Kicker Joseph Mata plays hero as QB-depleted Estacado football grinds past Big Spring

The final minutes of Thursday's game were a bit of a blur for Joseph Mata.

The Estacado junior only remembers seeing his go-ahead field goal pass through the uprights — for a second time. In what was a back-and-forth slog at Lowrey Field, that's all that mattered.

Four plays after the Matadors took Mata's 30-yard make off the board following a roughing the kicker penalty, he drilled another. The 24-yarder with 20 seconds left proved to be the difference in Estacado's 24-21 win over Big Spring.

"It was really a sense of clarity," Mata said of his second approach. "I had confidence in my team and my skills and capabilities. It was really just the flow of my mind. I was in the zone."

It was a significant victory for the Matadors, who are in position for the No. 2 seed from District 2-4A Division I with one game left. The only obstacle left is San Angelo Lake View, which is winless in league play.

Estacado (5-4 overall, 2-1 district) got it done on the back of Bobby Ross. The importance of the 6-foot-2, 210-pound sophomore only grew following an injury to quarterback Jayian Fernandez, a backup in his own right. Fernandez didn't return after a 7-yard scramble midway through the second quarter.

Ross ran for 213 yards, 169 of which came after the Matadors inserted No. 3 quarterback William Blaylock II, the head coach's son.

"We always tell them it's next man up and you never know," first-year Estacado coach William Blaylock said. "My son went from being a 14-year-old freshman starting on JV to … hey, you've got to (play). I thought he handled it well. …

"The dad in me is super proud and was super terrified at the same time. But I'm proud of the way he played and stepped up."

It helped having the Division-I prospect Ross and his younger brother, Cedric, who added a 56-yard scoring run. Bobby Ross finished with two touchdowns but almost doubled that total. Twice he fumbled at the Big Spring 1, including on a 67-yard burst just before halftime that kept the Steers in front 10-7.

Turnovers hindered the Matadors, but they also provided the team a route to victory. Estacado's final two scoring drives came after takeaways, including Nate Orta's interception that set up the tying TD. Kei'Sean Harris then recovered a forced fumble by Antonio Willis with 2:30 to go before Mata's heroics.

"(The defense) knew, hey, we've got to step up," the elder Blaylock said. "We've got to rise to the occasion, we've got to get some turnovers, which we did. … They made plays when they had to."

It was a frustrating end for Big Spring, which notched 318 yards but matched Estacado with four turnovers. That included an interception on a desperation heave on the game's last play.

The Steers (5-4, 1-2) also settled for field goals on two possessions inside the Matadors' 10-yard line. Still, Big Spring went up 21-14 late in the third quarter and had three drives in a tied game but couldn't capitalize.

"I just felt like there towards the end it was who's gonna make the last mistake, and it just happened to be us," Steers coach Cannon McWilliams said. "The kids fought hard. Again, it's just a coin-flip of a game and they just made one more play than we did."

DISTRICT 2-4A DIVISION I

Estacado 24, Big Spring 21

Big Spring 3 7 11 0 — 21

Estacado 7 0 7 10 — 24

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

BIG — Eli Cobos 22 field goal, 7:43

EST — Bobby Ross 2 run (Joseph Mata kick), 6:07

Second quarter

BIG — Kavien Ford 2 run (Cobos kick), 7:23

Third quarter

BIG — Cobos 26 field goal, 5:33

EST — Cedric Ross 56 run (Mata kick), 5:12

BIG — Zeyire Franklin 64 pass from Gavin Padron (Ford run), 4:07

Fourth quarter

EST — B. Ross 2 run (Mata kick), 9:17

EST — Mata 24 field goal, 0:20

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: (BS) 17; (E) 16

Rushes-Yards: (BS) 25-82; (E) 37-278

Passing: (BS) 236; (E) 118

Comp-Att-Int: (BS) 29-48-3; (E)10-20-1

Punts-Avg: (BS) 5-35.8; (E) 4-39.8

Fumbles-Lost: (BS) 1-1; (E) 4-3

Penalties-Yards: (BS) 11-84; (E) 9-65

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Big Spring, Kavien Ford 16-79, Leroy Johnson 3-11, Jayden Overton 2-2, Team 1-(-2), Gavin Padron 3-(-8). Estacado, Bobby Ross 29-213, Cedric Ross 4-60, Jayian Fernandez 2-8, William Blaylock II 1-0, Antonio Willis 1-(-3).

PASSING: Big Spring, Padron 29-47-3—236, Eli Cobos 0-1-0. Estacado, Fernandez 4-5-0—61, Blaylock II 6-15-1—57.

RECEIVING: Big Spring, Zeyire Franklin 9-132, Jacob Cantu 9-42, Cobos 5-24, Ford 4-16, David Rios 2-22. Estacado Devoryea Boyd 5-27, Dee'Ondric Green 2-46, Willis 2-35, C. Ross 1-10.

RECORDS: Big Spring 5-4, 1-2; Estacado 5-4, 2-1.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Joseph Mata kicks late field goal to lift Estacado over Big Spring