SAN BENITO — The San Benito Greyhounds battled for a Week 1 win over McAllen Rowe, and today they’ll aim to do the same facing another test in the Mission Veterans Memorial Patriots.
San Benito (1-0) plays host to the Patriots (0-1) at 7 p.m. at Bobby Morrow Stadium. The Greyhounds had a lot of open spots to fill heading into the season, and so far, plenty of talented prospects have stepped up to keep the team competitive.
Coach Dan Gomez said the expectations for San Benito haven’t changed despite the youth, and he wants all three phases to continue playing at the “highest level possible” in Week 2.
“I’m learning to have more and more patience each day as we move forward. But we are moving forward, and that’s the positive thing,” Gomez said. “As we evaluate and coach our kids up, kids start to do well in positions and now we just hope they mature mentally fast enough so they can play even better. …
“We’re expecting a good, old fashioned football game. Mission Vets and coach (David) Gilpin are going to bring the best they can, and it’s going to be a hard-nosed game,” Gomez added.
San Benito’s defense came up clutch in the 20-13 win over Rowe, and the unit will need to be on its game again with Mission Veterans coming to town. Its spread offense likes to move the ball around, but senior outside linebacker Mauricio Padilla believes the Greyhounds are ready to keep the typically explosive Patriots contained.
“We know Mission Vets passes a lot, so we expect to see a lot of passing. And whatever plays they do run, we’re going to stop them. Passing plays, we’re going to have everything covered,” Padilla said. “It’s going to be a battle. We know we have to go out there and fight. We have to go 100 percent every play, every down. It’s never going to be easy, no one’s ever just going to give it up. But we have a good team, and we’re going to do good.”
Padilla said the ’Hounds’ defense knew it needed to help out the offense last week, and it is prepared to do it again today. The team members feed off each other, so as the defense gets hot and starts making stops, the offense gets fired up and gets going, too.
Junior athlete Rodney Rodriguez is leading San Benito’s offense as the quarterback while the unit finds its identity. He’s one of the few experienced offensive weapons, getting time as a receiver and running back last season. The versatile playmaker is being helped by a hard-working offensive line, senior left guard Isaiah Guerrero said.
“We’re still trying to get our momentum and keep on going. We’ll find out later in the season what we are and progress. (The line is) just building chemistry together, working out together, getting strong and putting in the extra work together after practices to get to know each other better,” Guerrero said.
Guerrero and his linemates are preparing for “a lot of blitzing” from Mission Veterans and focusing on maintaining the linebackers. He believes if the Greyhounds finish all four quarters and “just go all out through the game,” they’ll be able to put another check in the win column.
With their “Sharpen the Axe” mentality in place, the ’Hounds have put in the work through another game week and are ready to step up to any challenge.
“(The motto means) preparation for victory. You prepare, sharpen the axe until gameday. We’re ready to dominate and get the win,” Guerrero said.
