The Monte Alto Blue Devils took the field Oct. 9, 2020, facing Marine Military Academy in a non-district contest to kick off their 2020 campaign.
The Blue Devils walked off the field with a 27-7 loss. That was the last time Monte Alto took the field during the 2020 season, forfeiting their remaining three contests due to COVID-19 outbreaks.
With their 48-minute season behind them, the Blue Devils are back and ready to return to action.
“It feels good getting back into it,” Monte Alto quarterback Noah San Miguel said. “We’re getting ready for the upcoming season. We feel pretty good about it.”
The Blue Devils will have a new face calling the shots during the 2021 campaign, tabbing Eugenio Garza as their head coach Aug. 13.
He becomes the seventh head coach in Monte Alto’s 10-year history, no coach amassing more than three years at the helm.
Garza will have 16 returning starters to work with, eight on each side of the ball. Still, the group remains inexperienced due to a shortened season.
Receivers Marcelino Castillo and Devin Handy will serve as San Miguel’s top targets this year, impressing their signal-caller during the offseason.
“They’ve been helping me out a lot,” San Miguel said. “They’re always able to catch the ball. It’s not always the prettiest throws, but they’re going to go up and make an attempt to bring it down.
“Chemistry is key. We did a lot of 7-on-7 this summer in June and then practices on the weekend just to get ready.”
Marroquin will be a name to listen for during the Blue Devils’ games, with brothers Juan Andres, Juan Antonio and Julio all taking the field for Monte Alto.
Senior Juan Andres returns to captain the defense, serving as the team’s middle linebacker.
“Our inside linebacker, Juan Andres, is pretty good,” San Miguel said. “He’s the one that holds down the defense and makes sure everyone is on point.”
He’ll be joined by his brother, Julio, on the linebacking corp, with San Miguel serving as the team’s other outside linebacker.
The defensive and offensive line will be the key on both sides of the ball, led by returning starters Juan Antonio, Juan Gallardo and Juan Morales.
Since starting football in 2012, the Blue Devils have yet to have a winning season or make the playoffs. Still, San Miguel is just glad to be back with his teammates after last year.
“To have one game, it was kind of hard,” he said. “We’re hoping for the upcoming season to be better, especially district play after it got paused last year due to COVID.”
“It’s just going to be a bunch of fun. After a win or a loss, just being able to go eat with your friends and teammates. There are a lot of things we missed last season that we didn’t get to do.”
Monte Alto has a slate of four non-district contests against Premont, Santa Maria, Marine Military Academy and La Villa. It opens the season Aug. 27 against Premont at Cowboy Field in Premont.
The Blue Devils kick off District 16-3A DII play Oct. 1 against Skidmore-Tynan at Bobcat Stadium in Skidmore.