BY GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — As Mission High’s Tuesday football practice came to a close, senior safety David Flores ran to the edge of the practice field and started passing out water balloons.
While Mission High’s defensive players spread out along the sideline, head coach Mario Peña and three of his assistants took positions about 10 yards away. Once the players were all armed and ready, Peña shouted one simple instruction: “Not to the head!” As he turned and blew the whistle, the water balloon barrage began.
“You know how the coaches make us work hard?” Flores said. “Well, now it’s time to get back at the coaches.”
The opportunity is one the Eagles have earned twice this season. The offense can select a coach for every touchdown after 14 points, and the defense gets a shot for every forced turnover after its second, or for a shutout.
Mission’s defense has proven more than up to the challenge so far, compiling 18 turnovers on the year and scoring a touchdown in every game. The play on that side of the ball is a big reason Mission High is 2-2, already matching last season’s win total.
“One of my coaches had mentioned something to the effect of, ‘We’re so tight, coach,’” Peña said. “We talked about it, and I said, ‘Let’s make it fun. Let’s put some goals out here.’”
Despite integrating a lot of new pieces after losing nine seniors to graduation, the Eagles have allowed just 194.8 yards per game.
Peña and his players credited the overall strength to team chemistry and togetherness, brought on mostly by senior leaders Flores, Juan Salazar, Henry Morales and Marc Garcia.
“We’re growing a lot closer, a lot tighter. We do everything together,” Garcia said. “It’s not singles on the team. It’s us. It’s a ‘We’ issue. Last year, we didn’t have a lot of that.”
Garcia is the team’s shutdown corner. He described himself as a quiet player who doesn’t like to smack talk. He prefers playing man to man rather than zone, and often takes the assignment literally.
“If the kill shot presents itself, I’m definitely going to take it,” Garcia said. “I’m not one of the guys that goes after the ball.”
Morales, a free safety, has a similar mentality, saying he “loves hitting.” One of the team’s leading tacklers last season, Morales has returned this year as a more vocal presence. After a season in Peña’s system, Morales has better learned how to diagnose plays, recording multiple tackles for loss on sweep plays during last week’s win against Edinburg High.
“That just comes with experience, knowing our defense and knowing how to adjust,” Peña said.
Flores has been making most of the calls in the secondary, and Salazar has taken a huge step forward at linebacker thanks to his energy and aggression, Peña said. After making just seven tackles in a reserve role last season, Salazar has become one of team’s leaders in stops.
“This is my last year: I’m making it memorable,” Salazar said. “When I graduate, I can look back and say I made it from down here, to up here.”
Next to Salazar at linebacker and atop the tackle leaderboard has been a sophomore: Steven De Leon.
At 6-foot and 200 pounds, De Leon has made an early impact because of his size and his ability to pick up Mission High’s aggressive, blitzing defense. De Leon said he isn’t the fastest player on the field, but he can quickly diagnose where a play is going.
“When he hits, I guarantee you’re going to feel that hit,” Peña said. “With him, it was a matter of transitioning from freshman football to varsity.”
De Leon said he expected to be second string, but he rapidly worked his way to the top of the depth chart. Garcia said De Leon impressed him with his willingness to put in extra time watching film and in the weight room.
“If anybody would tell me to hit a brick, I would hit a brick as hard as I can,” De Leon said. “Run straight through a wall. I would do whatever I can to make it to first string.”
De Leon has been a pleasant surprise, but Flores said the biggest surprise has been the unit as a whole. As district play starts this week, the Eagles are hoping to erase last season’s 1-5 mark.
“We had a good mentality coming in, and we’ve shut people up,” Flores said. “We did lose two, but we’re going to be shutting people up. They’ve doubted us.”