BY JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer
Once the clock came on, St. Joseph’s offense came to life.
The St. Joseph Academy Bloodhounds faced its first live action against an opponent when they played the La Feria Lions on Friday night at Canales Field.
St. Joseph outscored La Feria 28-12 in the second half of the scrimmage that featured two 12-minute quarters with a live game clock as opposed to the controlled beginning portion, which featured five situational series with huddles and coaches on the field.
The second-half allowed St. Joseph to return to the no huddle. Having a timer helped the Bloodhounds get back to what they do best: score as fast as possible.
“That’s who we are. We’re a fast team,” St. Joseph coach Tino Villarreal said. “We’re a fast-tempo team, so huddling and all that controlled part doesn’t work for us, because we communicate with hand signals. We’re never really in a huddle at practice, but we have to do it out here because it’s the first scrimmage. It kind of gets our rhythm off a little bit.
“Once we’re in a clock situation, that becomes our rhythm and think we fit in very well. I think we showed that once the clock went on, that’s what the Bloodhounds are.”
La Feria had three scores in the first half, which featured scripted series and seconds tringle players for half of the plays.
Kai Money finished the scrimmage with two touchdown passes and three touchdown runs, including a 15-yard score as time expired. Mario Garcia and Gunnar Henderson both caught touchdown passes, and Andrew Cantu had a rushing touchdown.
Wide receiver Brandon Perez had touchdown receptions of 51 and 56 yards for La Feria.