By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — Playing receiver at Mission Veterans Memorial, Jacob Guerrero understands plenty of responsibility falls on their shoulders.
No team in the Valley has depended more on the passing/receiving game than the Patriots, who have thrown the ball for 1,903 yards. And now with a season-ending injury to starting quarterback Diego Hernandez, Mission Veterans will rely even more on one of the more productive receiving corps to usher in a new signal-caller.
“We’ve been through it all,” Guerrero said. “Like coach says, ‘it’s next man up.’ We have to work with it. We have to step our game up to help (Landry Gilpin, the new quarterback), and play to the best of our abilities.”
The Patriots (4-2, 1-1 District 31-5A) have had to make plenty of adjustments this season, for a variety of reasons. Three-year starting quarterback Santos Villarreal graduated, leaving the job open for Diego Hernandez. Following his ankle injury last week — coupled with the departure of backup QB/receiver Adam Solis — Gilpin will now take over under center.
Though a freshman, the receivers are banking on their familiarity with Gilpin, previously a receiver, to sustain their momentum.
“For us, we’re going to have to carry a big load,” junior receiver Roman De Leon said. “Do we feel Landry can get the job done? We do. We’re just going to have to step our game up, execute and be ready for anything that comes our way.”
Since his hire seven years ago, Mission Veterans coach David Gilpin has maintained that an aerial attack would be the Patriots’ best shot of advancing far in the playoffs. They went to the second round of the postseason in 2014, despite injuries. And now with Johnny Martinez, their lead back, having missed time due to a dislocated elbow, the Patriots have turned to their mainstays for inspiration.
Bobby Tovar and De Leon are the main holdovers. This year, Tovar leads 31-5A in catches (49) and yards (654) while tying for touchdowns (7), and De Leon has hauled in the fifth-most yards in district (354) for five scores on 33 catches. They’ve helped the Patriots produce 463.3 yards per game (best in district), while generating the second-most yards in 31-5A (31.8 points per contest).
“It doesn’t come naturally that we throw the ball all over the field,” David Gilpin said. “The time and effort has certainly been there for the kids.”
That means offseason work, 7-on-7 passing leagues and weekends flinging around the football, trying to build camaraderie. Now they’ll proceed with a new figure under center, maintaining the year-by-year expectations of aiming for a district title and peaking in the playoffs.
“The chance is still out there for anything,” Tovar said.
“We can’t use Diego going down as an excuse,” De Leon added. “Like coach says, it’s next man up, and we have to keep going from there.”