The St. Joseph Academy Bloodhounds saw two of their stars from last season commit to go play at the Division I level in college.

Both OT Diego De La Cruz (UTEP) and WR/RB Claudio Torres (UTRGV) helped power a Bloodhounds offense that averaged 40.4 PPG and just shy of 300 rushing yards over the entirety of their season. Of the team's 67 rushing and receiving touchdowns last season, Torres was responsible for 40 of them.

"To replace two individuals with two other bodies, that's never gonna happen," Bloodhounds head coach Tino Villarreal said. "Those are two Division I college football players and the only way you do that is by asking the whole unit to step up to the plate. We have a really good core of returners, but we also have some really solid guys that all understand they all have to up their game."

The Bloodhounds are aided by the fact that their signal caller is back.

Senior quarterback Gavin Cisneros enters his final season of high school football this fall.

"Keep fighting, keep pushing, even when sometimes it might not be looking good," Cisneros said when asked what his message to the team is ahead of this season.

Cisneros shined last season with the help of his offensive firepower, throwing for 14 touchdowns through the air and rushing for another nine on the ground as a junior. He'll be one of the players the Bloodhounds are hoping can power the offense this year as they look to replace the offensive production that Torres posted last year.

"Expectation of course is get to the state championship," Cisneros said. "Getting the district championship is not going to be as easy as it was last year, we're gonna need to work for it."

St. Joseph Academy opens their season in Week 1 against Raymondville. They start district play in Week 9 against Victoria St. Joseph.