MISSION — Friday night’s non-district matchup featuring Mission High against Sharyland High started off as a shootout with a combined 44 first-half points scored between the two.
In the third and fourth quarters, however, the Eagles were the team with all the firepower on their side as Mission prevailed 36-22 over the Rattlers on Friday at Richard Thompson Stadium in Mission to close out non-district play.
“We had a talk with them at halftime and they responded well and I’m proud of them for that,” Mission head coach Danny Longoria said. “The fact that we put two great quarters of play together defensively and offensively, we cleaned up a lot of things we did incorrectly, and I’m proud of them. They came out swinging.”
Mission. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])
Five different Eagles hit pay dirt in the win while the Mission defense pitched a second half shutout after entering the locker room tied at 22.
“I’m just super proud of our team. It was a close game at halftime, but our coaches told us let’s keep going and that’s what we did and we came out victorious,” Mission quarterback Diego Salinas said. “It feels good having those weapons, the speed that we have and the play-calling, too.”
Mission. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])
The Rattlers dug themselves out of an early hole to start the shootout. Sharyland defensive back Jose Vega ended Mission’s opening drive with a red zone interception and was tackled at the 1-yard line.
The next snap, Sharyland’s first offensive play of the evening, was a handoff in the end zone and Mission defensive lineman Elian Garcia was quick to pounce with a tackle for loss to cause a safety.
The Eagles kept the pressure on with a 41-yard touchdown pass from Salinas to receiver Christopher Kirk on the next possession for a 9-0 Mission lead.
The Rattlers shook off the slow start and scored back-to-back touchdowns on an 8-yard quarterback keeper by Calvin Harris and an 8-yard pass in the right flat to Francisco Gomez to race ahead 14-9.
Mission. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])
Mission answered right back with the next two scores to make it a 22-14 game as running backs Richard Acevedo and Thomas Aparicio found the end zone on runs from 2 and 37-yards out, respectively.
The Rattlers responded with a little trickery on a double pass throwback as Harris took the snap in shotgun, lateralled the ball to Santiago Longoria to his right who threw it back to Harris. The Sharyland quarterback caught the ball and out-ran everybody down the left sideline for six. Longoria converted the two-point conversion on a shovel pass from Harris to tie things up just before the half.
The Eagles’ offense soared with two big plays in the second half and used a heavy dose of Aparicio to put the game away. Salinas threw deep down the left sideline to receiver Santiago Gonzalez, who caught the pass and broke two tackles before running into the end zone. The Eagles then forced a punt and used a jet sweep to Shelby Sital for a 67-yard touchdown run for a 36-22 advantage.
Mission. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])
“Next week, going into district with two tough teams, teams are going to see on film that every guy is a weapon. Not just me, not just Shelby, not just Yandel, everybody is a weapon on offense,” Aparicio said.
Mission added a pair of red zone stops in the second half to keep the contest a two-score game with a turnover on downs and a fumble forced by Roel Martinez and recovered by Jonathan Kader.
Mission. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])
“It helps to be able to distribute the ball to the great kids we have. I just think coming into district play next week against a very tough opponent, this was a must-win for us and we responded well, I believe,” Longoria said. “I think offensively, we played well. Defensively, we created turnovers when we needed them the most and I think that was a great job by our defense because Sharyland is a tough team. Coach (Craig) Krell does a great job and has a great team and best of luck to them.”
The Eagles (2-1) move on to District 16-5A DI play next week and open against the Edinburg Vela SaberCats (3-0) at 7 p.m. Friday at Tom Landry Stadium in Mission. The Rattlers (1-2) will look to bounce back with another non-district test against PSJA Southwest (0-3) at 7 p.m. Thursday at Richard Thompson Stadium in Mission.