BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — Christmas Day may have come 10 months early for the Mission Veterans Patriots.
On Feb. 1, the University Interscholastic League released new district and regional realignments, sending shockwaves through the Valley. The Patriots, who competed in a nine-team district in football last season, will take part in a 10-team, all-Valley district this fall in a new-look Region IV.
A bigger district doesn’t faze coach David Gilpin, who will return a large number of what he called “special” pieces to the 2018 team. The program won 10 games and a district championship last season, but Gilpin envisions a long playoff run this year.
“I want our team, our coaching staff and our football program to believe in the possibility of getting five gold balls,” Gilpin said. “We’ve used that as a slogan for our team with the #FiveGoldBalls on Twitter. What that means is being district champs, the bi-district champs, area champs, regional semifinal champs and the regional champs. That would put us in the final four teams as the Region IV champion.”
“I am saying that this is a possibility. It’s not a ludicrous statement. It’s not a reach, and I’m not going to shy away from it. The only person that will come away looking like a dummy, if it doesn’t happen, is me.”
While he holds this belief, Gilpin is aware of the odds stacked against his squad.
“I know Valley teams don’t usually talk about going that far. We talk in terms of making the third round and if we have a magical season, we talk about the fourth round. You have to have a special group of players across the board to have a chance at it,” Gilpin said.
The new UIL realignment has bumped strong Houston area teams like Angleton and Richmond George Ranch to Region III, leaving a wide-open opportunity for programs like the Patriots and Corpus Christi Flour Bluff to potentially shift regional supremacy.
“(Corpus Christi) Flour Bluff is regarded as one of the highest-rated teams in Region IV, year in and year out. We’ve played them six times in the playoffs since I got here,” Gilpin said. “They are the benchmark for our conversation. I’m not saying we’ll beat them on an annual basis, or even next year, but we can play with them and have a great chance to beat them.”
Junior Joey Garcia is one of those special players Gilpin referenced. The linebacker piled up numbers all over the defensive side of the ball, finishing second in tackles (113), sacks (3.0) and fumble recoveries (two) while leading the Patriot defense with four interceptions in 2017.
“I definitely believe it,” Garcia said. “We’re going to have to work for it. Grind hard every day until August. For guys like me and Landry (Gilpin), this will be our senior season. We’ll have to lay it all out there if we want it to come true.”
FROM UNHERALDED TO STARTER
Before the 2017 season opener against Harlingen High, safety Elias Delgado was not a projected varsity starter.
“We had our varsity and JV practice together,” Gilpin said. “(Defensive back) Coach (David) Longoria knew Elias, because he ran track for him. He kept telling me about how much he liked him. I kept an eye on Elias, but I wasn’t sold yet.”
“I hadn’t practiced with varsity, but Coach told me, ‘I’m going to give you this shot. If you play well, we’re going to keep you there,’” Delgado said. “I remember my teammate Gio (Grimaldo) talked to me before the game, telling me not to be afraid. My heart was pumping.”
Delgado had six tackles and two pass deflections in the Patriots’ win against the Cardinals.
“Gio said after the Harlingen game that I belonged here the whole time,” Delgado said. “That really got my hopes up.”
Seemingly out of left field, Delgado led the team with 139 total tackles, 41 of which came solo, in addition to two interceptions.
“After the Harlingen (High) game, keeping him there was a no-brainer,” Gilpin said. “Elias kept making plays and has turned into what the kids call a hit stick. He’ll lay the wood, because he’s a physical kid.”
Delgado will be a senior defensive back in the fall, filling a prominent role relinquished by the outgoing Grimaldo.
“People won’t just be focused on me, they’ll be looking at our whole defense,” Delgado said. “We’re only losing Gio, Aaron (Fernandez) and one of our defensive lineman. We’ll be good.”
DI ASSISTANT STOPS BY
A Division I coach paid a visit to the Patriots’ practice on the morning of May 2.
Mike Canales, the new quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at UTEP, stopped by Mission Veterans practice presumably to get a peek at junior quarterback Landry Gilpin, The Monitor’s 2017 All-Area Player of the Year.
“After our first warmup, I went over and introduced myself to Coach Canales,” Landry said. “After that, I was a little more up on my game. I was trying to make sure everything was correct and my mechanics down.”
Canales is entering his 33rd season coaching at the college or professional level. Previous stops include stints as an offensive coordinator at the University of Arizona and South Florida. He was also the wide receivers coach with the NFL’s New York Jets. Most recently, Canales coached quarterbacks with the University of Tennessee last season.
While Canales’ visit was only that, David Gilpin was glad he found the time to come to the Valley.
“He’s a very accomplished Division I coach,” David Gilpin said. “I have a lot of respect for him to take a look at Landry. I’m not saying Landry’s a DI player or anything like that. It was nice for him and the University of Texas at El Paso to take some time and look at our practice for a part of his day.”
MISSION VETERANS PATRIOTS
Returning starters (O/D): 5/5
Returning lettermen: 27
Key players: QB Landry Gilpin, LB Joey Garcia, WR Mikey Garcia, RB Danny Cantu, DB Elias Delgado, DB Gus Garza, WR John Aguilar
Coach: David Gilpin, 10th year at school
2017 record: 10-2