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Two Rio Grande Valley high school football teams squared off this past Friday, just as more than a thousand teams did across the state.
But these teams lost senior players to tragedies at the beginning of the season.
This was the first game for the St. Joseph Academy Bloodhounds since the death of its cornerback, Anuar Jobi. Last week, Jobi was killed in a head-on collision that injured three other St. Joe student athletes.
Their opponent, the Santa Rosa High School Warriors, lost one of their guards, Arturo Sauceda, in July. He was shot and killed by his stepfather while trying to protect his mother, who was also shot.
“Words cannot express the tremendous grief of our schools, both Bloodhounds and Warriors, together are experiencing over the tragedies that have impacted our communities," a man identified as Brother Wright said over the loudspeaker.
On the sidelines, coaches praised their student athletes, especially as St. Joe took an early lead and scored a touchdown. Then another. And another.
The Bloodhounds won the game. St. Joe’s athletic director and head football coach Tino Villarreal said they won the game out of grief. He must now navigate that grief for his team the rest of the season.
“You know, leadership starts with setting an example. And the example is to smile every day, is to hug them every day, it’s to pray with them every day," Villarreal said. "It's to let them know that football is just the vehicle, but we're here because we care about them as human beings and we love them. And so, we don't say that enough in this sport.”
Though his team lost, Santa Rosa head football coach and athletic director Joe Marichalar offered condolences to the Bloodhounds after the game. This was bigger than football.
“We understand the pain that you guys are going through," he said. "The families, also, coaches, we understand that. So on our end, we're going to pray for everybody tonight. We had a good game. We wish you guys the best. And prayers for everybody.”
At the end of the game, the survivors of the crash that killed Jobi joined their fellow Bloodhounds on the 10 yard line, Jobi’s number, breaking out a final time before leaving the field.
The number 10 will be displayed on the Bloodhounds’ helmets and scoreboard for the rest of the season.
