San Marcos overcomes 21-point deficit to defeat Del Valle, 49-35

DEL VALLE — Numbers would tell you that San Marcos wasn’t supposed to complete the comeback.

When teams in high school, college or the NFL lead 28-7 with a special teams score and a pick-six, like Del Valle did with 4:51 in the second quarter in its game against San Marcos, it’s a situation that head coach John Walsh calls the “Death Star” — all but over. The Rattlers overcame the odds and a 21-point deficit — the largest comeback victory in the Walsh era — defeating Del Valle in a shootout, 49-35.

.@RattlersSM HFC John Walsh talks tonight’s 49-35 win against Del Valle.

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— Jude McClaren (@judemcclaren) October 22, 2021

“It's hard to come over because of morale,” Walsh said. “So really, I think our kids — even if the sideline wasn’t really great — but if our morale was down, we wouldn't have been able to answer to make it 28-14. So it just took some regrouping. We kind of got out of sync a little bit.”

In the first quarter, it was both of the defenses carrying the show on Thursday night. Del Valle’s first drive looked like the Cardinals (1-7, 1-4 district) were going to be moving the ball with ease all night. The first seven plays of the drive went for 7.28 yards per play. But on the eighth play of the drive, Rattlers junior defensive lineman Jake Darling recovered a rolling ball that gave his team its first possession of the game. San Marcos followed its opponent’s formula almost to the tee. They went eight plays averaging 5.87 yards per play but on their ninth, junior quarterback Isaiah DeLeon’s pass slipped through his receiver’s hands and into L.J. Martin's outstretched hands.

Del Valle again found success moving the ball averaging 7.6 yard per play before junior defensive back Zach Decker hit the ball out of junior wide receiver Braylon James' hand on a screen pass, allowing Darling to pick up his second fumble recovery of the quarter. 

.@RattlersSM RB Jake Rodriguez-Scholz (@iamjakescholz) and LB Jake Darling (@JakeDarling55) talk tonight’s win against Del Valle.

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— Jude McClaren (@judemcclaren) October 22, 2021

“I gotta thank my (defensive) line first off because they punched the ball out,” Darling said. “I mean, you have to make those plays. Our team needed those plays and I just had to make them. The ball was on the ground, I mean it was just a play to make and I felt like anyone else could make it but I mean, I'm happy we got those two early turnovers because we weren't really clicking in the first half. I guess that kind of helped stop the bleeding a little bit early on.”

The Rattler offense finally had enough grip on the ball to maintain a healthy offensive possession. Junior running back Jake Rodriguez-Scholz has become the bully of the running back group this season and the way the gap opened up for him on a 13-yard rushing touchdown, it seemed as if his opponents didn’t want any parts of him. From that point on it was Del Valle scoring 28 unanswered points, starting with Martin flashing instant speed resulting in a 70-yard punt return touchdown, tying the game.

From then on, Del Valle went on to outscore San Marcos, 21-7, giving them a 28-14 lead heading into halftime. 

To open the second half, San Marcos does what it has been known to do recently: run the ball. Seven straight carries from the visitors ended in a 13-yard rushing touchdown to the right side of the field by DeLeon.

The Rattlers decided to go for two but too much pressure was put on sophomore quarterback Kutter Gage Webb trying to find a receiver in the end zone which left the Del Valle lead to eight with 9:03 in the quarter. 

The Cardinals responded with a 41-yard rushing touchdown of its own on the next possession from Martin but that was the last time the hosts scored. It was San Marcos’ turn to respond with some offensive firepower. Junior running back and leading rusher Jaidyn Brown was sidelined due to receiving two personal foul penalties earlier this season, forcing him to sit out a half. 

It didn’t hurt his stats but actually made his performance that much more impressive. Brown's 12 yards per carry opened up holes for Rodriguez-Scholz to run the ball 11 yards across the goal line with the whole defense on his back. The score put the visitors up at 42-35 with 8:40 in the fourth. The touchdown marked the first lead for San Marcos since 11:45 in the second quarter. Brown went for 7 yards per carry on the next trip before easing his way to a 6-yard touchdown and the final score of the night on San Marcos’ way to the 49-35 win.

Walsh said these types of games do more for you than winning every game outright. 

“When you get to the playoffs, you hope your kids have gone through everything,” Walsh said. “I never want to be 10-0 heading into the playoffs. That would tell me, ‘What are some things that we haven't we haven't experienced yet?’ I think this year, we've experienced it all. We've got our butt kicked, we’ve kicked some butts. Then we were down and got back, we played from the front. So I don't know what's in front of us but we've pretty much experienced it all.”

San Marcos (4-4, 3-2) will look to continue its three-game win streak. The Rattlers get the current third-place team in District 26-6A in Austin Bowie (6-1, 3-1) next weekend, which is a staple game for the Rattlers’ playoff chances. San Marcos and the Bulldogs take the field on Oct. 29 inside San Marcos Toyota Rattler Stadium at 7:30 p.m. 

The matchup marks the last home game of the season for San Marcos. The team wants to replicate last year's feeling of giving the home crowd a win on its field for the last time this year.

“I'm expecting a fight. I know these teams won't give up. I mean, they beat Del Valle, too. They beat Del Valle by a lot more,” Darling said. “I'm ready to go home and we need a win to keep the streak going.”

San Marcos Stats

QB Isaiah DeLeon
4-10, 47 passing yards, 2 INTs
19 carries, 153 rushing yards, 2 TDs

RB Jaidyn Brown
24 carries, 195 rushing yards, 2 TDs, 2pt.

RB Jake Rodriguez-Scholz
20 carries, 105 rushing yards, 3 TDs

WR Jamil Gordon
1 catch, 14 receiving yards

WR Ryan Hix
1 catch, 13 receiving yards

TE Elijah Pearson
1 catch, 13 receiving yards

WR Tony Diaz
1 catch, 7 receiving yards