(Mission, Texas)-At the start of the season, Mission Veterans HS head football coach, Dave Gilpin said it best, ”I’ll be happy if we end our non-district schedule at 3-2. It’s one the toughest schedules yet.” On Friday night, after two straight blowout losses to powerhouses Harlingen (56-0) and San Benito (53-7), the Mission Veterans Memorial Patriots picked up win number three, defeating another 32-6A team, Brownsville Hanna 27-25.
The Pats started their first drive with QB Vince Abrego leading his team, went deep on third down but the ball went incomplete. On fourth down, the Pats punted the ball two-yards and the Eagles took over at Pats 28-yard line. Like the Pats, the Eagles went for it on fourth down and a block below the waist gave the ball back to Veterans. At midfield, Abrego spotted WR Enrique Ordaz for a 50-yard score to take a 6-0 lead with 2:43 left in first quarter.
With :26 left in half, ahead 13-12, the Eagles scored but missed the extra point. The Patriots did not lay down, Abrego scrambled to find WR WR Jordan Rodriguez open for a 80-yard touchdown pass to end the half. Well, almost. A flag was thrown by the TASO official erased the six points.
In the fourth quarter, the Patriots upped their lead to 27-19 over Brownsville Hanna but the Eagles would score to end the game 27-25 with Hanna WR Emiliano Hernandez catching the ball from QB Josh Villafranco. The two-point conversion for tie was missed with :42 seconds left to play. (HSSMImages/AdrianIbarra)
