Hero Ball: Reyna’s gutsy fourth quarter lifts Patriots past Cardinals
Mission Veterans quarterback Roman Reyna didn’t look like himself during the second half of a non-district contest against Harlingen High.
After scoring his third rushing touchdown of the night in the third quarter, Reyna left the game for a drive before returning midway through the period.
Even after returning, he appeared limited, moving gingerly in the pocket as he tried to orchestrate the offense.
The sophomore flipped a switch with less than three minutes remaining, however, leading back-to-back touchdown drives to rally the Patriots past the Cardinals 37-36 on Thursday at Tom Landry Stadium in Mission.
“I didn’t want to leave my team out there without me,” Reyna said. “I like to put up a fight. If I can go out, I’m going to go out there and do what I can to help my team. … My hamstring was hurting a little bit, but you can’t give up. We’ve got to do what we can for the team and play our hearts out.”
Back-to-back fourth-quarter touchdowns by Harlingen High gave the Cardinals a 37-23 lead with just over two minutes remaining, leaving the Patriots in need of a miracle.
That miracle came in the form of Reyna, who sparked the rally with an eight-play, 81-yard drive capped by an 18-yard touchdown pass to senior Joey Hernandez to cut the deficit to one score. Hernandez finished with four catches for 48 yards and a touchdown, including a big grab on fourth down during the drive to make it a one-possession game.
“Honestly, it is just all about being concentrated and focused on the game,” Hernandez said. “I was tired. All of us were, but it all starts right here in the mind. That’s what got me that touchdown. Everything is all mental out here.”
After a successful onside kick, the Patriots took over again, starting their next drive at the Cardinals’ 44.
Reyna wasted no time, breaking free for a 44-yard touchdown run despite his injury to make it a one-point contest.
The Patriots didn’t hesitate to go for the win, with Reyna rolling out and finding Freddy Villarreal in the end zone for the two-point conversion that gave Mission Veterans a 37-36 lead with under a minute remaining.
The Patriots’ defense came up big after Reyna gave the team the lead, with senior Guillermo Garcia chasing down Cardinals quarterback Gavin Cisneros and stripping him of the ball to force a turnover and secure the win.
“I was shocked when we recovered the onside kick,” Reyna said. “I was putting my helmet on in disbelief. Then our head coach, Coach (David) Gilpin, believed in us and called on us to go for two. We just went and did what he wanted us to do.”
Reyna finished with an unofficial 186 yards passing and one touchdown, while adding 146 rushing yards and four scores. Harlingen High senior running back Noah Huerta led the Cardinals with 170 yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries.
The loss drops the Cardinals to 1-4 this season. They’ll look to close out non-district play with a win against Cuero next Friday at Boggus Stadium in Harlingen.
Meanwhile, the Patriots improve to 4-1 with one non-district game remaining. They close out their non-district slate against Brownsville Hanna (1-3) at 7 p.m. Friday at Sams Memorial Stadium in Brownsville.
“It’s been about our commitment and dedication at practice,” Hernandez said. “We show up every day and put in the work. If you go out to one of our practices you’ll see us out there sweating and putting in the work. That just leads to moments like this. That’s why we came out successful today. It all starts with practice.”
