DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
After two straight District 31-5A losses, Mission Veterans Memorial readjusted its priorities.
“Now our goal is to get to the playoffs,” Patriots coach David Gilpin said. “After losing to Harlingen (in Week 1), we were talking about winning nine in a row. Then it was about a district championship. And now it’s not really a possibility, so we want the playoffs, starting over 0-0.”
The Patriots (4-3, 3-2 31-5A) lost to Sharyland Pioneer and Laredo Nixon the last two weeks; the latter was a 71-45 setback in Laredo.
After a couple of games in which the inexperienced defense, featuring 10 non-returners, appeared to take steps forward, Mission Vets allowed 607 yards last week as Nixon scored on 10 of 10 possessions.
“There’s no ‘we’re young anymore,’” Gilpin said. “But it’s still a brand new defense we’ve had to put pieces into place. That continues to be a work in progress. It’s not an exact science. It’s a matter of constant evaluation. It’s been tough, because we felt we were a really good defense last year and the pieces we’ve had to replace we’ve had high expectations for.”
The Patriots, while No. 2 in the district in offense, rank next-to-last in defense, allowing 32 points on 382.9 yards per game.
Mission Vets particularly struggles against the run. Tackling, execution of alignments and understanding of responsibilities are weaknesses. The Patriots do fine swarming to the point of attack, but have trouble finishing plays.
“We’re grinding and trying to come up with answers,” Gilpin said. “We’re not satisfied. The defense is not where we want it to be, and at the end of the day it’s all about results.”
NEXT MAN UP
By its standard, this season is already a success for Donna North. The three-year-old Chiefs have a program-best win total (2) and notched their first home win earlier this season.
But the playoffs remain a realistic goal. It will take some doing — coach Matthew Rokovic said the Chiefs have to at least win all of their remaining four games — but a foundation is starting to be put in place.
“We played together as a team,” Rokovich said of last week’s 46-16 win over Brownsville Porter. “Our defense played very well, three turnovers for touchdowns, and that was special. Those things are few and far between. It was a great pick-me-up game for our kids. We’ve got better consistency on offense and the kids played well. Everything fell together.”
The Chiefs are 2-4 overall, 1-2 in 32-5A. And they’ve had to go about it while attempting to establish a consistent lead back.
First, it was senior Dominic Ochoa. Ochoa was the Valley’s leading rusher when he suffered a season-ending injury during the district opener against Edcouch-Elsa; though he hasn’t played since Week 4, Ochoa is still fifth in rushing yards in the district.
Now it’s on to junior Tony Gomez. Gomez rushed for 192 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries last week.
“He’s getting better every week,” Rokovich said. “He’s come in and done a great job. He’s a junior, so this is a valuable, valuable time for him.”
Gomez has good speed and slashes well. His vision is getting better and Rokovich is hoping he puts on at least 20 more points in the offseason as he matures into the feature back role.
Overall, Gomez has 420 yards this season and averages 7.5 per carry.
A NEW DYNAMIC
A different element for Sharyland High’s offense this year compared to most is the bruising running back.
Generally, the Rattlers have mostly had shifty, quick and elusive backs. This season, however, Jowan Payton, Fernie Perez and Abraham Ruiz are physical brutes that get yards the old fashioned way.
“We’re able to get those third-and-short downs and block the edge on sprint-outs and get more protection,” Rattlers coach Ron Adame said. “In the past, we had good shifty backs, but these guys are a different downfield dimension.”
Payton, in particular, has been a revelation. A transfer from Chicago, Payton gives the Rattlers size and power in the backfield.
This season, the senior has 226 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries.
“He’s a bruiser,” Adame said. “He gives you those tough yards inside, and the last few years we haven’t really had that. This year we’ve got about three of them.”