RGVSports.com
Mission Veterans Memorial blanked Rio Grande City in the second half Thursday en route to a 21-12 victory at Tom Landry Stadium.
The Patriots (7-2, 4-1) won their fourth consecutive game while clinching a playoff berth in District 31-5A.
“I’m really proud of our guys,” Mission Veterans coach David Gilpin said. “We’re starting to put it together. Really happy for them. Clinching a playoff spot is big and we’re there now.”
Quarterback Santos Villarreal, in his second game back from a sprained ankle, threw for three touchdowns. He found Roman De Leon on two scoring strikes and Adam Solis on another, as Mission Veterans positioned itself for a runner-up battle next week when it closes out the regular-season against Edinburg Vela, the No. 2 team in district.
“I have a lot of respect for what they’re doing (at Vela),” Gilpin said. “We feel we’re a little bit under the radar. We feel we’re in the conversation with Sharyland (High) and Edinburg Vela. We have a chance to prove that (next) Thursday.”
Rio Grande City (2-7, 1-4), which closes out district with arguably the toughest schedule in the Valley, put forth another strong effort, staying within striking distance of the Patriots.
Last week, the Rattlers came within a made extra-point conversion of tying No. 4 Edinburg Vela with eight seconds remaining and focusing overtime. On Thursday, RGC was trailing No. 8 Mission Vets 14-12.
“Rio’s not a bad club at all. They competed hard,” Gilpin said. “They gave us all we could handle. Coach (Carlos) Longoria’s doing a good job over there. There ain’t no quit in that bunch.”