ROY HESS | Staff Writer
Thursday’s win should be enough.
It should be enough to get the Los Fresnos Falcons back into the state playoffs from District 32-6A after missing the postseason one year ago.
The Falcons improved to 2-2 in 32-6A with Thursday’s 24-17 win against Hanna at Sams Memorial Stadium.
Two wins has gotten teams into the playoffs before in the six-team district.
Los Fresnos is now 3-6 overall with one regular-season game remaining at home next week against San Benito.
A 3-yard run up the middle by Los Fresnos quarterback Adrian Longoria with 2:35 left lifted the Falcons to victory out of a 17-17 tie. Longoria’s score capped a 15-play, 94-yard drive when the game was on the line.
“This win feels amazing,” said Longoria, a junior QB. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates. They’re amazing. We work hard every day and we try our best every practice. The whole team wants it and we’re putting in the work.
“We’re happy,” Longoria added. “We came through at the end, and thank God we’re in the playoffs.”
Los Fresnos coach Patrick Brown was happy for his team.
“Both teams played so hard,” Brown said. “This game shows how much better we have gotten since the beginning of the season. We are very young and we’re starting to grow up now.”
Hanna, the 32-6A champion last season, fell to 3-6 and 1-3 with one more regular-season game to play next week at Harlingen South. The Golden Eagles’ playoff hopes are still alive.
Los Fresnos built a 10-point lead during the second quarter and was up 10-7 at intermission.
Falcons kicker Marco Moreno gave his team a 3-0 advantage by making a 23-yard field at the 7:11 mark of the second period.
It became 10-0 with 1:59 showing in the quarter when Los Fresnos’ Elian Gonzalez intercepted a Victor Campos pass and returned it 82 yards down the right sideline to the end zone. Mireno added the extra point.
Campos responded by driving the Eagles down the field after Hanna received the ensuing kickoff.
Campos threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Ernesto Mendoza in the end zone with 54 seconds to go until halftime. Tommy Green kicked the extra point to make it 10-7 at the break after Los Fresnos was short on a 53-yard field-goal attempt on the last play of the second quarter.
Hanna was boosted by Ryan Trinidad, who returned the second-half kickoff 79 yards for a touchdown and put the Eagles in the lead, 14-10, after Green made the extra point with 11:47 showing in the third quarter.
The Falcons’ Miles McWhorter broke loose for a 39-yard scoring run and Moreno added the extra point as Los Fresnos regained the lead, 17-14, at the 7:53 mark of the third period.
A 27-yard field goal by Hanna’s Green created a 17-17 tie with 1:10 remaining in the third quarter.
From there, it was up to Longoria and the Falcons to win it with their long scoring drive with time winding down during the fourth quarter.
“This game turned out great for all of us,” Longoria said. “The Hanna defense is a great defense. It’s probably the best defense in our district. They are a tough defense to read, but our team worked hard to prepare for this game all week and we were able to come out with the victory.”