San Marcos hosts New Braunfels in 2020 season opener

This season’s San Marcos football team will have an unfamiliar look to it.

The coaching staff this year is a mixture between new head coach John Walsh’s old Denton Guyer crew and some of San Marcos’s top coaches from the previous season. The new staff will make its debut against a tough opponent in New Braunfels.

Offensive coordinator Lee Vallejo — one of the Guyer additions to the Rattlers — said teams rarely run what New Braunfels does defensively up in the Metroplex. Head coach John Walsh's point of emphasis for the San Marcos offense this week was to play against the Unicorns’ look all week to figure what they will have to do to combat it. 

“We have to be smart football players, be intelligent. They show two fronts on film. They run a base 3-4 and they show some four man to some two back. So we have a plan for both,” Walsh said. “(Monday) I was a little worried about dealing with the two fronts but (Tuesday) I felt really good about our offensive line making the right checks and (sophomore quarterback) Isaiah (DeLeon) was getting it to the right place, so it went pretty smooth.”

In contrast to New Braunfels, who bring back four starters on each side of the ball, the Rattlers are fairly young. But the offense has talent behind their offensive line. Starting quarterback Isaiah DeLeon will get his first taste of varsity competition against a defense that gave up 25 points per game last season and only gathered eight sacks during the year. The Unicorns not being able to get pressure on DeLeon may allow him to find a rhythm throughout the game, something Walsh said his quarterback was able to do throughout the Rattlers’ scrimmage against Smithson Valley last week.

The sophomore under Walsh’s scheme is going to have to make decisions on the fly. The connection between him and his receivers is growing day by day but the quarterback thinks the offense is the most dangerous when it finds a rhythm.

“I think we’re pretty comfortable,” DeLeon said. “Whenever we're really going, it's really exciting to watch. It's explosive.”

San Marcos’ defense has their hands full with the Unicorns’ two-headed attack. Senior quarterback Peyton Driggers and junior running Ryker Purdy were responsible for 15 touchdowns on the ground alone, running behind their big offensive line. 

The Rattlers will need to control the line of scrimmage in order to stop Purdy from breaking out runs for large gains. The junior had two 100-yard rushes for scores last season and has a quick burst through tight gaps to pick up yardage. With defenses focused on stopping him, Driggers was able to put up 2,053 passing yards on over 205 yards per game.

“They run the ball very efficiently but watching film, their quarterback has a nice, quick release. He's a good quarterback and when you got that spot right, those chains seem to move. So he's a concern,” Walsh said. “Their front is big, so they’re gonna try to lean heavy on the big boys up front with Purdy behind them and Driggers can deliver the ball.”

Senior defensive back Kannon Webb has been taking college offers all summer and is looking to boost his stock in his final year in a Rattler uniform. With three years under his belt, he’s learned simplicity is key and the San Marcos defense's game plan to stop the Unicorns follows that.  

“(We need to) hit them hard and hit them a lot,” Webb said. “We’re taking care of our business. We’re doing what our coaches are asking us to do and we have our game plan for them and we plan on shutting them down.”

This game means more than just the first for the head coach of the Rattlers. Walsh could make history in his first game as the leader of the San Marcos football team. He has a chance to beat New Braunfels for the first time since 1982. In the ‘80s, the Unicorns had the winningest 4A record in Texas and capped off the ‘82 season with a semi-finalist appearance at state. But the Rattlers were able to knock them off during the season. Walsh has a chance to do the same.

“Everything's not familiar to me down here, so I've done my research. The one thing that I do know is, (the Rattlers) haven't beat them since 1982. So we're hoping to help to change that this year,” Walsh said.

Walsh and company take the field for the regular-season opener at San Marcos Toyota Rattler Stadium against New Braunfels on Friday at 7:30 p.m.