BY DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — The first start of quarterback Edgar Longoria’s high school career will not be forgotten anytime soon by Sharyland High fans.
With his Rattlers team in a precarious situation in the District 31-5A playoff picture, needing to win out to control its own destiny and make it to the postseason, the sophomore produced a heck of a debut, completing 14 of 21 passes for 211 yards and four touchdowns and rushing for 109 more yards on 17 carries to lead Sharyland High to a 42-28 win over Mission Veterans Memorial on Friday night in front of a Homecoming crowd at Richard Thompson Stadium.
“Beast, man,” senior defensive back Andres Tamez said of Longoria.“He’s a great leader. He was Mr. Cool the whole time. He was calm and composed, and I’m really glad he played the way he played.”
The stellar introduction happened to occur on Longoria’s birthday. He turned 16 years old on Friday.
“This win is the best birthday present,” Longoria said. “I didn’t want anything else. I dedicated it to all my seniors, being their last guaranteed home game, and they deserve it.”
If Sharyland High (6-3, 5-2 31-5A) beats Rio Grande City (6-3, 4-3) next week, it will go to the playoffs. If not, and Mission Vets (5-4, 4-3) beats Valley View, there will be a three-way tie between the teams determined by positive points.
Mission Vets, which beat Rio Grande City last week, could have clinched a playoff berth with a win against Sharyland High.
Laredo Nixon and Sharyland Pioneer is each 6-1 in district, followed by Sharyland High at 5-2, and Rio Grande City and Mission Vets at 4-3 each.
“Win and we’re in,” Mission Vets coach David Gilpin said. “That’s the situation we’re looking at. We’ve got work to do, there’s no doubt. But I don’t want to focus on the negativity of this game, where there was a lot we didn’t do well in the second half at all. We have to get back at it and find a way to get in.
“If we get into the playoffs, we get a chance to start over and that’s all you can ask.”
Mission Vets and Sharyland High were tied at 21 apiece at halftime Friday. The Rattlers fumbled the kickoff return to start the second half, and Mission Vets capitalized when Diego Hernandez found Roman De Leon from 13 yards out to go up by 7.
But that was the last that would be heard from the Patriots as Sharyland High did a better job putting pressure on Hernandez, the Rio Grande Valley’s most prolific passer, as the game wore on.
The Rattlers only sent three or four rushers at Hernandez, but Mission Vets’ offensive line was no match for the athleticism and speed. After gaining 220 yards in the first half, the Patriots, 31-5A’s second-best offensive unit, managed just 111 in the second.
“Early on, (Hernandez) was scrambling a lot,” said Tamez, one of the key rushers who produced big tackles on Hernandez behind the line of scrimmage. “We adjusted to make sure he didn’t extend plays anymore and were able to get a lot of sacks, a lot of tackles for losses.”
From there, it was Longoria’s show. After De Leon’s score, Longoria found David Medrano on a beauty of a 32-yard scoring play. After the defense forced a Mission Vets fumble and recovered, Longoria struck again, this time finding Miguel Pena from 32 yards out to go up 35-28.
Fernie Perez’s 43-yard rumble of a run up the middle with 18 seconds left in the third quarter capped the scoring.
“All this week, I’d prepared myself as if I was the starter,” Longoria said. “I just gave it my all. They were playing Cover 3 and we took advantage with a lot of quick outs to our outside receivers. It worked.”
The offense flowed just as if the starter was senior Alan Alvarez, the district’s third-best passer whom Sharyland High coach Ron Adame said was sidelined with a hurt shoulder.
Longoria connected with five different receivers, simply taking what the defense afforded him. When that wasn’t working, he threw it up to star receiver Edgar Alanis, who caught nine passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns.
“After that first TD to Edgar (with 9:11 left in the first quarter), all the butterflies went away,” Longoria said. “I played comfortably from there, knew my teammates had trust in me and went from there.”
Coming off two losses that put them in a dire situation to begin with, the Rattlers were happy to see a well-played game, not just the win. The running game returned, as Sharyland High amassed 248 yards on 39 carries (6.4 yards per carry), and Longoria filled in admirably for Alvarez.
Adame said he will wait and see before declaring the starter for next week’s big game at Rio Grande City. Either way, he has two solid options, he said, as well as big momentum.
“We’re hoping this win is going to carry over and get us something going into the last game of the year,” Adame said. “Nothing is a sure thing. Several things can factor out, but the bottom line is we can take care of it with a win next week.”