Turnovers, Mistakes Plague Rattlers in Opening Loss

The San Marcos High School Rattlers started the year off on the road visiting the Waco University HS Trojans at Waco ISD Stadium. The Rattlers came into the game attempting to rejuvenate their program with a win after a 2-8 campaign in 2008. However, they would have to go through a high-powered Trojan offense anchored by dual-threat senior QB Randy Price first. Unfortunately for SMHS, that same offense eventually got the best of a tough Rattlers defense en route to a 41-20 opening win.

The start of the game was a high point for the Rattlers as the first throw from Randy Price was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Bob Eric Rodriguez. Things quickly turned sour for the Rattlers, however, as the extra point was blocked and returned for the two-point conversion by the Trojans. The Trojans then swiftly marched down the field, scoring on a rushing touchdown to make the score 8-6.

At the start of the second quarter, Randy Price came back on the field to run the spread offense for the Trojans. Jeremy Gonzales came up big as he sacked Price and followed up with a fumble recovery on a botched running play by Price that would otherwise have gone for 30 yards. The Rattlers were not able to take advantage of the turnover, and Price ran another one in for a score on the ensuing possession to increase the Trojans' lead to 15-6.

With a few minutes left on the clock the Rattlers tried to move the ball down the field and almost were unsuccessful. However, a timely penalty on the Trojans kept the drive alive and with 14 seconds left in the half Ryan Schweers connected with Tyler “Scooter” Walker for a 27 yard touchdown pass. Walker showed a flash of Reggie Bush as he leaped with the ball outstretched towards the pylon. That ended the half at 15-13 Trojans leading going into the third quarter.

After halftime, disaster struck for SMHS. Schweers was intercepted on a jumped route by Demond Wilson, who took the ball down to the San Marcos 17. Gerrell Griffin then struck with a 3-yard touchdown run three plays later. Things only got worse for the Rattlers as an Andre Ray fumble at the San Marcos 15-yard line was picked up by Manny Dowling for a scoop-and-score. As the Trojan lead quickly increased to 28-13, things seemed increasingly bleak for the Rattlers. However, San Marcos was not done just yet.

With the University lead at two scores at the start of the 4th quarter, the Rattlers dug deep in an attempt to make a comeback. Scooter Walker recovered a fumble in Trojan territory, but the drive then seemed to stall on the first three downs. With 4th and 5 from the 12 yard line, Schweers connected with sophomore Hunter Burttschell for a quick curl route right on the goal line and Burttschell fell backward for the touchdown to make the score 28-20.

From that point on, the game turned into the Randy Price show. Price took the next possession right down the field as he ran for a 40 yard gain, and then followed up with a 20 yard touchdown run right up the middle. After another Rattler punt, Price responded with another score on his second straight rushing touchdown to ice the game for WUHS.

Coach Van Nest said after the game that he thought the team looked good early in the game but turnovers and simple mistakes turned into the 41-20 loss. In his postgame interview, Van Nest noted that "we will have a lot of adjustments to make after we watch the tape on this game." The Rattlers will look to make those adjustments and bring home a "W" next Friday as they hit the road once again to take on the Bastrop Bears. KTSW will have all of the coverage on 89.9 KTSW, ktsw.net and at twitter.com/ktswsports.

-Will McGinnis, KTSW Sports Staff Writer