BY MIKE GONZALEZ
The Brownsville Herald

PHARR — November 18, 2006 — The jabs and upper cuts kept coming on the road, but Los Fresnos still found a way to be the ones standing.

The Falcons (11-0) defeated PSJA High 45-38 in their Class 5A Division I bi-district game at PSJA Stadium and will now face La Joya, which eliminated Laredo Alexander. The game is slated for 7:30 p.m. on Friday in Los Fresnos.

Playing without starting tailback Luis Campos, Los Fresnos took care of business through the air. The Bears helped them by putting extra men on the box to force the Falcons to go with the passing game.

As always, quarterback Jeremy Springer came through for 223 yards and three touchdowns and wide receiver Esia Rivera caught six passes, all in the first half, for 122 yards and two touchdowns. The balance attack continued with Jorge Mata (two receptions, 37 yards, touchdown), Carlos Hernandez (five catches, 68 yards) and Daniel Gonzalez (two receptions, 48 yards), each of whom got key catches down the field.

With both teams entering the contest having played three previous games with the average margin of victory, its only fitting the final score was a seven-point difference.

“It seems like we’ve been getting these kind of games,” Los Fresnos coach Scott Ford said. “I kept thinking we put them away, and it seemed like they wouldn’t go away.”

The Bears (5-6) ran their offense effectively.

PSJA outgained its opponent 484-310 on the night. The Bears got heavy duty momentum after picking up a turnover in the third quarter off a Los Fresnos punt. Trailing 31-14, PSJA scored twice in the period behind touchdown runs from C.J. Arenas (seven rushes, 35 yards, touchdown) and Marco Garcia (15 rushes, 81 yards, four touchdowns) to cut the margin to 31-28 as both teams headed into the final quarter.

The Falcons answered with a four-play, 70-yard drive capped by a 43-yard touchdown run by Siriboto Rareda early in the fourth for a 38-28 lead.

After staying away from the turnovers all night, the Bears coughed up the ball in the worst possible time at their own 24-yard line, where Falcon linebacker Jacob Betancourt recovered it. Four plays later, Los Fresnos put PSJA away with a 13-yard strike from Springer to Mata with 9:11 left in the game.

After the Bears added their final touchdown with 4:46 left, kicker Miguel Monterrubio booted a 38-yard field goal with 1:24 remaining to give PSJA hope. The Bears attempted an onside kick, but the ball went out-of bounds, giving Los Fresnos the ball at the 40 and securing the win.

“We didn’t play a good playoff game, but we did enough to advance,” Springer said. “We got the turnover and that gave us great momentum. It was probably the most important play of the game.”

PSJA coach Mel Rios agreed.

“It was a crucial turnover because we got momentum,” Rios said. “We we’re able to cut the lead to three (31-28). We gave them the ball right back and that turnover hurt us. We felt like we could move the ball.”

mgonzalez@brownsvilleherald.com