BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — Mission Veterans’ 7-on-7 team faced little to no resistance during the first full week of June.
Last Saturday, the Patriots ran past Mercedes and scooted by crosstown rival Mission High 40-38 in the championship game of a non-state qualifying tournament. The winning didn’t stop there. Mission Veterans went 2-0 in the Mission 7-on-7 League on Monday night, 2-0 in the McAllen 7-on-7 League on Tuesday night and won its first three games of Saturday’s state qualifying tournament by a total of 70 points.
Mission Veterans started strong against Laredo Alexander in the final but ran out of gas in the second half, resulting in a 38-27 defeat.
“You can’t blame the kids for that. The kids have been here all day, and the heat was starting to get to them,” Mission Veterans 7-on-7 coach Adrian Morales said. “We were moving the ball just fine in the first half, but our slot receiver (Mikey Garcia) got an ankle cleated, so he wasn’t playing at full speed. But I’m happy they competed. That’s all we could ask for.”
The Patriots started the game by scoring on three of quarterback Landry Gilpin’s four touchdown throws, but he later threw a pick-six. The Bulldogs defense held the Patriots offense scoreless on four of their final five possessions.
“They (Laredo Alexander) have a really good defense,” Gilpin said. “Their defensive backs are really athletic. It was hard to go deep on them, and that’s basically what we did all day against other teams. We tried to score on big plays, because we’re a one-play-down-the-field-for-a-touchdown, strike-up-the-band kind of team, but we weren’t able to do that. Some of our short plays weren’t working, either.”
As a junior wide receiver in 2017, Leo Cantu made three total receptions, one of them a touchdown catch. Alongside The Monitor’s 2017 All-Area Newcomer of the Year in Garcia, Cantu stepped into the spotlight during Saturday’s title game with three touchdown grabs to help keep the Patriots in business.
“I have to give credit to our summer conditioning,” Cantu said. “Me and my teammates run at least 100 routes every day. We’re on our way to perfecting our routes. That’s what helped me be as successful as I’ve been during these 7-on-7 games we’ve played.”
In addition to Garcia laboring through a cleated ankle, Cantu fought through a left hamstring injury. As the injuries, fatigue and scoreless drives continued, frustration began to mount. The Patriots were called for several penalties in the second half after playing a relatively clean 20-minute first half.
“We had some mishaps, but everything happens for a reason,” Cantu said. “We try our best, but we can’t always be perfect. We just have to continue on to the next game, route, throw or ball we catch.”
Mission Veterans has yet to decide whether it will compete in another 7-on-7 state qualifying tournament. The closest qualifying tournament to the Valley will take place in Corpus Christi next Saturday.
“We won’t know until the district lets us know,” Morales said. “We’ll see what happens.”