BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
CORPUS CHRISTI — Mission Veterans wide receiver A.J. Gonzaque hauled in a pass from quarterback Landry Gilpin inside San Antonio Veterans’ 10-yard line and appeared to be headed for paydirt.
The 6-foot-1 Gonzaque threw a stiff arm at a San Antonio Veterans defender, but he didn’t carry the football with him. The ball was slapped out of Gonzaque’s clutches and squirted into the end zone.
“I saw A.J. (Gonzaque) throw the stiff arm and I thought, ‘This will be on his highlight film for sure,’” Mission Veterans receiver Leo Cantu said. “I had my hands in the air a few yards behind him because I thought he was going to score. I saw the ball fly out and I just threw myself at the ball. There were all these bodies around me. I just had to hold the ball and I knew we’d be good.”
It was a serendipitous night for Cantu and his Mission Veterans (11-1) teammates. In addition to recovering Gonzaque’s fumble for a score, Cantu finished the night with six catches, 129 yards and a career-high three touchdown receptions as a part of the Patriots’ 48-23 win over San Antonio Veterans in a Class 5A Division I area round game Friday night at Cabaniss Stadium.
“Tonight was an incredible feeling,” Cantu said. “The atmosphere was amazing. Not any team can play in the second round, but we had a chip on our shoulder coming in. All these Coastal Bend teams or San Antonio teams think ‘Valley Week’ is a motto for them. We’ve been proving them wrong. Right now, we feel unstoppable as a unit.”
San Antonio Veterans elected to defer to Mission Veterans’ offense, which at that point, went three-and-out for the second time this postseason. San Antonio Veterans (8-4) made a field goal on its first offensive possession of the night, but it went scoreless for the next 28 minutes and 51 seconds of game action.
Mission Veterans’ defense did a little bit of everything to end San Antonio Veterans’ drive by forcing four punts, two on three-and-outs, two turnover-on-downs and two interceptions. Senior linebacker Jazz Vallejo snagged his second interception of the season while safety Gus Garza picked off his second pass in two postseason games this month.
Gilpin continues to one-up himself in big games. The senior signal-caller threw for 328 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for 194 yards and two more scores. In two playoff games, Gilpin has thrown for 11 touchdowns, rushed for four and committed zero turnovers.
“Right now, Landry’s able to choose from Leo (Cantu), John (Aguilar), Mikey (Garcia), Ralph (Ochoa) and A.J. (Gonzaque). And we’ve got backups that can play too,” Mission Veterans coach David Gilpin said. “We have an outstanding group of receivers and an outstanding O-line. You don’t know if 12 (Landry Gilpin) is going to throw it or run it, so you have to keep your head on a swivel. They are something special.”
While Gonzaque lost what would have been a touchdown reception in the second quarter, he recorded 102 receiving yards and his first two postseason touchdowns.
“I had some nerves last week (against Victoria East), but now I know these (playoff) games are just like any other,” Gonzaque said. “Scoring in the postseason made me feel really good about myself and my team. It’s a special moment because I really want to see our seniors go out with a bang. I just want to make my team proud.”
Mission Veterans will face Corpus Christi Veterans at 8 p.m. next Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio. David Gilpin last coached in a playoff game inside the Alamodome in 2010.
“The chance to play December football in a climate-controlled environment is something we’ll take,” Gilpin said. “Our kids are excited to play there, but none of these kids have. A large part of our coaching staff was there in 2010. It’s an exciting time for Patriot football. We’re going to ride this wave as long as we can.”