A Mission Veterans Patriots and Mission Eagles season preview
We’re less than a month away from Friday night lights shining down on the home field of the Veterans Memorial Patriots and the Mission Eagles. These two historic programs are getting ready to kick off the season with a bang. Though they may not have a lot of similarities on the outside, both teams share one common goal: Represent Mission to its finest.
Mission Veterans Memorial Patriots
The Patriots finished last season as District 16-5A co-champions with a 4-1 record. They kept that momentum up with a 43-6 first round win over the Valley View Tigers. In the second round of the playoffs, they took a 38-6 loss to the Pieper Warriors that finished their postseason run.
In February, coaches from all over the Rio Grande Valley met up in Edinburg to see if their teams were going to be reclassified for the next two years. In that meeting, the Patriots were realigned from 16-5A to District 15-5A, which may not be a major change to some, but there is one key difference: Their district got smaller.
Mission Veterans’ Quarterback #1 Braden Luedeker during last Friday’s game against McAllen Memorial Mustangs. Progress Times photo by JoeVela.
Their previous district was already small with six teams playing only five district games each, but now they’ll only get to play four. Most of the district is filled with familiar faces. The district consists of the Roma Gladiators, Pioneer Diamondbacks, Sharyland Rattlers, and the new guys on the block, the Alice Coyotes. All of these teams, minus the Coyotes, played against each other in 16-5A and there was a three-way tie for first place. The district co-champions, along with the Patriots, were the 4-1 Gladiators and the 4-1 Diamondbacks. The 0-5 Rattlers missed the mark.
Last season the Alice Coyotes finished undefeated in their district with a 6-0 record and a district championship. With that being said, the district is filled with four teams coming off championship winning seasons that should make for great competition. With only so much room for error, Progress Times spoke to Patriots head coach David Gilpin about how they’re preparing for this district.
“Nothing special,” Gilpin said. “We’re going to prepare to win every football game anytime we step on the field. You gotta win as many district ball games as you can and hope that you’re standing on top at the end.” He went on to say, “Four of the five teams put a gold ball in their trophy case last season. It’s a tough district and you can’t count out anybody.”
The Patriots’ offense will have big shoes to fill as they graduated a good chunk of key players. Arguably the most important position on the field will have a new face to it. Junior quarterback Cameron Sarinana will be stepping up to the plate as the starting quarterback. Sarinana is not new to this game, nor this position, but what he’ll bring to this offense should be nothing short of electric.
Gilpin told us, “He is our next guy. He is legit, he is extremely talented, he has great work ethic, he’s very coachable, a good team leader, he’s got all the characteristics and the qualities that you’re looking for in a quarterback, and he’s very talented.” He went on to say, “I have no doubt in my mind that he’s going to take over and become a household name in the Valley for the next two years.”
There were three big losses to the wide receiver room with seniors graduating, but Gilpin will have two returning lettermen in a duo of senior wide receivers Jonathan Duberney and Jordan Rodriguez. These two experienced players will be playing big roles for the high-powered offense and will be the one of many weapons that Sarinana will have at his disposal. One name that Gilpin told us to look out for is Robert Sharpe, who will be playing on both sides of the ball this season. Despite the losses at receiver, Gilpin is confident that these three will step up and get the job done.
In the backfield will be Edward Martinez who showed flashes last year filling in as the team’s lead running back. Martinez will continue to lead the running back room for the Patriots. Though they’re not known to be a “running team” Martinez has shown that he’s valuable on this offense with his pass catching ability and intensity.
The defensive side of the ball for the Patriots is a different story. They’ll be returning their leader in tackles Aiden Uribe and the man who followed him in Chris Garza. This senior linebacking duo will be holding their own as the leaders of the defense along with junior Ryan Guerra and junior defensive lineman Kevin Casiano. Gilpin was optimistic about his defense. He told us, “The defensive side of the ball is going to be special this year. We got great ball players.”
The Patriots will play a total of ten games this season: Six of those being non-district games and four of those being district games. Per usual, Coach Gilpin filled up the Patriots’ non-district schedule with the best possible competition. They’ll play in the Battle of Conway against the Mission Eagles at Tom Landry Stadium in Week 1. They’ll travel to the home of the Edcouch-Elsa Yellowjackets in Week 2. Week 3 will see them back at home for a game against the PSJA Bears. They’ll go on a two game stretch away from home field to play the Laredo LBJ Wolves in Week 4 and the Harlingen Cardinals in Week 5. They’ll cap off their non-district schedule at home against the Hanna Golden Eagles in Week 6.
From there, the district season will begin against the Sharyland Rattlers in Week 7 at Richard Thompson Stadium. They’ll get to face the newest edition to the district Alice Coyotes at home in Week 8. Following that, the Patriots will go on the road and travel to Roma to play the Gladiators in Week 9 and then finish off their district schedule at home against the Pioneer Diamondbacks in Week 10.
This prestigious program will have their work cut out for them. This district is going to be competitive, but the Patriots football program has proven time and time again that they’re not the ones hunting, they’re the ones that are being hunted. One thing that the Patriots are looking forward to is getting it all started. “We’ve put in work all offseason, we’ve put in our dues, and I know we have a little more time to go, but there’s been an unbelievable commitment from our coaches and our kids that has gotten us into position to prepare us for this season.”
With the amount of experience and talent this team possesses, there’s no doubt that this season is going to be a fun one to watch. Progress Times is looking forward to being a part of this ride through non-district, district, and hopefully a long run in the playoffs.
Mission Eagles
Last season, the Eagles finished in 4th place in District 31-6A with a 2-3 record. That 4th place finish landed them a playoff game against the Weslaco Panthers, but after a 6-35 loss, their postseason came to an end.
Months later, the Eagles found out that they’ve been reclassified from 6A to 5A. As a result, they’ll be playing in a new district, 16-5A. This is a whole different monster of a district packed with teams that are just as deadly as the last. District 16-5A is made up of eight teams, the Vela Sabercats, McAllen Bulldogs, Memorial Mustangs, Rowe Warriors, Palmview Lobos, Juarez-Lincoln Huskies, the Rio Grande City Rattlers and of course the Mission Eagles. Last year’s district champions were the 7-0 PSJA North Raiders, who are not a part of this district this year. In second place were the 6-1 Sabercats followed by the 5-2 Mustangs then the 4-3 Bulldogs.
With that in mind, Progress Times spoke to Eagles head coach Daniel Longoria about his team’s reclassification. He told us, “There’s that anxiety but excitement, but more than anything our kids are excited for a new challenge. 31-6A was an awesome district and I’m going to miss those guys and the teams we played along with the rivalries we had, but we have rivalries over here in 16-5A.” Longoria went on to say, “I think it’s going to be neat that we’re going to open up old rivalries against McHi, Rio Grande City, McAllen Memorial and those are the things that I’m bringing up to the kids.”
Longoria talked about emphasizing the importance of tradition. If there’s anybody that can help teach the Eagles about the tradition of their school it’s the MCISDs newest edition at Athletic Director, Tom Lee. We spoke to Longoria about what Lee has been able to bring to table for the Eagles in that regard, “Coach Lee is a football coach first and foremost. His father’s name is on the field house and that’s something that I’ve fought for in making sure that we care for that.”
“Right away, Lee is making his walk throughs and guess what he’s doing, coaching up the secondary,” Lee added. “You gotta love him for doing that. His support and experience of being a head football coach and a former Mission Eagle, it’s awesome to have him there with us. He hit the ground running, you know how Tommy is.”
The Eagles are coming back this season with an experienced squad. A now senior dual-threat quarterback in Diego Salinas, a workhorse running back in Thomas Aparicio, and a receiving core consisting of Christopher Kirk and Shelby Sital that have worked hard with their quarterback over the last couple of years to get this offense rolling. Last season the Eagles compiled over 5,000 yards of offense and scored nearly 400 points. The offense wouldn’t be able to get moving without getting deep in the trenches. Senior center Matthew Ramirez and junior left tackle Jurgen Morales will be key players driving this offense forward.
Mission Eagles’ Thomas Aparicio evading the Falcon defense to move the ball forward during last Friday’s game against Los Fresnos Falcons. Progress Times photo by Joe Vela.
The defense will be backed up by a group of defenders that have proven that they’re a true embodiment of what it is to be an Eagle. Senior linebacker Christopher Avila, junior linebacker Jose Sanchez, and their leader in sacks last season sophomore Johnathon Kader will be returning to the team along with junior defensive lineman Jordan Garcia and lockdown defensive back Alexis Alvarado. As coined by Longoria, Alvarado is the emotional leader on the field for the defense. He told us, “I appreciate all the help he has to offer and the work he does.”
Coach Longoria went on to tell us, “We have a great squad of seniors and returning lettermen.”
As mentioned before, the Eagles were reclassified to District 16-5A which means a brand new schedule for them. The Eagles will play a total of ten games: three non-district and seven district games.
They will kick off Week 1 against the Veterans Memorial Patriots at Tom Landry Stadium in the Battle of Conway. They’ll face off against the Weslaco East Wildcats at home in Week 2. Their non-district games will come to an end in an away game against the Sharyland Rattlers in Week 3.
From there the Eagles will begin their journey in a new district in a home game against the Vela Sabercats in Week 4. Week 5, they’ll face off with the Memorial Mustangs in McAllen. They’ll come back home for Week 6 to play the Palmview Lobos then travel to Rio Grande City to play the Rattlers in Week 7. What follows is a two game home stretch for Week 8 and 9 against the Rowe Warriors and the McAllen Bulldogs. In their final district game, the Eagles will travel to Juarez-Lincoln to play the Huskies.
Longoria talked about the ultimate goal for his squad, “It’s something that’s been on the board for a long time, is to find a way to win a district title. We’re going to open up with Robert Vela and the district couldn’t have handed us a tougher opponent. They’re a traditional powerhouse.” He went on to say, “For us, and I learned this from my good friend and mentor, is to use tradition to win those tough games. That’s something that I’m teaching these kids and I’m hoping that we can use that in the fourth quarter to give up that extra fuel to win those types of games.”
This Eagles team is hungry, and everyone knows it. They’ve got an incredible array on the offensive and defensive side of the field. With the amount of talent that they’ll have on the field at any given time, Progress Times is sure that they’ll have a great run in this district that is sure to carry over into the playoffs.