By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
After St. Joseph Academy’s slow start, senior quarterback Kai Money led his team to a memorable season during his final year under center.
The senior quarterback amassed over 4,000 yards of offense — he threw for 2,539 yards and 35 touchdowns and added another 1,502 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground leading his team to a 7-5 record and advanced to the second round of the postseason.
At times this year, Money put up some numbers that were eye-popping.
During one of his most impressive games of the season against Antonian Prep (San Antonio), Money finished with over 500 yards of offense — 219 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground and 282 yards and five touchdowns through the air — but more importantly the 55-30 road victory resulted in the first district title in over 37 years for the Bloodhounds.
The four-year starting quarterback is no stranger to honors and adds another as The Brownsville Herald’s 2017 All-Metro Offensive Player of the Year.
“Receiving an award is always a great accomplishment,” Money said. “It reflects on all the hard work my teammates and I have put in. I wouldn’t be able to do anything without the guys blocking up front and the receivers catching passes.”
Money earned All-Metro honors each season. After his freshman campaign (All-Metro Newcomer), sophomore year (All-Metro All-Purpose Player), junior season (All-Metro MVP) and adds yet another All-Metro honor after his final season.
The senior quarterback was also selected as the TAPPS first-team all-state athlete, was the TAPPS Division I District 2 first-team all-district quarterback and athlete and was a Built Ford Tough Player of the Week this season.
But it goes beyond the recognition for Money.
“One word describes Kai and that’s ‘winner,’” St. Joseph coach Tino Villarreal said. “Beyond his stats, Kai is all about winning. He just wants to do his part and ensure at the end of the game when we walk off that field and you look at the scoreboard … the Bloodhounds won the game. He’s been that way since he was a freshman. He’s a competitor he brings that edge. That’s a coaches dream. He gives everything, not for himself, but for the team and I think Kai Money has done that for us all four years.”
After the Bloodhounds started the season 1-3, they regrouped to finish 5-1 and earned a district title, something that had eluded Money in previous years, but something he will always cherish.
“We knew that the scoreboard and our record would take of itself eventually if we kept plugging away to get through those rough patches of adversity,” he said. (And winning district) … it was the sweetest feeling of all time.”
Money credits his father (Phillip Money) and Villarreal with teaching him the game and putting him in a position to be successful. He finished his high school career with 7,322 yards passing and 91 touchdowns and 5,913 yards and 64 touchdowns on the ground and is in the process to see where football will take him at the next level.
It will be bittersweet for Villarreal to say goodbye to his quarterback, but knows his legacy remains.
“We had a special relationship, a special bond,” Villarreal said. “Four years is a long time, some coaches are lucky to have a quarterback for two years. I watched him grow up … the football part is secondary.
“The things he accomplished this year … reignited the passion and love from the alumni and he laid the foundation for ‘The House that Kai Money built.’”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.