MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
On Tuesday, Mission Veterans Memorial coach David Gilpin upgraded quarterback Santos Villarreal’s status to “day-to-day” as his team gears up for Sharyland Pioneer on Friday.
“He’s doing everything treatment-wise with our trainers and doing everything we can to get him back on the field,” Gilpin said. “We don’t want to rush him. We don’t want him to re-injure himself or be limited. Once he’s ready to go, we’ll get him out there.”
Initially, the Patriots did not have a timetable for Villarreal’s return. But with swelling going down in his right ankle, the team remains hopeful he will return soon. As Villarreal inches closer to taking the field, the Patriots will stick with sophomore Diego Hernandez, who has taken all the snaps since Villarreal sprained his ankle in the third quarter of a Week 6 game against Sharyland High.
In one quarter of action, Hernandez completed 14 of 18 passes for 126 yards. And on Friday, in his first game starting, he connected on 23 of 42 passes for 295 yards for two touchdowns. He didn’t record an interception or fumble in any game.
“Diego’s looked good (in practice this week),” Gilpin said. “He’s a real sharp guy. He’s got great leadership qualities. Not too much bothers him, not too much ruffles him. He’s come out and gotten the job done the last two days in practice. We’re pleased with his growth.
“He understands the situation. He understands that it’s his job to keep us rolling, to go win football games. He understands. And Santos is doing everything he can do to get healthy. That’s part of the game plan.”
Despite playing in only five games, Villarreal leads all district quarterbacks with 1,099 passing yards. He’s thrown for eight touchdowns and has completed 48.4 percent of his throwing attempts.
The Patriots (4-2, 1-1) sit in a two-way tie for third place in district heading into their collision against Sharyland Pioneer (3-4, 1-2).
ADDING A WRINKLE
Passing may not have been at the top of Roma’s priority list when it started the season 2-0 or even 3-1-1. But dropping to 1-2 in district put matters into perspective.
If the Gladiators hope to make the playoffs, coach Max Habecker Jr. understands it’ll have to be with a balanced offense, which is why he’s placing added emphasis this week on developing an aerial attack.
Outside of a 60-yard passing game in the season opener, quarterback R.J. Garza has averaged 17.8 yards per game, including a Week 2 contest in which he came up empty after three attempts. Last week, the Gladiators totaled just 34 passing yards — good enough for the second-highest mark for the team this season.
Part of that can be attributed to the loss of Aldo Ramirez, a first-team all-district wide receiver, who has missed a significant portion of this season with a shoulder injury. Habecker said he will have a better timeline for Ramirez’s return when he receives medical results later this week.
Roma (3-3-1, 1-2) will travel to take on top-ranked Sharyland High on Friday.
WAITING PATIENTLY
Rio Grande City should have a better idea of where it stands with quarterback Jason Gorena when they receive his MRI results this week.
Gorena, who has yet to miss a game this season, checked out of Friday’s contest against Valley View midway through the second quarter. Rattlers coach Carlos Longoria declined to speculate about the non-contact injury that led to Gorena missing the remainder of the second half of the what turned out to be a 14-13 loss.
RGC, which has lost three players to season-ending injuries, sits out this week with a bye. It resumes action Oct. 23, when it hosts fourth-ranked Edinburg Vela.