MISSION — The Mission Veterans Patriots entered their contest against Sharyland High never having won a game against the Rattlers, holding a 0-5 mark.
On Thursday, however, led by a terrorizing defense and a bruising run game, the Patriots downed the Rattlers 27-16 at Richard Thompson Stadium in The Monitor’s Game of the Week.
“I asked our players tonight to be special,” Mission Veterans head coach David Gilpin said. “I told them this was a huge game. We were 0-5 against this bunch. In my tenure as a head coach, we had never beat them.
“To come out and get this win tonight, nobody likes to say they’ve never beaten a team. You don’t take pride in that. That’s discouraging. But it does give you a reason to come out and battle. So, it was certainly on our mind. 4-0 just sounds good right now.”
Defensively, the Patriots stifled the Rattlers’ offense, holding them to under 200 yards of total offense, while coming away with five sacks and four turnovers.
Defensive end Mark Champion delivered a monster performance, racking up three sacks and returning an interception 45 yards for a score late in the fourth to give the Patriots a 27-14 advantage.
“I’ve said it year-in and year-out with him, Mark Champion is a player,” Gilpin said. “That guy and the passion and energy he brings, so for him to make that play. We were yelling, “Screen! Screen! Screen!” He gets a piece of it, cause we had a one-score lead at that time, it was a seven point game. So, I see he gets a piece of it, and I think we stopped the screen. Next thing you know, he has it in his hands and he’s headed down the sidelines. You know the old coaching cliche, big time players make big time plays.”
Champion’s touchdown was the third of the fourth quarter by the Patriots, helping the team overcome a seven-point deficit en route to a 4-0 record in district play.
Offensively, senior quarterback Ricky Reyna left his mark, throwing for 111 yards and one touchdown, adding a pair of scores on the ground, including the go-ahead touchdown with 8:56 left to give the Patriots the lead.
Patriots running back Allen Vasquez helped his team grind out the win, bruising through defenders for 111 yards on the ground.
“Nobody believes that we can run it,” Gilpin said. “But in the second half we did a great job of running the ball. Nothing fancy, we were just running dives and leads in there.
“Allen was running really tough in there. Ricky did a great job of being the field general. He was picking up throws here and moving the chains in the second half.”
Running back Alan Guerrero shouldered the load offensively for the Rattlers, rushing for 81 yards on 19 carries, while all-purpose player Alek Guerrero delivered a standout performance, taking the first play of the second quarter 69-yards for a touchdown and coming down with an interception on the final play of the first half.
Quarterback Cole Gerlach added a touchdown pass to Diego Zavala midway through the third, but that would be the last time the Rattlers would find paydirt, losing their first district contest of the year.
Up next, the Rattlers (3-2, 2-1) face another marquee matchup, hitting the road to take on the Mercedes Tigers (5-0, 3-0) on Friday, Oct. 8, at Tiger Stadium in Mercedes.
Meanwhile, the Patriots (4-2, 4-0) take on the PSJA Southwest Javelinas (0-5, 0-3) on Thursday, Oct. 7, at Tiger Stadium in Mercedes.