Note to Our Readers: The following story was sourced in its entirety from Mr. Jonathan Gipson, Social Media / Public Relations Coordinator, Magazine School District. Mr. Gipson is a RNN Sports contributor, and we thank him for bringing Magazine sports coverage to our readers!
MAGAZINE – With a young roster, it’s not surprising that the Magazine Rattlers have endured some growing pains during the first two weeks of nonconference play, but with the final week of nonconference looming, there have been lots of positive glimpses of what the future holds for the Rattlers.
Sophomore Kolton McCubbin capped the Rattlers’ most successful offensive drive of the night with an 8-yard run late in the third quarter and senior Trace Nicholas added the extra point as the Rattlers broke up the Lavaca Golden Arrows’ shutout bid in a 40-7 loss Friday night at Shorty Wright Field at Diamondback Stadium.
Class 2A Magazine (0-2), whose losses have been to Class 3A teams, will finish nonconference play next week with its first roadtrip of the season when the Rattlers travel to Class 3A Danville.
Lavaca (1-0), which just missed the playoffs a year ago, used its quickness, size on the offensive and defensive lines and depth to build an early 33-0 lead after the first quarter, which held until halftime.
Golden Arrows quarterback Maddox Noel scored on a 14 yard keeper with 8:46 left in what was a 51-minute (real time) first quarter. Dakota Hartsfield followed with a 2-yard run with 4:31 that gave Lavaca a 13-0 lead after a failed extra-point attempt.
A bobbled kickoff return attempt pinned the Rattlers deep in their own territory, and the Golden Arrows defense forced a safety on the Rattlers’ ensuing drive with 4:19 left in the first quarter to make it 15-0.
With possession of the ball after the safety, Lavaca scored again on a 30-yard catch and run by Alex Townley that made it 21-0 with 3:29 left in the first quarter. Lavaca scored twice in the final two minutes of the first quarter on a 15-yard run on a scramble by Noel and 6-yard touchdown catch by Townley to build a 33-0 lead after one quarter.
Lavaca padded its lead to 40-0 and evoked the sportsmanship running clock with 14 seconds left in the third quarter on a 61-yard run by Hunter Israel.
McCubbin added a spark to the Rattlers’ running game late in the game, helping Magazine march down the field for its lone touchdown with 4:03 left to play.
