By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
PHARR — Through the first couple of games, Mission Veterans Memorial coach David Gilpin charted approximately 30 dropped passes from his team’s receivers.
Part of that stemmed from a blowout loss to Odessa Permian, in which the Patriots completed 21 of 44 passes. But since returning to face Valley competition, Mission Veterans has been more accurate with its aerial attack. The latest example came Friday, as Diego Hernandez connected on 23 of 31 passes for 401 yards and six touchdowns to spark a 48-41 victory over PSJA North at PSJA ISD Stadium.
Hernandez posted his second consecutive six-TD night a week after leading a 52-14 win over La Joya Juarez-Lincoln. On Friday, the junior QB was poised facing a series of blitzes as he connected on 20 of 25 passes for 270 yards and four TDs through halftime to build a 29-17 lead, before throwing his lone interception of the night during the fourth quarter.
“They were running cover zero, so that means they were running man. So we just had to beat them on the line of scrimmage, and the deep ball was open all night,” Hernandez said. “We just had to get enough protection to be able to protect the pocket.”
Coming into the game, Gilpin said the offensive line remained a work in progress. There were flashes of positive signs throughout the season, but at times it committed mistakes. On a night in which Hernandez threw his 13th TD pass of the year, the QB described the offensive line as playing “amazing” as the Patriots improved to 3-1.
Hernandez found four different receivers, throwing scoring strikes to three of them Friday. Adam Solis (eight catches, 206 yards) was his favorite target. He hauled in three TDs, giving him five for the year. Bobby Tovar (six receptions, 72 yards) had two scoring catches and Jacob Guerra (one catch, 12 yards) added another.
“Our receivers were running beautiful routes, and they were making my job easy all night long,” Hernandez said.
PROVIDING A BOOST
Nursing a finger injury and lower back problems, PSJA North coach Jorge Peña opted to sit sit starting quarterback George Olivarez in favor of backup Darren Fuentes.
Olivarez, however, gave Peña the nod to start the third quarter. He made his mark during the Raiders’ second series of the half, when he found Brandon Villarreal on a 33-yard TD that trimmed the deficit 35-27 with 7:20 to play in the third.
He found Bo Adams with 8:05 remaining in the game, bringing North within 48-34 to keep things close down the stretch.
“Hopefully our kids are not banged up too much, and we’ll be healthy when we play next week,” Peña said.
Fuentes, the team’s starting inside receiver, connected his lone attempt of the half for 27 yards, while rushing for 63 yards on five carries.
RELENTLESS
North (1-3) blocked two extra-point attempts Friday. The second was returned by Raudel Alvarez, after Mission Veterans scored on a 97-yard TD pass from Hernandez to Solis with 9:41 to play in the third. Alvarez returned it for two points, shaving the deficit 35-19.
The Raiders also blocked the Patriots’ first PAT. Cesar Castro returned it to the opposing 30-yard line before being tackled.
“There’s three phases to the game, and we work really hard on special teams,” Peña said.
North’s Michael Garza also returned a fumble on Mission Vets’ second drive for a 60-yard score, giving the Raiders a 7-0 edge with 7:03 to play in the first quarter.
THE REAL DEAL
Mission Veterans has a bye next week before opening District 31-5A action at Sharyland High in Week 6. North hosts Weslaco High in its District 31-6A opener in Week 5.