MISSION — For a little more than a half, Pioneer had Mission Veterans in trouble.
But the Patriots took over in the second half and erased an eight-point second-half deficit and scored the final 24 points Friday night to defeat Pioneer 44-28 at Richard Thompson Stadium, closing the regular season with a win before both teams head into the Class 5A Division II playoffs.
The victory sends Mission Veterans into the postseason at 8-2 overall and 5-1 in District 16-5A Division II, securing the district’s No. 2 seed behind Sharyland.
Pioneer finishes the regular season 5-5 overall and 3-3 in district, entering the playoffs as the No. 4 seed.
The Diamondbacks made Mission Veterans work for for the win. Pioneer carried a 21-20 lead into halftime behind a pair of long touchdown runs from Cole Scurlock and took control immediately after the break.
On the first play of the second half, Scurlock broke free again for his third touchdown of the night, extending Pioneer’s lead to 28-20.
That was the last time the Diamondbacks scored.
Mission Veterans answered with a touchdown pass from Roman Reyna to Alejandro Melendez, then converted the two-point attempt to tie the game at 28.
The Patriots’ defense began taking control from there.
Pioneer struggled to sustain drives, while Mission Veterans continued leaning on Reyna and its rushing attack. Reyna ran for another touchdown before the end of the third quarter, and another successful two-point conversion gave the Patriots a 36-28 advantage.
Mission Veterans added another Reyna rushing touchdown and another two-point conversion in the fourth, completing a 24-0 run and pushing the lead to 44-28.
Pioneer had opportunities to respond, but the Diamondbacks were unable to recreate the explosive offense that carried them through the first half.
For Mission Veterans, the second half offered a useful test before the postseason. The Patriots fell behind, adjusted and then kept Pioneer off the scoreboard for the remainder of the game after Scurlock’s opening play of the third quarter.
Mission Veterans enters the bi-district round as District 16-5A Division II’s No. 2 seed and will face Mercedes, the No. 3 seed from District 15.
Mercedes finished the regular season 7-3 overall and 4-2 in district play.
For Pioneer, the first-round assignment is considerably tougher.
The Diamondbacks will face District 15 champion Gregory-Portland, which completed a 10-0 regular season Friday with a 28-14 victory over previously unbeaten Corpus Christi Ray.
Gregory-Portland finished 6-0 in district and allowed just 80 points across its 10 regular-season games.
Pioneer has already shown it can challenge some of the district’s best teams. The Diamondbacks led Sharyland 13-0 before falling 17-13 earlier this season, and Friday they held a 28-20 advantage over Mission Veterans.
Mission Veterans enters the playoffs having won three straight since its loss to Sharyland.
