By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
While the season didn’t go as planned for St. JosephAcademy, the young Bloodhounds hope to go out on a high note when they face San Antonio Antonian at 2 p.m. today at Antonian Stadium in San Antonio.
After a blazing 4-1 start, St. Joseph (5-4, 1-3) has struggled in TAPPS play and faces the Apaches, the top team in the district.
The Bloodhounds’ defense will be tested against Antonian, which runs a similar style of offense comparable to that of Port Isabel. St. Joseph lost 44-21 to the Tarpons during their non-district game in Week 5.
“Antonian is a heavy run team, much like P.I., so were going to have to stop the run,” St. Josephcoach Christian Putegnat said. “We based (our preparation on the Port Isabel game film) and what we didn’t accomplish. We’ve added a few things to get it working right.”
Putegnat said Antonian will be playing without its top running back, but the Bloodhounds will be shorthanded on offense as well.
St. Joseph quarterbacks Kai Money and Conner Pace were both injured in last week’s game. Money left with a shoulder injury, and Pace injured his wrist. Both Money and Pace could be game-time decisions, but there was a greater chance that each will miss the game against the Apaches.
Daniel Matar, who finished the game at quarterback for the Bloodhounds one week ago, is expected to get the nod under center. Without Money or Pace, it drastically changes the St. Joseph offense.
“We’ve had to adjust some things to deal with our lack of quarterbacks at this moment,” Putegnat said. “(Without Money or Pace) Itchanges it a great deal. We’ll probably slow it down a little bit.”
Win or lose, the Bloodhounds have a young team that loses only a handful of seniors to graduation. Putegnat was upbeat about number of returnees he has for the upcoming offseason workouts and spring practices.
Despite the injuries and the struggles of late, St. Joseph is focusing on the task at hand, finishing the year positively.
“That’s our goal to finish strong, play St. Joe football,” Putegnat said. “Just try to go out and end the season the best way we can.”
San Antonio Antonian coach Van Fuschak could not be reached for comment.
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.