10. San Marcos 49, Del Valle 35

October 21, 2021

Week 9 District 26-6A Play

Del Valle, TX

In a key 26-6A Thursday night showdown, the San Marcos Rattlers rallied from a 21-point deficit to earn a district win that would eventually secure them a playoff spot.

With 4:31 remaining in the second quarter, it appeared Del Valle would roll to an easy win as the Cardinals raced out to a 28-7 lead. Del Valle was able to tie the game up at 7-7 on a 70-yard punt return touchdown from L.J. Martin, and the Cardinals wouldn’t stop the onslaught as Timothy Cardwell hooked up with DJ Jones to give Del Valle a 14-7 edge. A pick six from cornerback Brock Foster and then a Cardwell to Braylon James 41-yard touchdown pass put the Cardinals up comfortably, 28-7. 

San Marcos would rebound right before the half, putting together an eight play 72-yard drive that culminated in a three-yard touchdown run from Jake Rodriguez-Scholz to give the Rattlers some life heading into the locker room down just 28-14. 

San Marcos would get a boost in the second half with the return of RB Jaedyn Brown, who had to sit out the first half of the game after an ejection the prior week and his insertion into the lineup gave John Walsh’s squad even more life as they marched down the field, scoring on a 13-yard run from junior QB Isaiah DeLeon to cut the Del Valle lead to 28-20. After forcing a four and out on the next drive, San Marcos would march right back down the field on a lengthy drive, capped off by a six-yard scoring run from Brown and a two-point conversion run to tie the game at 28-28 heading into the fourth quarter. 

Del Valle would not go away as once again LJ Martin did the damage scoring on a 51-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter to put Del Valle back up 35-28. It didn’t take long for San Marcos to answer scoring less than two minutes later on a 17-yard run from DeLeon to tie the gane at 35-35 with just over ten minutes remaining. After a quick Del Valle three and out, San Marcos would regain the lead for the first time since early in the game with Rodriguez-Scholz scoring for the third time of the night, this time from eleven yards out, putting the Rattlers up 42-35 with just under seven minutes left in the game. After forcing a turnover on downs on the next series, San Marcos would ice the game with a six-yard run from Brown with just over a minute left for the final tally of 49-35. 

Brown, who only played the second half would finish with 195 yards rushing and two scores, while Rodriguez-Scholz ran for 105 yards and three touchdowns. QB Isaiah DeLeon only threw for 47 yards, but he added 153 yards rushing and two scores for the Rattler who made the playoffs as the fourth place team in 26-6A ahead of Del Valle on the strength of this win.