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Mendota High captures first football title

- The Fresno Bee

Friday, Dec. 02, 2011 | 11:24 PM

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MENDOTA – The west-side community of Mendota undoubtedly will remember this night of triumph and season of conquest for years to come.

And they will get to enjoy the player who helped deliver the 18-year-old school's first football title for two more seasons.

Riding sophomore Edgar Segura's three touchdowns on offense and two interceptions on defense, top-seeded Mendota completed an undefeated season with a 41-20 victory against No. 2 Farmersville on Friday before a packed house at the school's immaculate football stadium.

View game stats and details

It was Segura's first interception and long return, with less than a minute left in the first half, that provided the springboard to the go-ahead score for Mendota (12-0). Then it was Segura's 85-yard, kickoff return to open the second half that allowed Mendota to pull away.

"I saw it coming," Mendota coach Beto Mejia said. "That kid is made for these moments. People see Edgar Segura as a great athlete. I see him as a great kid."

The interception, which came at the Mendota 7-yard line to thwart a Farmersville scoring opportunity, seemed to energize the 5-foot-9, 160-pound Segura, who would go on to rush for 183 yards.

"I told the guys [at halftime], 'I'll pick you up,' " Segura said. "I was feeling it."

Segura also scored on Mendota's second possession of the third quarter, breaking free on a 37-yard run that put his team ahead 35-14 at the 7:27 mark. The touchdown essentially put the score out of reach for Farmersville, which lost standout freshman quarterback Sam Metcalf to an arm injury the previous series.

"This is a dream come true," said Mejia, a Mendota product in his first season as coach. "I'm happy for this community, for this school and most importantly, for these players. They are family."

Alfredo Muratalla put on the finishing touches for Mendota with a 5-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. And it was his 39-yard completion to Omar Cisneros that set up Cisneros' go-ahead 3-yard run with 18 seconds left in the first half. It allowed Mendota to recover from a one-time 14-7 deficit.

"No matter if we are down," Muratalla said, "we play hard for four quarters."

Farmersville (9-3) was aiming for the first football title at a school with only five section championships among all its sports programs over a 13-year history.

"The kids deserved this," Farmersville coach Jesse Lira said of the school's first title-game appearance. "We wanted to win, but we'll be back."


The reporter can be reached at nickg@fresnobee.com or (559) 622-2407. Follow him on Twitter: @NickG_FB.

Similar stories:

  • Highlights from Central Section football playoffs

  • Dinuba High rolls in D-III football playoffs

  • Clovis North beats Garces for D-II football title

  • Fowler High rallies to repeat as D-V champs

  • Edgar Segura (Mendota, running back)

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