By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
One of St. Joseph Academy’s best football seasons in recent memory came to an all-too-soon end following Friday’s 49-42 loss to the Midland Christian Mustangs at Canales Field during the opening round of the TAPPS state playoffs.
Midland Christian’s Lukas Singh returned the opening kickoff 101 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown. And from there, things started going downhill fairly quickly for the Bloodhounds (8-3). Still, they showed plenty of determination in battling back from first-half deficits of 28-0 and 35-8.
Even though Midland Christian brought a 4-6 mark into the contest, SJA coach Tino Villarreal said the Mustangs were a lot better than their record indicated.
“We knew coming into tonight that Midland’s record didn’t show who they really were,” Villarreal said. “We knew they were a very good team and that we were going to have to play our best game. We came out a little shellshocked in the beginning and spotted them way too many points.
“In the second half, they kept their starters in the whole way (because they were never comfortable with the lead they had),” Villarreal added. “I think we showed what Bloodhound football is all about tonight and that our 8-2 (regular-season) record and our finish in district means we’re bringing back the Bloodhound dynasty to Brownsville. I think we showed that tonight.”
Midland Christian quarterback Westin Elliott, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound senior, enjoyed quite a productive outing, throwing for 376 yards and five TDs — four of them during the opening half. He also rushed for a 1-yard score in the final period.
During the first quarter, Elliott threw scoring passes of 21 yards to Mclane Mannix and 13 yards to Luke Watson. The second period saw Elliott toss TD aerials of 47 yards to Mannix and 39 yards to Anderson Needham. The Needham TD catch made it 35-8 with 3:22 left in the half.
In the third quarter, Elliott and Mannix hooked up again for a 6-yard scoring pass, pushing the lead to 42-14.
SJA trailed 21-0 after one quarter and 35-8 at intermission. It was 42-21 after three periods as the Bloodhounds went on to tally three TDs during the final 7:00 to account for the seven-point outcome.
Kai Money, SJA’s sophomore QB, threw three TD passes — all of them to Bernie De La Garza — on plays covering 4, 11 and 35 yards. The 4-yard scoring pass came with 5:31 remaining before intermission to bring the Bloodhounds to within 28-8.
The 11-yard Money-to-De La Garza scoring hookup to make it 35-14 came just one minute into the second half and provided the Bloodhounds with some momentum as they began their comeback.
Money also scrambled 10 yards for a TD with 7:00 left to bring the Bloodhounds to within 42-28.
The 35-yard scoring pass to De La Garza brought SJA to within 49-35 with 1:19 remaining, and then a successful onside kick allowed the Bloodhounds to get into the end zone one more time.
Also for SJA, Mario Garcia tallied second-half TDs on a pair of 1-yard runs, including the second one as time expired.
“We had them fourth-and-3, fourth-and-12 and fourth-and-16, and they converted those situations into touchdowns,” Villarreal said. “You can’t do that against a really good team in the playoffs and expect to win.
“But we never stopped fighting,” he added. “I am so proud of our boys, the coaches, our seniors and our captains — just everyone, because we showed what Bloodhound pride is about. We showed who we are as a team.”