Gilpin praises defense after Patriots silence Huskies
MISSION — A patriot is known for defending his territory and Mission Veterans Memorial’s Patriots defended theirs Friday night at Tom Landry Stadium.
The Patriots shut down La Joya Lincoln-Juarez, and didn’t let the Huskies cross the goal line until late in the fourth quarter in a convincing 34-15 rout in District 32-4A play. The win keeps the Patriots’ (4-3, 2-2) playoff hopes alive as they head to Edcouch-Elsa next week.
Leading 10-0 at half, Mission Veterans defenders Jacob Garza and Rolando Moreno ran interceptions back for touchdowns in the third quarter. Couple those with an Adrian Morales to Raul Becerril touchdown pass and the game was essentially over with the Patriots leading 31-0 at the end of the third quarter.
Lincoln-Juarez’s primary weapon, workhorse running back Jose Bocanegra, had 12 yards rushing and the offense could only muster three first downs to that point. Maintaining defensive intensity for a full game warmed the heart of Vets coach David Gilpin.
“We want to take pride in finishing up a second half,” Gilpin said. “I am proud of them. We came out after halftime and put the wood to them.”
After starting QB Eddie Mendiola went down in the first quarter with what was reported as a knee injury, backup Adrian led them on four scoring drives – including two touchdown passes to Becerril. In fact, Mission Veterans offense and defense combined to score four touchdowns over a 10-minute span, and Lincoln-Juarez never recovered.
Even Patriots kicker Marcos Vento got into the act as he booted two field goals, including a 35-yarder. Veterans tried for the shutout, but Bocanegra came on strong at the end of the game and ended up with 109 yards rushing and two touchdowns. It was the Huskies (1-3, 3-4) lone bright spot as it could not get its running game untracked. On the rain-soaked field, the two teams combined for 11 fumbles.
