Miami football HC Mario Cristobal recalls playing with Fernando Mendoza’s father in HS

The Miami football team has had a fantastic season and will get a chance to cap it all off by playing Indiana at its home stadium in Miami. The Hoosiers have been dominant, and the other storylines surrounding it are setting up for an entertaining game. Mario Cristobal was born and raised in Miami and actually played football with Fernando Mendoza’s dad in high school.

On the most recent episode of “The Pat McAfee Show,” Mario Cristobal was a guest and recalled playing football with Mendoza Sr. in Miami. He said the team was loaded and that some players went on to play in the NFL. He also said they even beat the best team in the state at the time.

Cristobal said, “That was a great team right there—great offensive line. Fernando Mendoza Sr. was a great player. You see Alex Mirabal there, number 65. He was a great player. And some of those other guys were some crazy rounders.”

The school that Cristobal and Mendoza Sr. played football at was Christopher Columbus High School, where they both found their love of football.

Fernando Mendoza Sr. went on to attend Brown University and pursue a career in medicine. However, Fernando Mendoza Jr. is dominating the college football landscape this season. After starting his career at Cal, he transferred to Indiana and set the college football landscape ablaze. He helped Indiana reach the national championship and won the Heisman Trophy.

It is a homecoming for Mendoza, playing the national title in Miami near where he grew up, against his hometown team. However, Mendoza gets a chance to show that team that he belongs, because Miami never recruited him.

There are many Miami football connections in this game, which makes it all the more interesting. The Hurricanes have a solid offense but have excelled on defense, especially in the College Football Playoff. That will be the deciding factor against Mendoza, and if Indiana or Miami wins the title.

The post Miami football HC Mario Cristobal recalls playing with Fernando Mendoza’s father in HS appeared first on ClutchPoints.