WESLACO — Earlier this week, Los Fresnos coach Scott Ford said the team who hangs on to the momentum Friday night wins. After recovering an onside kick with 3:50 left on the game clock, momentum had officially swung Los Fresnos’ way. After allowing Weslaco High to close in to within three points after a Mishak Rivas touchdown, linebacker Justin Springer recovered an onside kick attempt that essentially secured a 42-39 victory for the Falcons, handing them the District 32-5A title during The Monitor’s Game of the Week at Bobby Lackey Stadium. The No. 1 Falcons (10-0, 7-0 in District 32-5A) will take on PSJA High in a Division I bi-district playoff game. The two sides have a coin flip to determine time and place at 9 a.m. today. The No. 3 Panthers (8-2, 6-1) draw Harlingen High at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Bobby Lackey Stadium in Weslaco. The teams traded leads all night, and neither really stopped each other offensively. The two combined for 1,080 yards — almost 600 by halftime. "We just felt that the last team that had the ball was going to win the game," Weslaco coach Tony Villarreal said. Such was the case, but Los Fresnos didn’t have to drive down the field and score to win the game. The Falcons did have to notch a few first downs before quarterback Jeremy Springer took a few kneeldowns to run out the clock. They seemed to have turned their fortunes around in the second half, snapping out of their first-half doldrums. "I think we really challenged them at halftime," Ford said. Falcons QB Jeremy Springer was out of sorts early, missing several opportunities with downfield passes. If he wasn’t short of his marks, he overthrew them, like one that sailed above a receiver’s head in the end zone. But he composed himself in the second half and finished the night with 136 yards rushing on 22 carries and two touchdowns. He also passed for two more scores on 10-of-16 passing with no interceptions. "This was for the district championship," Jeremy Springer said. "Anything, anything goes. I didn’t care if I got hurt." Ford said Springer’s inefficiency in the first half was largely due to his load rushing the ball. "He’s just not used to running the ball that much," Ford said. "He got gassed." Friday marked the first time this season that Springer had not passed for at least 200 yards, but he made up for it with his rushing yards. Weslaco was paced by Rivas, who rushed for 285 yards on 19 carries and scored five of Weslaco’s six touchdowns. Quarterback Dylan De Leon also had a good night, passing for 165 yards and one touchdown to Pepe Cabrera that brought the Panthers to within 42-33 of the Falcons. The Panthers outgained the Falcons 586 to 494 despite the loss. The game also saw missed opportunities on both sides. The Falcons had an opportunity late in the second half to at least add three points to their 35-27 lead, but they decided to go for it all on a fourth-and-1 on the Weslaco 2-yard line with 10:35 left in the game. The Panthers held and turned the ball over to their offense. "I wasn’t going to second-guess myself because that’s not our philosophy," Ford said. "If we can’t make a fourth-and-1 we don’t deserve to win." But the Panthers marched down the field on that drive, closing in to within two points at 35-33. But a failed two-point conversion at the 6:30 mark left the lead at two for Los Fresnos. Weslaco also had a couple of hiccups, going for it on fourth down twice in the second half and coming up short. ——— Oscar Gonzalez Jr. covers District 32-5A for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4443. For this and more local stories, visit www.themonitor.com |
