San Marcos falls in district opener to Lake Travis

AUSTIN — San Marcos (1-2, 0-1 district) surprised the No. 8 team in the state Lake Travis (2-0,1-0) with an onside kick that bounced perfect enough for junior running back Kanui Guidry to fall on it and jumpstart the Rattler offense. 

The team successfully completed a fourth down attempt with a handoff to Guidry but the Cavalier defense held the visitors up on the next set of downs, setting up senior kicker Jose Duenez for a 32-yard field goal.

“We were going to onside kick the whole first half, and as it got away from us it made no sense, you know,'' head coach John Walsh said. “I know what you're supposed to do when you're down like that. We were onside kicking and we planned on going for it and not punting, you know, but in the middle of the second quarter it turned on is pretty good.”

That was the last time San Marcos scored. Lake Travis went on to score 58 unanswered points in a 58-3 win over the Rattlers.

The offensive output was ignited by a 63-yard strike by sophomore quarterback Bo Edmundson to senior wide receiver Aden Nava. The ball was tipped by San Marcos’ safety as Nava swooped in like a hawk and went untouched into the black and red end zone, giving the hosts a 7-3 lead in the first.

That connection from Edmundson to Nava continued as the senior found the endzone again from 19 yards out, unscathed over the middle.

Meanwhile San Marcos, following it’s first drive, struggled to find a rhythm on the ground. The Cavalier defense held the Rattlers to their lowest rushing total of the season with just 116 yards.

“They already play a big box, you know, they play a 4-2 front and their safeties fit tight. The game plan was to get 2.6 yards in 40 seconds and kill the clock. And we just didn't get 2.6 yards. I think we tried to bounce it a little too much and we just needed to stick our nose in there and we're gonna get better at that.”

A stacked box and three more touchdowns from the hosts rewarded them with a 45-3 lead at halftime.

Identical to the first drive of the game, the Rattlers were able to get some momentum, starting with sophomore quarterback Isaiah DeLeon cutting up the field for a 43-yard carry — the longest of the night for San Marcos. 

But Lake Travis’ Cover 2 defense held firm for the next four plays, inciting a turnover on downs. 

The Cavaliers played keep away with an 11-play drive in the fourth, running 8:27 off the clock securing the win over San Marcos. 

Walsh isn’t too worried about playing the ranked opponents on his schedule. The coach understands this is a new and improved team still fixing the kinks with the system.

“(Lake Travis) is going to contend for a title. And I thought we did some really good things. I told them after the game, ‘Our season’s not about Lake Travis and our season’s quite frankly not about Westlake,’” Walsh said. “It's what's gonna happen after that. We came out healthy tonight. We're going to use this film to make us better and then we'll do the same thing next week.”

The Rattlers prepare for another tough test next Friday against No. 4 Austin Westlake on Oct. 16 inside San Marcos Toyota Rattler Stadium at 7:30 p.m. 

San Marcos Stats

Passing
QB Isaiah DeLeon
2-9, 8 yards

Rushing
QB Isaiah DeLeon
13 carries, 66 yards

RB Jake Rodriguez-Scholz
6 carries, 34 yards

RB Kanui Guidry
17 carries, 25 yards

WR Kannon Webb
3 carries, -11 yards

QB Noah Morgan
1 carry, 2 yards

Receiving
WR Kannon Webb
1 catch, 5 yards

RB Jake Rodriguez-Scholz
1 catch, 3 yards