and prayer.

“It’s just important that these kids understand that this is just a ballgame out here,” Soto said of Friday’s postgame meeting. “Real life is happening and it’s happening in people’s faces right now and we gota understand that we’ve got to support people and stand behind people, especially when we have someone that’s sick with cancer and needs the prayer and the boost from everybody in the state of Texas.”