Forget about going to football practice. Fernando Mendoza couldn’t go to school as a sophomore at Miami’s Christopher Columbus High School, bedridden then by a bout of strep throat. His fever exceeded 100 degrees, but his fervor burned hotter to dress that Friday versus Fort Lauderdale’s undefeated Dillard High School.
Forget about playing, or so he thought.
Without attempting a pass that week before attending the walkthrough on Thursday afternoon, the sickly sophomore was called upon to play Friday when the starting quarterback and his backup were injured. His first snap coming on behalf of the Explorers with a seven-point deficit and 40 seconds left, Mendoza’s coughs became completions, firstly the would-be-tying touchdown pass.
“We actually missed the extra point,” Columbus football coach Dave Dunn recalled, noting Mendoza led the Explorers into field-goal range after they recovered the ensuing onside kick. “He did his part. He comes off the bench. He goes 3 for 3 against an undefeated team and gives us two opportunities to win the game.”
The passion and poise, the guile and grit, the kindness and curiosity that underscore Mendoza’s top-end talent were burnished at his beloved alma mater, ranked No. 16 this season in football hotbed Florida by MaxPreps and host this Saturday for a showcase matchup with No. 1 Bishop Gorman. As committed to the classroom, community and his Catholic faith as he was to quarterbacking the Explorers, Mendoza remains a proud alumnus and credits the school for shaping his path.
“My time at Christopher Columbus really helped forge me into a man, and those experiences are some that have made me into the man I am today,” Mendoza, the Las Vegas Raiders rookie quarterback, said Thursday after an 18-12 preseason loss to the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium.
“I’ll be rooting for a good game and keep it between us, but I’m going to root for Columbus. I hope it’s a great game.”
Mendoza returned with Heisman Trophy in hand to his former high school on April 14, surprising the all-male student body with his signature smile, sparking several hundreds more. His partnership with Taco Bell ensured the bellies of 1,800 uniformed boys were full. He connected with teachers, presented a scholarship and inspired the Explorers with a wholesome, humble speech.
Back he went to workout this summer, signing an autograph for anyone who asked while preparing to play this season for the Raiders, who have the attention of Columbus moving forward. His brother, Max, is a freshman at Columbus and strengthens the already sturdy bond.
“The fact that he’s done so well, it’s a tribute to his work ethic,” said Sylvie Galvez-Cuesta, Mendoza’s counselor at Columbus through its esteemed Mas Family Program for high honors students. His picture hangs in the program’s office adorned with a banner, “Explorer for Life” with his signature inscribed on the bottom, his graduating class (2022) and “Heisman+National Champ 25,” written in black marker.
“He just spreads kindness,” Galvez-Cuesta added. “He’s just authentic and loving to the core.”
Also competitive to the core, Mendoza enrolled at Columbus as a sophomore, leaving neighboring Belen Jesuit Preparatory School and its Wing-T offense for Dunn’s pro-style system. While talking about football shortly thereafter over lunch with Mendoza and his father (and namesake who played offensive line at Columbus with Miami coach Mario Cristobal), Dunn noticed he was taking detailed notes.
Like he would during every other meeting they’d have.
“He always wanted to get better. He’d always throw extra,” said Dunn, who ate lunch almost every day with Mendoza (and his brother, Alberto) in his office, game-planning or analyzing game tape. Mendoza’s recruitment was marred by COVID-19, but ended with commitments to Yale and Cal. He found his stride and caught his groove, but not at the expense of the rest of the team.
“He wants to be the best teammate,” Dunn said, “and whatever that entails, he’s willing to do. … All he cares about really, deep down, is being a good teammate.”
If that meant hosting campus tours for future Explorers, then there Mendoza was as their guide, offering a helping hand and his rifle right arm to prospective pass catchers. When Charlotte tight end Gus McGee was a soon-to-be senior in Massachusetts, where COVID-19 canceled his season, Mendoza hung out with him, threw him passes and sent him voice memos that convinced him to move.
“It was easy to see people wanted to gather around Fernando,” said McGee, who moved to Miami and fostered a friendship with Mendoza over hangouts on the water. Mendoza valued the time and trust with his teammates, but friendships extended beyond football at Columbus.
“He wanted to dip his hand in other things. … He wanted to be a part of everything, which I think was very respectful and made him a more respectable person,” said McGee, a sixth-year senior and still among Mendoza’s closest friends. “He’s a year younger than me, but (I kind of) look at him as almost a role model. … He had a great mix of who he was on the field and who he was off the field.”
The immersive approach Mendoza took with football is the same one he took with the Mas Family Program, loading his schedule with advanced placement classes, guided by Galvez-Cuesta’s direction. He sought the most rigorous coursework possible with a penchant for business and asking questions. As much as he enjoyed playing football, he “just enjoyed school,” Galvez-Cuesta said, and not just as a “scholar and an athlete,” but also the president of campus ministry.
“He led retreats, would go to visit middle schools,” she added, “and just really has been about being a good role model in the community.”
Leading turkey drives and touchdown drives, strep throat or not.
“He cares so much about our school and our program … and relationships are important to him,” Dunn said. “I think that’s what’s made him successful. He’s going to really care about his relationships with his teammates in Las Vegas. He wants to be a Raider and he wants to be a leader. And that, besides just being a heck of a quarterback, that’s what drives him.”
Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on X.
Up next
Who: Bishop Gorman vs. Columbus (Florida)
When: 11 a.m. Saturday
Where: St. Thomas Aquinas HS in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
TV: ESPN2
