KRISTELA GARZA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
MISSION – Rain and thunder did not deter the patrons of Tom Landry Stadium on Friday night, as Mission Veterans Memorial eluded PSJA North 47-39 to improve to 3-1.
“This game went how I was expecting,” Mission Vets coach David Gilpin said. “PSJA North was a very good team and we knew that coming in. Coach (Jorge) Pena has done a good job.
“It is very obvious he has changed the culture and the mentality of that program.”
That change in mentality did well for the Raiders in the first quarter. Northscored a touchdown off the bat before the Patriots picked up the pace, taking a 13-7 lead in the second quarter and never letting up.
A Jay De Leon interception led to another Patriots score as Mission Vets settled for a 20-10 halftime advantage.
Senior quarterback Santos Villarreal helped keep the Raiders at bay with his dual-threat ability, but North fought back within a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. From there, it was score for score as Mission Vets left with the upper hand.
“Coach said it was going to be a dogfight,” Villarreal said. “We feel pretty confident right now. We had a really tough preseason but we have our train rolling and I believe it is going to be hard to stop.”
The Raiders fell to 1-3.