San Marcos offers winning Clemens every possible punch

San Marcos gave Clemens every punch they had.

The Rattlers lost a heartbreaker at Lehnhoff Stadium in a back and forth shootout, where San Marcos outscored the Buffs 27-7 in the second half, yet falling 48-41.

The Rattlers start to the game looked promising defensively, stuffing a read option and a screen pass to a receiver. But then the Buffs took all the momentum on third and long–Clemens’ quarterback got off a screen pass under pressure, and the Buffs took it all the way to San Marcos’ red zone. They’d finish off the drive with a short yardage score up the middle to go ahead 7-0 early.

Things wouldn’t get better for the Rattlers on their next drive. After starting the drive with two procedural penalties, the Purple and White weren’t able to move the chains and were forced to punt after a three and out.

The Buffaloes would take the opportunity to extend their lead and run with it. On Clemens’ second play of the drive, they’d take a handoff all the way down to the Rattlers’ red zone and score on a 10-yard pass afterwards. That score put the Buffs at a 14-0 advantage midway through the first quarter.

But San Marcos (0-6, 0-1) did have one wrinkle they hadn’t shown before this season–junior athlete Braydon Heyward at quarterback. Heyward took a read option from San Marcos’ own 40yard line to inside the Buffaloes’ 10-yard line. He’d finish the drive on a short-yardage passing score with senior receiver Fabian Castaneda, to cut Clemens’ lead to 14-7.

The Buffaloes offense would continue to do more of the same on their next drive, but this time in a different way. Clemens methodically moved down the field with chunk rushes, instead of the explosive runs they had on their first two possessions. They’d take advantage of the drive and score off a read option QB-keeper to push their lead to 21-7.

“The first half went kind of how the season’s gone,” head coach John Walsh said. “Things didn’t go our way. We did stay ahead of the chains, we just didn’t finish drives off and we had a turnover.”

Clemens’ (3-3, 1-0) momentum had only just begun. The Buffs forced and recovered a fumble after a catch that would’ve resulted in a third down conversion for San Marcos. The Buffaloes profited off their turnover, scoring on a 40-plus yard rush in the ensuing possession, to bring their lead to 28-7.

The turnovers would continue for San Marcos, with another fumble occurring in the backfield on their following drive. Clemens once again capitalized off their turnover, scoring from 19 yards out to extend their advantage to 35-7.

The Rattlers were able to find senior receiver Tony Diaz on their next drive for the first time in the game, and it resulted in points. Senior quarterback Kutter Gage Webb and Diaz connected on a 50-yard score over the top of the defense to give the Rattlers their second score of the game, cutting Clemens’ lead to 3514 late in the first half.

It was enough time for Clemens to get one more score on the board, as the Buffs drove down the field while managing the clock, before scoring on a short yardage pass off a slant route. The Buffaloes’ second passing score of the game gave them a 42-14 advantage heading into halftime.

San Marcos flipped the switch after the half.

The Rattlers marched down the field on their opening drive and scored off a 40-plus yard Webb and Diaz passing TD.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Rattlers made their biggest play of the game –forcing a fumble, recovering to get the ball in their own territory. The Rattlers capitalized on another Webb and Diaz passing score, this time on fourth down, cutting the Buffs’ lead to 42-28.

After almost recovering an onside kick attempt, the Rattlers would still get the stop they needed. San Marcos forced a shaky punt as well, giving them good field position on the Buffs’ 40-yard line. They’d drive all the way down the field and score off a 1-yard rush from senior running back Stefan Stennett. The Purple and White would miss the extra point though, making it 42-34 at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Clemens finally responded on offense. They got back to their chunk rushing plays just as they had throughout the first half, and punched in a score on a rush up the middle. They’d also miss their extra point, extending their lead to 48-34.

The Rattlers had one last shot in the cannon before the clocks hit zero. After being pushed back to fourth and 25 off an intentional grounding penalty, Webb would connect with Diaz for their third score through the air on fourth down in the game.

Webb extended outside of the pocket and threw a cross-field dime to Diaz, who beat multiple defenders after the catch for the score , making it a one score game at 48-41.

San Marcos would have one last shot at another possession with an onside kick attempt, but the kick would go out of bounds. Clemens kneeled out the rest of the clock to secure the 48-41 victory.

“But the second half didn’t happen by accident– if you didn’t know who we were and read the papers that we were 0-5,” Walsh said. “You’d see good coaching taking place, a positive attitude and good player effort. You would not have been able to tell we were 0-5. I think that’s why they came back in the second half, they love playing football.”

San Marcos will return to Lehnhoff Stadium next week, this time taking on Cibolo Steele.

The Rattlers’ matchup with the Knights will kickoff at 7:30 p.m.