Los Fresnos Falcon Football 2006

Brad Doherty/The Brownsville Herald
Los Fresnos wide receiver Jorge Mata looks for yardage against Austin Westlake on Saturday during their Class 5A, Division I regional semifinal in Victoria.

VICTORIA - When a snowball turns into an avalanche, even the great teams have trouble clawing their way out.

Case in point, the Los Fresnos Falcons.

Austin Westlake scored on its first four possessions and never looked back as the Chaparrals raced past Los Fresnos 45-19 in a Class 5A, Division I regional semifinal at Victoria's Memorial Stadium.

With the win, Westlake (10-2) moves on to play San Antonio Reagan next week in the state quarterfinals. Los Fresnos, the final Rio Grande Valley football team still alive heading into Saturday, ended its spectacular season at 12-1.

The Chaparrals' high-powered offense didn't disappoint. They cranked out 428 yards against Los Fresnos, much to the approval of their head coach.

"We were clicking pretty well (on offense)," Westlake coach Derek Long said. "We took advantage of some big plays."

Los Fresnos head coach Scott Ford said falling behind early was too big a hurdle to overcome.

"We knew we had to play, basically, the perfect game, and it got out of hand early. We'd move the ball a little bit and they'd stop us," he said. "When you get in that situation, you're climbing uphill every time."

In what was his final game as a Falcon, quarterback Jeremy Springer was admirable, tossing for 313 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, the senior had 144 yards rushing with a TD. Wideout Esia Rivera, also a senior, had another big game, catching nine passes for 188 yards.

Combined with the Falcons' inability to get something going on offense, Westlake quarterback Nick Foles was magnificent, completing his first nine passes en route to a 17-of-20 performance for 288 yards and five touchdowns.

"I thought it was good," Foles said of his performance. "A big part of it was the line blocking and the receivers making plays."

In the first quarter, Foles, an Arizona State commit, came out guns a blazin'. He hit Steven Shaffer for a 4-yard strike to open the scoring after a Los Fresnos punt. Justin Tucker hit the first of six extra points to make it 7-0 Chaps.

However, on that drive, Falcon linebacker Justin Springer had one of the season's most ferocious hits, nailing Chap tailback Max Minor, whose helmet flew to the turf. For the game, Springer had 16 tackles.

"We couldn't block that linebacker," Long said of Springer. "We didn't block him very well."

On the next drive, Foles hit Minor for a 13-yard TD pass to end the first quarter. And after Ryan Ambrose picked off Springer to give it back to the Chaps, Britt Hagen zipped 28 yards to make it 21-0 at the 9:50 mark in the second.

A missed field goal by the Falcons gave it to Westlake again, and Foles hit Andy Spears for a 65-yard pitch-and-catch to make it 28-0.

"You just can't spot Westlake 28 points," he said. "We were playing to win, but it just didn't work out."

Just before the half, the Falcons marched down the field on 13 plays to the Westlake 11. However, Springer was picked off by Brad Ballew to thwart the scoring chance.

Shaffer hit a 36-yard field goal to push it to 31-0 before the Falcon offense began to find its rhythm.

An eight-play drive that saw Springer rush seven times for 75 yards, ended with his 1-yard dive to put the Falcons on the board. On that drive, Springer audibled several times and was able to crack the Chaps' defense.

The Chaps punted for the first time thereafter and Los Fresnos found the end zone again when Springer hit Jorge Mata (6 catches, 83 yards) who snagged a pass and cut back upfield for a 24-yard score. A two-point try was no good.

Foles hit Shaffer on a 10-yard pass to make it 38-13 and he did it one more time in the fourth, hitting Andy Spears for a 34-yard touchdown strike.

Los Fresnos showed no desire to quit and Springer hit Mata for his second touchdown, a 7-yard pass that closed out the scoring. The conversion try was intercepted.

Long and his quarterback both commended Los Fresnos and its program for not giving up.

"Los Fresnos' offense is real potent. They're an outstanding team and they play hard," he said. "Coach Ford's done a great job with them down there."

"They played a great game. They had a lot of heart and I could tell they weren't going to give up," Foles said. "They had a great team."

Though the end came sooner than desired, Ford said this year was important for the future of Los Fresnos football.

"I hope we will carry this success over in the offseason," he said. "But we had a landmark group of seniors. I think it was their destiny to have this kind of success.

"You hate to see it end, but part of competing is losing, and I'm proud of our kids for they way they fought and conducted themselves."

Armando Garza covered District 32-5A for the Valley Morning Star this season. He can be reached at 956-421-9874 or at armandog@valleystar.com

Dec 02, 2006 - 23:24:41 CST