Rattlers Beat Seguin in Metaphorical, Literal Brawl

Going Out With a BANG!

A story of two halves was the name of the game as the San Marcos Rattlers erupted for 51 points in win against rival Seguin.

Senior night did not look to be too exciting in the first half on Friday night as the halftime score was 10-7, Seguin. Yet, whatever Coach Van Nest told his Rattler team at the break sure worked because they came out and outscored the Matadors 44-21 in the second half, putting up 34 points in the fourth quarter alone! The Seguin Matadors did not help their cause one bit as they commited a total of 16 penalties in the contest.

The four-headed monster, that is the San Marcos offense, will not be here next year as all of them are graduating. QB Ryan Schweers, RB Andre Ray, RB Mike Wilburn and RB “Scooter” Walker are all graduating this year and will leave a gaping hole in the Rattler’s offense that Coach Van Nest will have to fill.

On a lighter note...

Arguably the most important graduating senior is linebacker Blake Bagley. Bagley, who literally plays everything, will not be there to anchor the Rattler defense, special teams, or help out on offense. Bagley showed his importance Friday night as he did everything from running the ball and almost break two kick-off returns, to making what seemed every defensive tackle and catching an interception. He made one of, if not the, biggest plays of the game when he pulled in a one-handed interception in the fourth quarter with five minutes to go that basically sealed the deal. Everywhere you looked #44 seemed to be there. His defense did allow Matador receiver Jared Curnell to put up 152 receiving yards and quarterback Brig Gerlich to throw for 251 yards and three touchdowns, but they still got the win. Blake Bagley will be rightfully missed next season.

Two other candidates for MVP Friday night had to #21 Mike Wilburn and #46 Tyler “Scooter” Walker. Wilburn exploded for a huge 170 yds on the ground on only 17 attempts and a touchdown. Mike was pounding this Matador offense all night long and he ended his Rattler football career on a positive note. Scooter was just as productive putting up 77 yard on the ground on 14 attempts as well as 57 receiving yards with a total of three touchdowns. He caught a late 50-yard pass as Ryan Schweers caught the defense napping on a play-action pass late in the fourth. Neither of these two guys will look back on this game regretting anything as they left it all on the field.

One thing that both coaches wished they could have avoided was the brawl that broke out between both teams clearing both sidelines. The Matadors probably did not like the fact that the Rattlers were scoring even though the game was probably out of reach, but that is not how you conduct yourselves as young men. The Seguin head coach could not have been pleased with his team’s conduct last night.

The San Marcos Rattlers end their disappointing season 3-6 (2-5 in district play) as they never reached their full potential coming off of that big upset win against #15 ranked Kerrville Tivy, but you know what they say…. There’s always next year.

-Robert Fisher, KTSW Sports Staff Writer

Bobcats Clamp Down on Cardinals in Five-Set Thriller

So, say that Texas State hypothetically takes the first two sets against Lamar in a rocking Strahan Coliseum. The Bobcats are dominating the front of the net, are in attack mode, and are completely in sync with their fellow teammates. Lamar looks timid as dig attempt after dig attempt goes flying into the crowd as they can't handle a volley of scorching Bobcat spikes. The Lamar players are in complete disarray and are experiencing so much miscommunication that a simple tap over the net by Texas State lands between four dumbfounded Cardinal players.

Easy money picks Texas State to win the third set, right?

Not so fast.

After a slate of intense matches where the Bobcats went into five sets at McNeese State and had their second set against UT-Arlington turn into a 41-39 slobberknocker, Texas State saw their two-set lead disappear in a hurry. Questionable officiating, mental errors and visible frustration on the part of the Bobcats led to Lamar grabbing momentum and taking advantage, as they won the next two sets by capitalizing on Texas State's mistakes. In those third and fourth sets, Lamar looked the part of a dominant team capable of beating any team in the Southland Conference at any time, and any timidity they displayed in the first two sets disappeared. As a result, a feeling of unease started to permeate Strahan Coliseum and some fans may have started to reminisce on the bad memories produced during a 5-set Central Arkansas loss.

However, in the fifth set, the Bobcats got their groove back as they won 15-9. Mo Middleton, who finished with 15 kills on the match, took over the game with help from Jessica Weynand. The Bobcats also put forth some eye-popping numbers in that set; Texas State shot a .529 attack percentage and put their folly-filled third and fourth sets behind them as they committed zero errors. Lamar once again looked timid on defense as the 'Cats brought the heat and the Cardinal defenders saw their occasionally poor digging techniques work against them once again. While the Bobcats looked far from perfect throughout the match, especially in the second through fourth sets, it's safe to say that Texas State looked the part of a championship team in the final go-around.

Texas State will close out their home slate against Sam Houston State on Saturday in Strahan Coliseum. The Bobcats will be looking to avenge a 3-1 loss to the Bearkats that came earlier this year in Huntsville. It will also be a great chance for the 'Cats to tie SHSU in the Southland standings and put themselves in great position to secure a 1 seed in the SLC tournament with a victory. Sam Houston State still has to face undefeated Central Arkansas next week, while Texas State's toughest match should come against 5-8 UTSA.

You can listen to the SHSU match on txstatebobcats.com. Pregame starts at 3:45 pm, and tip-off is at 4 pm.

-Will Butler, KTSW Sports Director/Blog Editor

State Spooks SFA in Halloween Homecoming Thriller

The Texas State Bobcats put on a scary showing on Saturday afternoon, holding the number one ranked offense of Stephen F. Austin to only seven points. The game was the best game the team had played all year and looks as if the team is off to a good ending to the year. The Bobcats won the game with a final score of 28-7. They move to 3-1 in Southland Conference play. Bradley George threw for 324 yards and four touchdowns, with two of those touchdown passes coming to Mishak Rivas.

George broke his own school record with 31 completions as he completed 31 of his 42 passes for 324 yards and a season-best four touchdowns to lead the Bobcats. Texas State took an early 7-0 lead with 8:43 left to play in the first quarter when George hit Mishak Rivas in the back of the end zone from nine yards away. It was the first touchdown reception of the season for Rivas and it capped a nine-play, 67-yard drive. Ryan Batchelor added the extra point.

The Lumberjacks had a few chances to make the score closer but two missed field goals in the first half really hurt SFA. In the second quarter a huge goal line stop fueled by Travis Houston gave the Bobcats the ball back and kept the Lumberjacks off the board. The Lumberjacks entered the game having converted 28-of-its 30 red-zone scoring opportunities this season.

The first half ended with a score of 7-0 Texas State.

Stephen F. Austin tied the score at 7-7 with 7:58 left to play in the third quarter when Jeremy Moses hit Duane Brooks in the right corner of the end zone from 11 yards away to cap an eight-play, 65-yard drive.

From then on out it was all Bobcats. George hit Alvaro Garcia to make it 14-7 after a pass to Mishak Rivas got Texas State down inside the 10-yard line of SFA.

In the fourth quarter, probably the play of the game, as Bradley George scrambled outside the pocket on a 3rd and 31 he hit Mishak Rivas in the back of the endzone to make the score 21-7.

The Bobcats closed out the scoring with 1:08 left when George hit Da’Marcus Griggs for a 17-yard pass to make the final score 28-7.

The game all together was an impressive showing from Texas State, especially the defense. The Homecoming Halloween game turned out to be quite a Treat for the home crowd.

The victory improves Texas State’s record to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in Southland Conference play. Stephen F. Austin falls to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the SLC standings. But the biggest thing about the win was that it places Texas State atop the leaderboard in the SLC. Very impressive showing from the students, alumnus, fans, and team on a beautiful Halloween, Homecoming day.

-Will McGinnis, KTSW Sports Staff Writer

Early Charge by Boerne Sends Rattlers Packing

With playoff hopes out the window for both teams in District 27-4A, the Boerne Champion Chargers showed they were the superior team by defeating the Rattlers 49-24 on a cool night in the Texas Hill Country.

The pace of the game was set on the Chargers first drive when it only took starting quarterback Taylor Davis and his offense seven plays to get in the end zone. Davis was a perfect 3-3 on the drive capping it off with a 25-yard touchdown reception to his go-to target James Hurd.

The Ratters answered back on offense going the distance of the field but failed to put the ball in the end zone ending the drive on a 27-yard field goal. On the Chargers second drive the Rattler defense showed no sign of stopping Davis as he scampered into the end zone showing the duel threat that he posed on the defense.

The score read 14-3 with 3:55 remaining in the first quarter and already Rattler fans could see the Chargers came to the stadium intending on putting a number up on the scoreboard. It was apparent with the quick start from the Charger offense and with the Rattler secondary miscues that the Rattler offense was going to have to keep up by putting up a lot of points.

Although the Rattler offense had success moving the ball in the second quarter, the Rattlers failed to get anything to show for it going 0-2 when inside the red zone. As the Rattlers couldn’t punch in for any scores in the second quarter, the Davis continued to pick apart the Rattler secondary by throwing two more touchdowns; one a 51-yarder to James Hurd and the other a 40 yarder to Blake Allemand. The score looked bad with a dominant 28-3 Charger lead when the Rattlers were able to punch in on their second to last drive of the half with a 4-yard touchdown run by Scooter Walker on fourth down.

SMHS went into the locker room with momentum knowing they’d get the ball to start the second half, but also knew they’d have to come out firing with them being down 28-10.

The Rattlers sputtered on their first drive of the second half but stopped the Chargers on their first drive setting up for the Rattlers biggest play of the night. Mike Wilburn reeled off a 51-yard touchdown run with 6:09 left in the 3rd quarter giving the Rattlers some life in the game now down only by 11 points.

That life would be short lived though, with Davis and his offense putting up 14 unanswered points to put the game out of reach for the Rattlers. San Marcos Head Coach, Steve Van Nest, didn’t give up on his team while the second string (future of the Rattlers) was able to put in a score with Emanuel Saldana leaping over the goal line.

-James McNeal, KTSW Sports Staff Writer

Bobcats Down Demons in Road Thriller

In a game that was anticipated to be an offensive shootout, defense stole the show on a cold night in Natchitoches, Louisiana as Texas State defeated Northwestern State 20-17.

The Bobcats trailed 17-14 with 11:49 left in the fourth quarter but took the lead late thanks to two field goals by freshman kicker Justin Garelick. Texas State was able to run out the remaining 32 seconds left on the clock after a game-clinching forth down stop for the bobcat defense. The win gave the 'Cats their second straight game in the state of Louisiana following Texas State’s 34-28 victory at Nicholls last week.

Defense and untimely penalties combined to keep the score low in the first half for both teams. The bobcats took their first lead of the game when Bradley George hit Da’Marcus Griggs for a five-yard touchdown pass and Garelick added the extra point to make the score 7-3 at halftime.

Senior tailback Alvin Canady helped the Bobcats light up the scoreboard midway through the third quarter with a season-long 39-yard touchdown run giving his team a 14-3 lead.

Northwestern State answered back with a touchdown of their own after elusive true freshman quarterback ran for a 14-yard touchdown, cutting the bobcat lead to 14-10. The Demons added one more score before Garelick cashed in on his two big field goal to give the bobcats the victory.

The win improves Texas State’s overall record to 4-3 and the Bobcats improve to 2-1 in conference this season heading into next Saturday’s homecoming game against Stephen F. Austin at Bobcat Stadium, that game will kick off at 2:00 p.m. KTSW will have pregame coverage starting at 12:30 pm on 89.9 FM, ktsw.net and txstatebobcats.com.

-Luke McBroom, KTSW Sports Staff Writer

Bobcat Volleyball Routs Southeastern, Wins Third Straight

Texas State hosted the Southeastern Louisiana Lions on Saturday afternoon in Strahan Colisium. The Bobcats came into the match with a 5-3 record in conference play and were 11-12 overall following a three set Thursday victory over the Nicholls Colonels. SLU came in reeling from a home loss to the Lamar Cardinals on Thursday and sported a record of 6-13 overall and 2-6 in the Southland Conference.

The first set was a close one as the Bobcats took it 25-20. The Lions came out firing on all cyclinders as they got a quick couple of points on the Bobcats. Leading the charge for the Lions was Jessica Srajer and Courtney Donald they both a 2 kills a piece. However, the 'Cats rallied and were led by the trio of Jessica Weynand, AJ Watlington, and Matti Schumacher they all had 3 kills for the Cats. Defensively the lions were led by Lauren Mayer with 3 digs and for the Bobcats Lydia Werchan had 6 digs. The first set also saw a lot of lead changes 5 in total and the game was tied 13 times.

In the second set the Lions again came out on fire leading the charge for them was the trio of Allison Jones, Lauren Mayer, and Jessica Strajer all had 4 kills apiece. Defensively, they were led by Alex Greer who had 7 digs in the second set. The Lions also committed quite a few costly errors 13 in total in that second set to the Bobcats 11. The leading scorers for Texas State were AJ Watlington with 7 kills and Jessica Weynand who had 6. Lydia Werchan once again led the defense with 13 digs and on the net Amber Calhoun, AJ Watlington, and Jillian Wolpman all had 1 block a piece. There were 3 ties and 1 lead change in the set and the Bobcats ended up victorious, winning 25-21.

In the third set the Bobcats were the ones who took the lead early getting up 3 to nothing with Brittany Collins serving. However, in the end it was very close as Texas State led the whole match the Lions stayed it in and lost 25-20. Leading the way for the Bobcats was AJ Watlington who had ten kills and Amber Calhoun and Jessica Weynand each had eight kills a piece as well. On defense Lydia Werchan had 16 digs and Melinda Cave had eleven and the same team of Calhoun, Weynand, Watlington, and Schumacher held the defense around the net. SLU's Julie Elliot had eight kills while Courtney Donald and Allison Jones had seven, while on defense the Lions were led by Alex Greer with twelve digs and Arianne Cruckshank who had ten around the net.

With the win, Texas State improves to 12-12, 6-3 SLC and move up to second place in the SLC West Division. The Bobcats also moved into a tie for third place in the overall SLC standings with Stephen F. Austin, who sits in second place in the SLC East Division with a 6-3 Southland record. Texas State will look to tighten their grip on the third place spot in the Southland this week, as they take on SFA in a critical matchup in Nacogdoches at 7 pm on October 29th.

-TJ Ladusky, KTSW Sports Staff Writer

Bobcats Cruise Against Colonels in Three Sets

It was a huge win for the Bobcats as they dominated the Colonels in all three sets tonight at Strahan Coliseum. Texas State has secured its spot in third place of the Southland Conference West Division, while Nicholls State continued to slip further in the East Division. It has been a rough year for the Colonels thus far, and tonight was no exception.

Although the Nicholls squad played with intensity, they just seemed overmatched talent-wise when compared to the Bobcats. Texas State definitely capitalized on the mental mistakes made by the Colonels, and the final result reflected that. Not only were the Bobcats successful with powerful spikes that at times bounced off of the faces of Colonel defenders, but the Bobcats were also able to continue to execute a successful finesse game. Aware of the in-bounds lines, Texas State was able to find holes in the Nicholls defense and place balls in areas of the court where the defenders were not.

Texas State jumped ahead early winning the first set 25-18. The second set was a blowout of 25-11 in favor of Texas State, who doubled up on Nicholls for most of the set. To the surprise of Texas State fans, the Colonels came out playing hard in the third but it was just not enough to defeat the Cats, as the 'Cats recovered and pulled away for 25-15 set and match win.

Texas State key players AJ Watlington, Amber Calhoun and Brittany Collins all played aggressive games, defending the net with excessive blocks and efficient communication. Mo Middletown and Jessica Weynand played solid ball with 10 kills each and 15 digs between the two. After being awarded MVP of last season, Jessica currently leads the teams in kills and digs for the 2009 season.

After the game Mo Middletown commented that even though she wasn’t happy with the amount of errors she had tonight, she was still pleased with the team’s effort. Jessica Weynand also commented on the team’s play tonight, saying that the only things Coach Chisum would want the team to work on is keeping intensity through out the entire game and to continue limiting those costly mental errors. Coach Chisum said that she couldn’t be happier with the team’s performance tonight. “They did great, they executed exactly what they were suppose to,” said Chisum in a postgame interview.

Texas State improves to 11-12 overall and 5-3 in SLC play, while Nicholls drops to 9-13, 3-5 SLC. The Bobcats will play Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday at 2:00 pm, tune in at 1:45 for the KTSW pre-game show on 89.9 FM and ktsw.net.

-Lauren Scalise, KTSW Sports Staff Writer