By KEVIN NARRO
Staff Writer
BROWNSVILLE — Entering Saturday night’s battle of two unbeaten District 16-5A Division I teams, it was the top-rated Mission Veterans Memorial offense that flexed its muscles against the district’s best defense in Brownsville Pace.
The big plays came early and often from Patriots senior quarterback Landry Gilpin, who accounted for six touchdowns (four passing, two rushing) en route to a crucial 48-35 road win over Pace on Saturday night at Sams Memorial Stadium. Gilpin threw for 305 yards and ran for 186 yards on the night.
On its opening drive, Mission Veterans needed just four plays to find the end zone. A 60-yard run from Daniel Cantu set up a 5-yard touchdown run from Gilpin that helped set the tone for the night.
“(Pace is) a really good football team,” Patriots coach David Gilpin said. “We couldn’t get away from them. Offensively, we did what we expected to do, and that was to put points on the board.”
Mission Veterans improved to 7-0 in district play and handed Pace its first district loss of the season in seven games. The Patriots also clinched a playoff berth and now have reached the playoffs nine out of the past 10 seasons.
“We have been keeping an eye on Pace, they are big and play physical,” David Gilpin said. “We struggled with them defensively, but our defense came up with two big stops in the second half and our offense capitalized and we were able to run away with it.”
Late in the first quarter, Pace’s Jose Banda found Ilijah Solis open in the end zone to cut the lead to 13-7.
Landry Gilpin responded with a 78-yard score and, on the next drive, hit Leo Cantu on a 51-yard strike to build a 27-7 lead.
The Vikings hung around, and Banda hit Carlos Pulido on a 27-yard score that trimmed the lead to 27-14 late in the second quarter.
But for every left hook Pace threw, Mission Veterans had an answer. Landry Gilpin responded with his second passing touchdown of the half, extending the lead to 34-21 at halftime.
Leo Cantu was a key part of the Patriots’ aerial attack, with eight catches for 196 yards and three scores. Running back Daniel Cantu ran wild on nine carries, with 111 yards rushing.
“Since September we have been working, we have stayed healthy and fresh, and at this point we feel great going forward,” David Gilpin said. “We don’t have a built-in rivalry in this district. Most of our boys are not too familiar with most of these teams. That has been the issue for us, but it is the same for most of the district.”
The Vikings’ offense still managed to get its rushing attack going in the loss. Brandon Zapata led the ground game with 12 carries, 167 yards and one touchdown.
The Patriots head into the final two weeks with a matchup against La Joya Palmview in Week 10 before their regular season finale against Brownsville Lopez.