MISSION — Mission High completed its perfect run through the District 31-6A South Zone with a 41-7 victory over PSJA North on Friday afternoon at Tom Landry Stadium.
The win keeps The Monitor’s No. 4-ranked Eagles undefeated on the year, clinching a playoff berth and setting up a showdown next week for the District 31-6A championship against North Zone winner, Edinburg Vela.
Junior quarterback Jeremy Duran paced Mission High with five total touchdowns — three through the air and a pair on the ground — as the Eagles overpowered PSJA North with their ground game and play-action passing.
From start to finish, Mission running backs Andrew Maldonado and Damian Cortez found plenty of room to run, courtesy of the Eagles’ offensive line. Maldonado finished with one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown, as he turned a pass in the left flat from Duran into an 11-yard score down the left sideline.
Duran also threw a touchdown to Jose Cortez, who fought off a defender for a 56-yard score, and the final touchdown of the game, when Duran hit his younger brother, Justin Duran, for a 4-yard score on a receiver screen.
After surrendering a touchdown to PSJA North on its first possession of the game, the Mission High defense buckled down to pitch a shutout over the final three quarters.
The Eagles’ defensive line won the battle at the line of scrimmage and it translated to PSJA North mistakes. Mission High finished with four takeaways as defensive backs Luis Briseño and Jose Tovar came up with interceptions, and Cristian Hernandez and Ivan Chavez jumped on two Raiders’ fumbles.
PSJA North’s lone score came on its opening drive as the Raiders converted a fourth-and-14 from the Mission 29-yard line when freshman quarterback Ale Aparicio threw a touchdown pass to junior receiver Thomas Bruce.
Through three 31-6A games, the Mission High defense has given up just two touchdowns. During that span, the Eagles have outscored league opponents 121-14.
Next up for the Eagles (4-0, 3-0) is a battle against the Edinburg Vela SaberCats (4-0, 3-0) for the District 31-6A next week. The game is scheduled to be played at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Tom Landry Stadium in Mission.
Meanwhile, the loss locks PSJA North (3-3, 3-1) into the No. 2 seed in the South Zone. PSJA North advances to a 31-6A play-in game against the No.3 seed out of the North Zone, Edinburg North (2-3, 2-3). A time, date and location are to be determined.