San Marcos opened District 29-6A play with a statement Friday night, dominating Buda Johnson 40-7 at Toyota Rattler Stadium.

Quarterback Buck Steyn threw for 209 yards and a touchdown, while the Rattlers’ ground game exploded for 232 yards and four scores behind a deep rotation of running backs. Justin Tardy paced the attack with 71 yards and a touchdown, Donovan Garcia followed with 58 yards and a score, and Elliott Gray broke free for a 35-yard touchdown run as part of his 43-yard night. Steyn added a 20-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter.

The defense, however, came out and made a statement on Friday night, allowing just 62 total yards on 32 snaps. The exclamation point came early in the second half, Jah’Marien Nichols sacked Jaguars quarterback Jace Tello and forced a fumble that Trey Walker scooped up and carried 12 yards to the end zone, stretching the lead to 19-0.

The Jaguars’ offense never recovered. They finished with minus-28 yards rushing on 23 carries, including a first half that netted negative-5 yards on 18 plays.

The win moves San Marcos to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in district play. The Rattlers travel to Schertz Clemens (2-3, 0-1) on Friday.