By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer
LA FERIA – La Feria’s first real test of its 2019 season came under an appropriate backdrop, a September sky featuring a moon that, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, was about 99.9 percent full at sundown on Friday the 13th.
The Lions (3-0) prevailed 35-31 in a come-from-behind thriller over Mercedes in front of a packed house at Lion Stadium, a contest which marked the first time La Feria trailed at home this season and the first time all year that the Lions trailed in the second half of a game.
“This was a tough win,” La Feria head coach Oscar Salinas said. “You need these games. You need to get better like that, and we got it done. The kids got it done and we showed a lot of character.”
Leading 28-24 with 1:40 to play in the fourth quarter, Mercedes defensive back Ramiro Ortiz stepped in front of and intercepted a pass from La Feria quarterback Dorian Hernandez, and Ortiz returned it 52-yards for a touchdown that put the visitors ahead 31-28.
Less than 20 seconds later, Hernandez (four touchdowns and two interceptions) delivered a 45-yard strike to Caleb Flores and then delivered the game-winning 35-yard touchdown pass to a heavily-covered Aaron Trevino.
Like Hernandez, Flores had also made a couple of crucial mistakes that came in the form of dropped passes, but the veteran leaders redeemed themselves when they linked up on the Lions’ final offensive drive.
“(Flores) has grown up so much,” Salinas said. “He could have got down on himself, but he didn’t, he picked everybody up, and he made the plays. It’s great to see his maturity to overcome a mistake like that.”
Salinas could have been speaking about Hernandez too, who made what could have been a consequential mental mistake with under nine minutes to play in the third quarter, when he mishandled a snap on fourth down and tried to look for a receiver on fourth down deep in his own territory instead of his usual punting duties.
But the Lions defense picked up its quarterback by forcing the Tigers to kick a field goal, who in turn made several plays with his legs and his arm to rally his team to victory.
Mercedes kicker Rodrigo Martinez was good on each of his three field goal attempts on the night, which were from 15, 32, and 36 yards respectively.
The late La Feria touchdown left 1:19 for new Tigers quarterback Horacio Pequeno to engineer a go-ahead drive of his own. While the La Feria defense bent, it did not break. With 12 seconds remaining, safety Jaden Torres intercepted a Pequeno pass along the same sideline Ortiz made his game-changing play minutes prior to clinch the victory for the Lions.
“We did give up some big plays, and we didn’t want to,” Salinas said. “At the end of the day we made two more plays than we did, and we’re very proud of the kids for that.”
The Tigers (1-2) struck first Friday night, when sophomore quarterback Michael Cisneros found wide receiver Josiah Cantu for a 40-yard touchdown at the 10:19 mark of the first quarter.
La Feria answered with a long drive in which Hernandez connected three times with Dario Sanchez, the last of which was a 23-yard touchdown which would even the game at 7-7 with 3:16 to play in the first quarter.
Following a fumble recovery and a 25-yard burst by running back Avishai Dickerson, the Lions took their first lead of the evening when Hernandez fired a dart on an inside slant to Dereck Perez on 4th-and-goal from the 3 for a go-ahead score. Lions take their first lead of the night with 11:26 to go in the second quarter.
Evan Avila also had an interception, which came off of a throw by Mercedes starting quarterback Michael Cisneros in the second quarter. Hernandez’s first interception came a few plays later to Jarred Rincon, who returned it 39 yards.
The Lions led 14-10 at halftime. A 57-yard touchdown reception and a corresponding successful 2-point conversion attempt from Cantu on a reverse sparked Mercedes’ late push, which brought the Tigers to within four points of the home team with 9:35 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Hernandez opened the scoring for La Feria in the second half with a 6-yard rushing touchdown at the 5:29 mark of the third quarter. Dickerson’s 8-yard touchdown run with 10:24 to play in the fourth quarter gave La Feria its largest lead of the evening at 28-16.
Salinas said he felt the game revealed the many similarities between La Feria and Mercedes, which featured comparable talent across the board, particularly at quarterback and receiver.
“We knew it was going to be a great battle,” Salinas said. “It always is (against Mercedes). We were very fortunate to come out ahead.”