Mata, teammates refuse to let Falcons’ season slip away

Los Fresnos’ Jorge Mata is not one of those wide receivers who demands that the ball be thrown in his direction.

He’s just not that type of player.

But once in a while, he can’t help but offer a suggestion or two for his quarterback to look his way and see if he’s open.

Mata was open more than a few times on Saturday night as the Falcons rallied to defeat Donna 30-26 in the area round of the Class 5A Division I playoffs. The senior standout caught 10 passes for 148 yards and was one of the key performers for the District 32-5A champion Falcons (10-2) in the closing minutes as they battled back to win and advance to the third round of the playoffs for the second straight year.

Los Fresnos next faces San Antonio Reagan (10-2), tentatively in Victoria on Saturday afternoon.

When Mata confided to him in the huddle during Saturday night’s game, Los Fresnos quarterback Mark Carmona got the message perfectly clear.

"Jorge was telling me, ‘My guy (defender) is biting on this’ or ‘He’s letting me go, I’m open,’" Carmona said. "I was looking for Jorge, and sure enough, he was open."

Donna went ahead 26-23 on Josh Reyna’s 60-yard scamper up the middle with 3:36 left.

On Los Fresnos’ ensuing game-winning drive that covered 82 yards in five plays, Mata caught passes of 3, 38 and 24 yards from Carmona. The 24-yarder was a catch-and-run play in which Mata shook off several tackles and fought his way into the end zone to put the Falcons ahead to stay 30-26 with 2:18 remaining after Jesus Ramirez’s extra point.

It was a scenario just like the two previous weeks in the Falcons’ victories over Weslaco High (31-28) and Harlingen High (22-21). Los Fresnos simply refused to lose.

"When it comes towards the end and it’s gut-check time, we work as a team, do what we do, and just finish the game," Mata said.

With a smile, Mata admitted he let Carmona about how the defense was playing.

"I saw the defense and how it was, and when I looked at it and knew I had an open shot, I told Mark, ‘Hey, look this way, man. My guy’s pretty deep or pretty close,’" Mata said. "If it wasn’t there, I wouldn’t tell him anything. But if it (ball) came my way, I was just going to make a play.

"Scoring (the winning TD) just felt great, knowing that I had made the last score to help us move on to the next round," he added.

Another important contributor for the Falcons was Danny Mendez, an elusive 5-foot-6, 150-pound junior running back. He rushed 32 times for 189 yards and a pair of touchdowns behind the Falcons’ dominating offensive line.

"The offensive line and Danny carried us tonight," Falcon coach Scott Ford said. "We threw the ball just enough to be effective, but I don’t have enough superlatives or adjectives or whatever to describe Danny Mendez. I’m just glad he plays for us."

Donna coach Manny Moreno, whose District 30-5A champion Redskins closed their season at 9-3, was impressed by what the Falcons did as well.

"They’re a great ballclub and they’ve got a lot of weapons out there with a lot of athletes on their offensive line," Moreno said of Los Fresnos. "Their quarterback and running backs are very good, too. They have great athletes on offense, and defensively, they get to the football in a hurry. We had our hands full going against them."

Having captured yet another dramatic win on a cool, damp night in Donna, the Falcons now can look forward to their matchup with Reagan, a 35-28 winner over San Antonio O’Connor on Saturday.

"It feels great that all our hard work is paying off," Falcon junior wide receiver Nate Duncan said. "We’re in it to win. We’re excited about going back (to the third round of the playoffs). We want to keep going."

Added Carmona: "The way we’ve been playing has built a lot of character and shows that we have heart. It’s tough and it’s exciting, and that’s why I love football. We’re still alive, and we’re going to prove to the Valley that we can continue where we left off (last year)."