Alec Castilleja had a feeling that he might end up playing quarterback after a new coaching staff took over the St. Joseph football program prior to last season.

Castilleja had been a running back in junior high and spent time at receiver, quarterback and running back as a freshman. New coach Randy Hollas and his staff had the Eagle players try out at several positions before last season, and Castilleja earned the starting quarterback job.

"I just wanted to be in the role that would best help the team," Castilleja said. "I had a feeling it would be quarterback. After coach Hollas came, I started to get that mindset to be ready for it."

Hollas played quarterback in high school and coached quarterbacks at Katy before taking over the St. Joseph program. He knew what he was looking for in a quarterback and saw it in Castilleja, who was then a slender sophomore.

"He's a natural kind of guy that you would expect to play that position," Hollas said. "Alec's a great athlete. He throws the ball well. He's a great runner. The biggest downside to Alec is there's only one of him, you know?"

Castilleja helped the Eagles reach the TAPPS state playoffs in his first year as the starting quarterback. He completed 102 of 220 passes for 1,499 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Needless to say, the position fit Castilleja well.

"I was excited, but coach said I had to step up and be a leader on the team," Castilleja said. "We're under a lot of pressure as quarterbacks, but I was willing to sacrifice myself for the team. "I see myself as a leader, and I just wanted to play a position where I could help with that. Being a positive influence is a big thing, telling the other players that they can do it. You need to be positive on and off the field."

Castilleja did more than tell his teammates what they could accomplish: He showed them.

The biggest victory of the season probably was St. Joseph's 32-31 overtime victory over Brazos Christian, a game that eventually got the Eagles into the playoffs and proved Castilleja's big-play ability.

Against Brazos Christian, Castilleja went 17 of 27 for 203 yards with two touchdown passes. He threw a fourth-down touchdown pass in overtime and scrambled for the game-winning two-point conversion.

"He's able to make plays that others can't, like last year against Brazos Christian," Hollas said. "He made that play on his own."

The Eagles will have a good group of receivers to work with Castilleja, but St. Joseph lost projected starting running back Shane Peevey to a broken arm in the first week of preseason drills. Castilleja has enough running ability to take up some of that slack, but he's too valuable to get the bulk of the carries and risk injury.

"I've got to be careful how I manage his plays," Hollas said. "He's good running the football, but I just get so scared when he gets in there with those big nasties."