After a rare down year in 2022, the Mission Veterans Patriots bounced back last season.

It looked a little rocky after a 1-3 start to the non-district season, but the team came back strong in district play.

The Patriots shined with a 4-1 record in district and took home a share of the district title.

For Patriots head coach David Gilpin, this will be his 16th year as the head coach at Mission Veterans.

He's still loving it, and his players are still enjoying every second of having him leading the program.

"I still feel like I'm a young coach crazy enough," Gilpin said. "Which I'm not obviously. I'm the oldest coach on staff, one of the oldest coaches in the valley. But in my mind, I still feel like that young assistant coach that I was back in my twenties." 

"It's amazing to have Coach Gilpin as a coach," Patriots senior WR/CB Robert Sharp said. "He's an amazing coach. He makes everyone strive to be better. It's just nice having him around."

The first game of the season for Mission Veterans comes against Mission in the Battle of Conway. It's the eighth time in the past 11 seasons that the two teams have played in the season opener.

Watch the video above for the full story.