(Mission, Tx)-The Sharyland Rattlers will by vying for its third straight district title under third-year head football coach, Craig Krell. The Rattlers swept District 16-5A Division II with a pefect 5-0 record and then added a Class 5A Division II Bi-District title with their win over the Edcouch-Elsa Yellowjackets 32-7 before falling to San Antonio Veterans in the area championships 35-23.
The Rattlers will open its season with 34 lettermen with only one starter back on offense and six on defense. Quarterback Bo Krell (6’1 195lbs 1,881 yards 16 TDs) is the lone starter back and he will need help if the Rattlers expect to win another district title. Players to watch are OL Julian Loredo, OL Sebastian Vasquez (5’10 240lbs), WR Sebastian Martinez, WR Marcos Esparza (5’8 155lbs), WR Gael Garza, OT Angel Gonzalez, and OL Daniel Azucar. On defense, LB Santiago Longoria (5’11 205lbs), LB Diego Guerrer0 (5’8 185lbs), LB Agustin Saldana, and
DT Jorge Botello (6’0 275lbs).
The Rattlers averaged 40 points a game in 2022 and allowed 30.0 points scored on defense. They will open it’s season against Brownsville Pace at Richard Thompson Stadium on August 25th with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m.
Winning the outright district title will not be an easy task in 2023 for the Rattlers. If head coach Krell can find a way to pull off wins against playoff hopefuls Roma and PSJA Memorial, then the road to another district title will end in a showdown against Sharyland Pioneer (October 6th) and away against Mission Veterans Memorial (October 20th). HSSM picks the Rattlers for the outright District 16-5A DII? Hmmm…(HSSMImages/Ruiz)