Running wild: Mustangs, Patriots set to collide in GOTW
By BRYAN RAMOS
Staff Writer
McALLEN — The Mission Veterans Patriots have established themselves as one of the premier passing programs across the Rio Grande Valley during the last two decades.
Meanwhile, the McAllen Memorial Mustangs have mastered the art of the ground-and-pound, run-based offense with a punishing style of play.
The two contrasting squads who rode their offenses to district titles during the 2021 season are set to take center stage in Week 2 as the No. 5 Mustangs host the No. 7 Patriots in the RGVSports.com Game of the Week at 7:30 p.m. Friday at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.
“I was excited to get this game because it is a definite contrast of offensive philosophies. That’s not saying we’re right or not saying they’re right — this is what we believe in, that’s what they believe in, and we’ve both had success doing what we do,” Mission Veterans head coach David Gilpin said.
“Their kids do a great job over there, and you really got to give credit to Coach Gilpin and his staff over there. They’ve been together for a long time and they’ve done a phenomenal job year-in, year-out,” McAllen Memorial head coach Moses Patterson said. “You think back, and there’s kid after kid after kid at the quarterback and receiver position, and now this year they have a couple standout backs that did a good job against Mission High last week.”
While Mission Veterans has a reputation for airing it out offensively, last week’s 32-20 season-opening win against crosstown rival Mission High was sparked by the Patriots’ ball carriers. Running backs Jose Garcia and Pablo Lopez ran for 123 and 145 yards, respectively, as the Patriots finished with 294 total rushing yards, the highest mark in a single game for the program since the bi-district round of the 2018 playoffs, when Landry Gilpin was behind center.
“Definitely a little new for us, definitely not what we’ve hung our hat on in the past, but when you got your run game rolling, we just stayed with it. It was definitely different, but I couldn’t be prouder,” Gilpin said.
While the Patriots’ rushing attack was a pleasant surprise in Week 1, it was business as usual for McAllen Memorial’s ground game.
Senior running back Max Alaniz-Choy rumbled for 201 yards and a touchdown as the Mustangs finished with 414 rushing yards during their 31-28 win over Brownsville Hanna.
“It really all starts up front. Those guys are kind of the key to everything,” Patterson said. “Coming together as one has really propelled us offensively, and sprinkle in our play-action passing game, that’s really helped us and something we continue to work on.”
During the 2021 campaign, Alaniz-Choy posted a single-game season-high of 322 rushing yards and two touchdowns against crosstown rival McAllen High.
“I think before you even talk about the physical abilities, (Alaniz-Choy) is a good leader for us. He comes out and pushes the team, and had a good speech before our game (against Hanna),” Patterson said. “He’s one of our captains and is all about pushing our guys to get better. At the end of the day, all he really cares about is the ‘W’ and moving forward.”
Gilpin knows the Patriots will have their hands full with McAllen Memorial, but Mission Veterans’ “Blue Dawg Defense” takes pride in its ability to defend the run.
“Their five offensive linemen are as good as I’ve seen. These kids come off the football low, they come off physical, they’re athletes,” Gilpin said of Memorial’s O-line. “Then Alaniz-Choy is another in a long history of great running backs/tail backs at McAllen Memorial. You go back to Bradley Stephens, obviously the Speights brothers, (Matthew) Kaufmann did a good job running the ball as a quarterback, but these guys have had an ability to run the football. They believe in their philosophy, they coach it year round, they’re successful at it year after year after year.”
“We take this as a big challenge, and we’re looking forward to the challenge. McAllen Memorial may dominate, I don’t know, but I’ll tell you what, I’ll put my money on our guys every time that we line up and play,” Gilpin said.
