Close at home: Matanzas rally falls short in loss to Menendez

The Pirates scored twice in the final 12 minutes but ran out of time in a 20-15 loss.

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Matanzas fans had been waiting over a month to watch their team play its 2026 home opener. After three road games sandwiched around a lightning-delayed postponement at the Ship, the Pirates finally treated the home crowd to an exciting game.  

But a win was not in the cards for the hosts as Menendez held off Matanzas’ second-half charge to win 20-15 on Friday, Sept. 18.

The Pirates (0-4) overcame four first-half turnovers to give themselves a chance to win their first game of the season, but the Falcons (2-2) converted a key third down with two minutes left to fend off the Matanzas comeback.


The Pirates got the ball back with eight seconds left at their own 23, but Michael McDonough’s pass to Wiley Conner and Conner’s lateral to DJ Harris went about 20 yards before Harris was tackled with no time left.

The Pirates trailed 20-0 after the Falcons scored on Caden Hedrick’s 20-yard pass to Carlos Hamilton with two minutes left in the third quarter. But Conner scored on a 40-yard run as time ran out in the quarter, and Brady Putis took a bad snap and passed to Mari Arneaud for the 2-point conversion.

Matanzas closed the gap to 20-15 with 4:51 left in the game on Harris’ 9-yard touchdown run and Alexander Taylor’s extra-point kick. But Menendez held the ball until the final eight seconds with Hedrick keeping the possession alive with a 7-yard pass to Hamilton on third-and-5.

“Four turnovers are tough to overcome,” Matanzas coach Matt Forrest said. “With that turnover margin, the fact that we were in the football game, I think, is just a testament to our kids’ character and the coaches being able to stick to their game plan and keep grinding and trying to find a way to be in it in the end. And we were.”


SEASON-HIGH FOR CONNER

Conner rushed for a season-high 144 yards on 17 carries and Harris added 56 yards as Matanzas gained 201 yards on the ground.

But a Conner run at the end of the first quarter that appeared to Pirate partisans to be a touchdown, but was ruled a fumble, turned out to be the difference in the game.

Wiley Conner (34) loses the ball as he is tackled at the goal line. Did the ball break the plane first? Photo by Keishia McLendon
Wiley Conner (34) loses the ball as he is tackled at the goal line. Did the ball break the plane first? Photo by Keishia McLendon
Photo by kmclendon

Conner ran up the middle from the 4-yard line. At the end of the play, Matanzas coaches and players yelled that Conner had broken the plane of the goal line before the ball was loose. Menendez coaches claimed he lost the ball before reaching the goal line. After a conference on the field, the officials ruled that Conner fumbled into the end zone.

“Everybody’s out there trying to do their best,” Forrest said. “Obviously, the call on the field was a fumble. Even if it wasn’t (a fumble), there's nothing you can do to change it. The officials are out there trying to do the best they can. It's unfortunate, but we got to find a way to overcome it. We haven't had much go our way this season, and it seems like we just can't catch a break.”

The Falcons ran the ball effectively all game starting with Josiah Thomas’ 55-yard touchdown run on the game’s first play from scrimmage. After the Pirates fumbled a Falcons punt, Menendez took over at the Pirates’ 20 and scored five plays later on Thomas’ 3-yard run.

The Falcons threatened to score again early in the second quarter, but Antoine Jenkins intercepted a Hedrick pass in the end zone. Despite two more Matanzas turnovers, the visitors’ lead was just 14-0 at the half.


Even if it wasn’t (a fumble), there's nothing you can do to change it. The officials are out there trying to do the best they can. It's unfortunate, but we got to find a way to overcome it. We haven't had much go our way this season, and it seems like we just can't catch a break.
— MATT FORREST, Matanzas football coach

The Falcons held the ball for most of the second half, limiting the Pirates to just three possessions before the final play. They scored on two of them.

“When you're playing a team that is effective running the football, your possessions are cut short,” Forrest said. “You're not going to get as many as you might, say, if you were playing a spread team.”

For the game, Menendez’s time of possession was 28 minutes, 25 seconds compared to 19:35 for Matanzas.


FIRST-TIME STARTERS

McDonough, who joined the Pirates in the summer, was making his first start. He completed 6 of 8 passes for 47 yards with an interception on a tipped ball.

“I thought McDonough managed the game really well,” Forrest said. “He did a good job getting us in the right sets and moving some guys around.”

Freshman Devin Davis, who had been the starting quarterback, sat out with a knee injury.

“He's day to day,” Forrest said. “He practiced last week as a limited participant. So, nothing serious. We're more concerned with his long-term development, than we are with putting him back out there. It’s going to be a slow process.”

Zach Snider was making his first start on the offensive line, while lineman Zain Dailey was making his second start on offense, moving over from the defensive line.

Brennon Friendly led the Pirates with 14 tackles. Senior linebacker Jack Ferguson had 1.5 sacks.

“I thought the defense held up pretty good,” Ferguson said. “We got the ball a couple times with not the best field position. We gave up a couple of big plays, and we added some penalties after the play. That's what killed us on defense.”

Matanzas will host Pine Ridge (0-4) for Homecoming on Sept. 25. Both teams will be looking for their first win of the season.

“We've had such a tough schedule, the first three games,” Forrest said. “And we were trying to find things that worked. Really, that's just game experience for these guys. I do not feel like we had an offensive problem at all tonight. We just had an attention to detail problem. It was just minor details that we can fix.”

 

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