By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
RIO GRANDE CITY — The road to the playoffs didn’t come without some uncertainty. Within a matter of days, Mission Veterans Memorial lost its starting quarterback to injury and one of its top receivers to transfer in Week 7, leaving some question as to whether it could hold its place atop the standings.
The Patriots put those concerns to rest Thursday, beating Rio Grande City 14-3 at Joe R. Sanchez Stadium to clinch a playoff berth and stay in the running for a District 31-5A title.
“This is just another example of what we’ve been talking about,” Mission Vets coach David Gilpin said. “There’s no excuses. And once the kids bought into that philosophy, it allowed them to keep going. Because the minute we say ‘woe is me,’ it’s going to be tough to win games in this tough district.”
Going into Week 11, the Patriots (7-2 overall, 4-1 in district) will try to accomplish what no other team has this season: beating Edinburg Vela (9-0, 5-0), ranked No. 2 in the latest RGVSports.com Top 10 poll. If that happens, Mission Vets would draw a two-way tie for first place and thus nab its first share of a district title since 2010.
Freshman quarterback Landry Gilpin helped set the stage, scoring once on the ground and once in the air to guide the Patriots to their fourth consecutive win and six of the last seven.
He scored on a 7-yard run with 3:55 left in the opening half, and later found senior Bobby Tovar on a 12-yard strike. He finished the night completing 18 of 32 passes for 180 yards and two interceptions.
“We’ve talked about this since (starting quarterback) Diego (Hernandez) went down,” David Gilpin said. “You’re putting a freshman in there (at QB), and he’s going to make mistakes. So it becomes the role of the seniors, the role of our lettermen, guys that been there, to step the level their level of game and allow him to not to feel the pressure to do it all himself.
“And our guys have done a great job of that, and they’ve done a good job of rallying together.”
Gilpin has filled the starting role since Hernandez tore a ligament in his left foot during a Week 7 game against Roma.
FALLING SHORT
Rio Grande City (3-6, 1-4) struggled to move the chains, picking up only five first downs and generating 96 yards of offense.
The Rattlers fell behind even further when they gave up 45 yards on penalties during an 80-yard drive that ended with Tovar’s 12-yard haul.
“That’s what really hurt us right there,” RGC coach Carlos Longoria said. “When you give up 45 yards on penalties, you shorten the field. … But I have to give it to them. They came in and beat us. We played well, but not well enough.”
The defense did its part to keep the Rattlers in the game, intercepting Landry Gilpin twice during the second quarter. In three games, the freshman had thrown only one pick.
OUT OF THE MIX
By losing Thursday, RGC became the second team in 31-5A to fall out of the playoff picture. Valley View (0-8, 0-4) was eliminated after last week’s loss to Mission Veterans.
After an injury riddled season, the Rattlers missed the playoffs in 2014. They last qualified in 2013, when they advanced to the area round.
“They battled,” Longoria said. “It wasn’t for a lack of effort. They played their tails off. I hurt for them, I feel for them. I feel for them tremendously. But we have to regroup. We have a game left and we have to play for each other.”
UP NEXT
Mission Veterans will close out the regular season next Friday against Vela, which is off this week with a bye.
RGC will travel to Sharyland High on the same day.