By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
Contrasting offensive styles will be on display at 7:30 p.m. Friday as St. Joseph Academy plays host to Port Isabel at Canales Field in the final non-district football game of 2015 for each team.
SJA (3-1) likes to try to catch opponents off guard by reeling off plays as quickly as possible with an up-tempo offense featuring a quick-strike passing attack. Port Isabel (3-0) prefers to control the clock by chewing up time with its heralded ground game.
The Bloodhounds don’t shy away from running the ball, either, and the Tarpons are not adverse to passing it as well.
Still, something figures to give Friday as each team is riding a three-game winning streak and would very much like to go into its district opener in two weeks with some momentum. Both squads are open next week.
“We’re playing a good football team,” Tarpons coach Monty Stumbaugh said of the Bloodhounds. “They’ve gotten better on defense, and they’re explosive on offense. They’re a dangerous team with a quarterback (in Kai Money) who can beat you with his feet and his arm. He’s tough to prepare for. We have to play well (to win).”
This marks the fourth meeting between the teams since they began playing each other again in 2012 following a hiatus of 10 seasons. The Tarpons have won those three games by scores of 51-30 in 2012, 49-18 in 2013 and 44-21 last season.
SJA coach Tino Villarreal takes some consolation in the fact that the Bloodhounds were leading at halftime 27-22 in 2012 and 14-10 one year ago.
“We’ve been ahead at the half in two of the last three games against them, but we just haven’t been able to finish,” Villarreal said. “That’s what we have been preaching to the guys (is playing well all four quarters).
“To me, this is the first time that we’re entering this game on an even playing field,” he added. “I feel good about it. If we can just keep from turning the ball over, we should be fine.”
Regarding his impressions of the Tarpons, the SJA coach said, “They’ve added a few wrinkles here and there, and they may be going to the pass a little bit more, but fundamentally, they look like a classic Port Isabel football team. That’s what we’re expecting, and we have to stop what they do. It should be a good, healthy test for both teams.”
The Bloodhounds’ offense revolves around Money, a sophomore QB who leads the team in rushing (537 yards, eight touchdowns) and passing (549 yards, 11 TDs with no interceptions). Money and Anthony Cantu, a sophomore running back (341 yards, eight TDs), are averaging 10.7 and 6.3 yards per carry.
SJA’s top receivers are Bernie de la Garza (16 catches, 196 yards, five TDs) and Dave Lapeyre (15-170, three TDs).
For the Tarpons, the main rushing threats have been quarterback Omar Silva (199 yards, one TD), and running backs Anthony De La Garza (140 yards, one TD) and Ivan Gonzalez (127 yards, one TD). Silva, De La Garza and Gonzalez average 6.0, 5.8 and 6.4 yards per carry, respectively.
“We didn’t do all that well offensively last week against Valley View (in a 14-7 victory),” Stumbaugh said. “We want to do better on offense.
“Being 3-0 feels good, and we’re happy with where we’re at,” he added. “It’s a whole lot better than being 0-3. We just want to be 1-0 this week.”
The Bloodhounds are coming off last week’s 65-8 win on the road against Pharr Oratory in the annual “Holy Bowl.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.