By MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer
For nearly one decade, the St. Joseph Bloodhounds football team was as much of a model of success and offensive excitement as there was in the Rio Grande Valley.
Though winning felt almost automatic, the Bloodhounds felt brought back down to earth after a disappointing 2018.
This year won’t be any easier for SJA as it tries to overcome a youthful team and dwindling enrollment numbers while making changes from the ground up.
“ It’s a totally different vibe than last year,” SJA coach Tino Villarreal said. “These kids don’t expect anything; they have that chip on their shoulder where they want to earn everything. Last year, there was a sense of complacency from the top down, starting with me and the coaching staff. We believed that we could step on the field and still produce like we had in the past. I think that the reality has set in that that’s just not the case — that’s not reality. The reality is that our school is getting smaller, our numbers are getting smaller and we’re going to have to work our tail off because we’re playing schools four times our size.”
The turnout was reflected on the field with approximately 30 players in pads Tuesday after workouts began last Thursday.
Still, Villarreal isn’t focusing on the turnout, especially with the effort from the small numbers dressed out being turned all the way up.
“ Simply getting on the field and competing isn’t a given,” he said. “You have to earn that every day in practice. The attitude, starting with that chip on your shoulders, is different. Hard work, intensity and a great attitude is out there, and you can feel it.”
The journey to put the program back on track is a long one, especially with new schemes and large crop of new players attempting to mesh with 12 returning starters — six on each side of the ball.
One of those back is offensive tackle Blake Fowkes — one of four returning players along the offensive line — who said the mentality has changed right before his eyes early on.
“ It’s definitely a lot better than last year because it feels like people care more this year,” the junior tackle said. “We’re more hyped up and excited about this year. Last year everyone was excited, but this year you feel something different. I think we’re doing very well. Last season, it didn’t feel like we meshed very well together or really as a team. This year, we already feel like we’re family.”
A fresh face taking it all in is Bajram Derviscvic, whose size and ability has made him a solid candidate as an option in the Bloodhounds’ passing attack.
The first-year player said that though he wasn’t on the team last year, he hopes to help right the wrong and take on all comers with his teammates.
“ We have a chip on our shoulder, definitely,” Derviscvic said. “That’s an understatement. It’s us against everybody pretty much. We know that all we have is ourselves and we’re going to fight for one another as a team. That’s all we can do.”