BY MIKE GONZALEZ
The Brownsville Herald

If there were one team that has to be in a playoff mode, it would definitely be Los Fresnos.

They were challenged, had their backs against the wall in a few occasions and had to overcome a couple of injuries. Still, the Falcons went 10-0 to earn the program’s first-ever Class 5A district championship.

But that’s the regular season.

Now comes the second season where the goal is to be playing in December for a state championship. While that goal is a long way away, Los Fresnos looks to continue its magical season tonight against PSJA High in a Class 5A, Division I bi-district match up at PSJA Stadium. The Bears enter the postseason with a un-Bear- like .500 mark at 5-5 but bring lots of playoff tradition to the table.

While many may think this game could be a contest dominated by Los Fresnos, think again. This marks the fourth match up between the two programs in the last three years. The margin of victory in the previous three is only seven points with the Falcons getting the better of two games.

This includes a 31-21 Week 2 win by Los Fresnos after trailing at halftime. Two years ago, both teams were in a track meet, combining for over 1,000 yards in a 50-45 PSJA win. That’s why Los Fresnos coach Scott Ford anticipates his ball club to be in a dogfight just like the first three games.

“Anybody that’s in the playoffs is dangerous,” Ford said. “They know what we do. Three times we’ve played them, so that’s a pretty good indicator we’re in for a close ballgame (tonight).”

Adding to the pressure is a big loss in the backfield as Los Fresnos will be without tailback Luis Campos, who suffered a high ankle sprain early in the third quarter against Weslaco last Friday.

Ford said the MRI showed no fracture but said Campos is questionable next week if Los Fresnos does advance. Campos’ quickness and speed will be missed but a bit a of good news is that the Falcons have backup Danny Mendez and Siriboto Rareba.

Mendez, who had two 100-yard games late in the season while Campos (145 carries, 929 yards, 13 touchdowns) was recovering a neck injury, is expected to get most of the snaps tonight.

In the regular season meeting, Los Fresnos was held to only 67 yards rushing on 30 carries but had three rushing scores from Campos. While Mendez and Rareba have big shoes to fill, Ford has just as much confidence in his back ups to get the job.

“We can’t replace a guy that’s a three-year starter, but we can get the same kind of result,” Ford said. “We’ll just have to do it differently.”

Perfect example.

With Campos gone and the district title on the line, Rareba sparked the Falcons with 77-second half yards and was able to fit in well with quarterback Jeremy Springer.

Speaking of red hot signal callers, Springer is just that.

Entering the postseason, the left hander has put up astounding numbers but proved not only can he work with his arm but his legs as well. Springer rushed for a season high 138 yards on 23 carries and scored twice. That to go along with his 2,611 yards passing, 31 touchdowns on only six interceptions, which his last came four weeks ago against Pace.

“He wants the ball,” Ford said. “We ran him last week because of how good our opponent was. He will continue to be a double threat in the playoffs like the way he was the other night.”

With Campos out, the air assault may be launched to a higher level. There’s where Esia Rivera and Jorge Mata come in. Mata is the lone receiver in District 32-5A over 1,000 yards with 1,015 and averages 26 yards per catch. Facing a Bear defense, which ended the regular season ranked last in District 31-5A, Rivera doesn’t anticipate the offense to miss a beat.

“All year long, we’ve made big plays,” Rivera said. “With the loss of (Campos), Siriboto and Danny have been there for us.”

PSJA is led by featured back Marco Garcia, who led PSJA with four 100-yard performances. In the regular season meeting, it was R. J. Maldonado who sparked the Bears with 148 yards while Mark Sahagun threw for 140 yards and a score.

Most of that damage occurred in the first half in which PSJA scored all 21 of its points. Falcon linebacker Justin Springer said PSJA is more balanced compared to what he saw in Weslaco a week ago but still anticipates for them to ground it out like the regular season meeting.

“They ran the ball on us effectively,” Springer said. “That was the first good offense we played in the season. They didn’t do as well in the second half.”

mgonzalez@brownsvilleherald.com

Posted on Nov 16, 06 | 11:26 pm