By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer
It isn’t often that a freshman quarterback is under center to lead a varsity football team, but St. Joseph Academy’s Kai Money is one exception.
Money stepped in and led the Bloodhounds to a 5-3 record through eight games before a bruised shoulder sidelined him for the latter stages of the season.
During those eight games, The Herald’s 2014 All-Metro Football Newcomer of the Year threw for 1,295 yards, 13 touchdowns and just six interceptions, and he ran for 1,087 yards and eight scores.
“He was an outstanding freshman quarterback for us,” St. Joseph coach Christian Putegnat said. “He threw the ball well, he ran, he read … just his sheer ability for being a freshman.
“I’m not a big fan of starting freshmen. I think they need to have some more experience. Junior high football to varsity football is a different monster, but he handled himself well in our scrimmages. He had the poise you’d expect from an older-type quarterback.”
Though he excelled during his first season in high school, Money understands there is a lot of work to be done and won’t rest until he’s gotten even better.
“I’m working on a lot of parts of my game right now, there’s just so much work to go,” he said. “I’m just trying to do everything I can to help the team out.”
The prospect of having a player like Money for three more years excites Putegnat, but building Money into a more durable player is a priority of the St. Joseph coaching staff moving forward.
“We’ve got to work on building up his size and getting him a little bit more muscular so he can handle the day-to-day grind of a starting quarterback,” Putegnat said.
In order to help with his growth, Money won’t enjoy an offseason. He’s concentrating on getting bigger, stronger and faster as he competes for the Bloodhounds in basketball as well as track & field.
“Everything helps different aspects of (football),” he said. “You need footwork for basketball, and for track you need speed.”
Putegnat knew by the end of two-a-days last summer that Money was going to be his quarterback, but he’s not prepared to name him the starter for next season just yet. He likes to conduct an open tryout before each season begins, but if Money’s past performance is indicative of future results, the answer appears obvious.
“He had his ups and downs as a freshman, but he did the job that he was asked to do and he did it quite well,” Putegnat said. “It’s real important (knowing Money will be around). I think it helps with our team morale. It helps us look toward the future.”
Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.