Blues Battle: Mission Vets runs it up against PSJA Southwest

PHARR — Four weeks ago, the Mission Veterans Memorial Patriots came here to PSJA Stadium and suffered their only loss of the season. 

A three-game winning streak is what Mission Vets was riding with as they entered this game on day two of October.

But the Patriots (5-1, 2-0) are one more game closer to defending the District 16-5A DII championship as they defeated the PSJA Southwest Javelinas (4-2, 0-2) by the score of 44-20.

With the dub, Mission Vets sits at the top of the district and ever since early September, the team has been looking pretty darn good as they’ve beaten tough squads, such as the Weslaco Panthers and Los Fresnos Falcons.

Head Coach David Gilpin said that it was a “wake-up call” early in the season when they lost to the PSJA North Raiders, but since then have been scrapping with the best of them.

“You know, we’re either gonna strap up, and we’re gonna go out there, and we’re gonna go toe-to-toe with whoever’s in front of us,” Gilpin said. “Or we’re gonna have to go hide somewhere. And our kids made a decision, just come out swinging.”

That they have as this is the fourth win in a row and the third straight game with 30-plus points put up on the board — which isn’t an easy feat to do in RGV football territory.

Mission Vets — who rocked jerseys similar to the Indianapolis Colts from back in the day — were the first to draw blood through a safety as Nathan Rodriguez brought down Agapito Perez for the 2-0 lead.

The second quarter is when the humidity from the rainpour and action picked up for both squads.

Ball on the 6-yard line, Mission Vets’ quarterback Roman Reyna scrambled and dodged three Javelina defenders for the touchdown pass to Alejandro Melendez to push the cushion to 9-0.

The Patriots’ defense did a solid job throughout the first half with keeping the Javelinas in check. More notably, they did a decent job at taming Raul Garza — who is one of the top rushers in the region. The Javelinas, who looked like they were donning Penn State uniforms, were sparring with Mission Vets as it was a test of endurance during the quarter.

The Javelinas in a wildcat package on a 4th and goal, faked a run by Eddie Morales as he lobbed it over some white jerseys to Jordan Ramirez to bring the deficit to 9-7.

But the morale was cut short as Joseph Vazquez broke out for a 75-yard touchdown run to bring it to 16-7. However, quick to the jugular, with one minute left in the first half, Reyna found Fabian Ruiz off a 31-yard touchdown pass at the right end zone pillar. Reyna also punched it in for the two-point conversion to make it 24-7 at the break.

One of the biggest ailments for the home squad was the missed tackles for the defensive side of things. There were multiple times in the half and throughout the game where Javelina defenders grabbed a runner but were unable to bring them down.

After the break, Garza swaggered his way along the right-hand sideline as he broke free for a 66-yard touchdown dash. After a missed extra-point opportunity, it was 24-13, with the Patriots leading.

The Javelinas faced a huge blow on a 4th and 9, as Reyna dodged — yet again — three defenders to bring the Patriots to the 1-yard line. The junior quarterback then got the call on the keep to bring it to 31-13. There was another jab to morale as the Patriots were quick to score off a 79-yard scramble by Vazquez to bring it to 37-13. On that drive, it only took Mission Veterans four plays to climb 91 yards. That was Vazquez’s second touchdown of the game that was for more than 70 yards.

On a quarterback scramble in the fourth quarter, Reyna zipped it to Melendez for a 35-yard touchdown pass, which was his second touchdown of the game to make it 44-13.

Southwest was able to mend the bleeding a bit after Edward Montanez got a fumble recovery in the end zone, but it wasn’t enough to rally any comeback.

Mission Veterans’ Reyna had himself four total touchdowns — three passing and one rushing to lift the Patriots in the district contest. After the game, the junior said that the team has grown together over the past few games to put themselves in the current position that they’re in.

“We show that we can play,” Reyna said. “Simple mistakes throughout the past games, and we just, we build off that. So, the score really showed tonight. … Every week, it’s gonna be a competing battle.”

PSJA Southwest will look to bounce back against the Juarez-Lincoln Huskies (4-2, 0-2) over in La Joya on Oct. 8. As for the Patriots, they will look to build upon their success as they host Sharyland (3-2, 1-0) over at Tom Landry Stadium on Oct. 9.

“You never take them lightly,” Gilpin said of the Rattlers. “They’re capable of stepping on that field and lighting you up at any time. … Sharyland is gonna be ready, but so are we.”