Jonas Mendez leads Connetquot football to win on emotional day for do-it-all player
Jonas Mendez of Connetquot runs down the sidelines during a Suffolk Division I football game against host Brentwood on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
For Connetquot's Jonas Mendez, Saturday's game simply meant more.
The game was at Brentwood, the same school where his father, Jonas, played football alongside Dwaine Reid, who tragically died in a motorcycle accident at 22 years old in 2002.
“This was more than just a game for me and my family,” Mendez said. “With representing Dwaine, it was just a different mentality."
Whether lining up as a receiver, cornerback or as the return man, Mendez does it all for Connetquot and Saturday was no different. The junior totaled seven catches for 115 yards in Connetquot’s 30-7 win.
After Brentwood (2-3) got on the board first with Julius Herrera's 44-yard touchdown pass to Mizael Taveras down the left sideline for a 7-0 lead, Connetquot (3-2) cut it to 7-3 on a 31-yard field goal by Tyler Rambold. Then Caleb Maugeri sent a short pass to Mendez, who juked and battled his way down to the 4-yard line for a 36-yard gain. That set up Damian Sosa's 1-yard TD run with 6:04 left in the first half to make it 10-7.
Connetquot's defense forced a three-and-out on the next series and Sosa scored again, this time catching a jet sweep pass for a 6-yard score and a 16-7 lead.
"I just wanted to put my body on the line for the team,” Sosa said about fumbling earlier in the game. “Put points on the board and help the team as best as possible.”
Connetquot wasn't done. Caleb and Kingston Maugeri teamed up for some twin magic. With two seconds remaining on the clock, Caleb found Kingston on a post route for a 24-yard strike to put Connetquot ahead 23-7.
Caleb Maugeri went 18-for-26 passing for 271 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, while Kingston Maugeri racked up three receptions for 106 yards throughout the afternoon.
“[Caleb] told me to just run a post [route] and headtap the [cornerback], so that’s what I did,” Kingston said. “It’s an amazing feeling having my twin brother as my quarterback. We’ve built this connection brick by brick.”
The duo connected again for a 63-yard gain to begin the second half.
Andrew McQuade added a 16-yard touchdown catch as Connetquot cruised to its second straight win. He also had an interception right after Sosa fumbled out of the back of the end zone.
“We all have each other’s backs,” McQuade said. “I had to get one for [Sosa].”
