By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Los Fresnos showed from the opening game against Edcouch-Elsa that it had two stars ready to break out this season.
Senior quarterback Mark Mata and freshman wide receiver Nicholas Valencia showed a hint of more to come during the course of the season. Mata rushed for 251 yards and three touchdowns, and passed for 116 yards and two more touchdowns. Both those touchdowns went to Valencia, who finished with six catches for 78 yards, and he also recovered a fumble in the end zone for another score to help give new coach Patrick Brown his first victory with the Falcons.
Led by the duo, Mata and favorite target Valencia, Los Fresnos won four of five games to finish the season 8-5 after starting 2-3, including 0-2 in District 32-6A, to earn a playoff berth. The Falcons won two playoff games and advanced to the third round of the postseason for the first time since 2014.
For their efforts, Mata has been named The Brownsville Herald’s 2016 All-Metro All-Purpose Player of the Year, and Valencia received the All-Metro Newcomer of the Year.
Mata finished with 1,307 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground, and added 910 passing with eight touchdowns.
“It’s a great accomplishment,” he said. “I want to thank my brother (Dr. George Mata), he’s my trainer in the offseason. He helped get me prepared. He showed me the dedication and hard work I had to put in to be successful.”
Mata became the starting quarterback during the offseason, when Brown and his staff noticed something different about him.
“All great quarterbacks have ‘it,’” Brown said. “You can’t really define ‘it’, but when they’re on the field you know what ‘it’ is, he had it.”
Mata was a defensive back as a sophomore and was injured all of last season. Brown thought that absence last season lit a fire under him. The senior was a dual-threat quarterback that could beat opponents with his arm or his feet, but it was the way he practiced, much like he played, that made him stand out.
“We thought mentally and physically he had a toughness about him that was the perfect fit (for our offense),” Brown said. “A kid like that makes you look really good as a coach.”
Valencia was Mata’s favorite target and finished with team-highs in all receiving categories, 25 catches for 327 yards and five touchdowns. He also was a kick returner for the Falcons.
“It feels great,” he said of his honor. “As a eighth grader I looked up to these guys, I always wanted to be a part of it.”
Brown first noticed Valencia in offseason 7-on-7. As the weeks went on he was showing his dominance as a player. Brown thought originally he could be a good receiver on the freshmen squad. But soon he realized that he was going to be starting for the varsity rather than just helping them this season.
Valencia is one of just a few that Brown has placed on varsity as a freshman during his 18 years of coaching. The freshman was happy to play alongside brother Enrique, a blossoming sophomore quarterback.
“I feel like if he continues his progression, he could be a Division I receiver,” the Los Fresnos coach said.
It didn’t take long for his confidence to soar. After he made a few catches during his first game against Edcouch-Elsa, Brown said, “His confidence went through the roof.”
Valencia admitted as much. But that game let him know he could play at this level.
“I got more and more confidence as the season went on,” he said.
Brown is eager to see how much better his freshman receiver can get.
“If he works as hard as he did this year, I imagine he could be one of the best the school’s ever seen,” Brown said. “The skies the limit for him.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.