‘It’s mine’: Fernando Mendoza’s first Raiders touchdown ball belongs to Jack Bech

Fernando Mendoza will not have the ball from his first pro touchdown pass in his trophy case.

He’ll have to visit teammate Jack Bech if he wants to see it.

“I did keep the ball,” said Bech, who hauled in Mendoza’s first touchdown pass in Thursday’s 27-14 preseason loss to the Arizona Cardinals at Allegiant Stadium with 3:13 remaining in the second quarter. “For sure, I kept it.

“I’ll put it my house somewhere. I’ll find a good spot for it.”

It was also the first touchdown of Bech’s career after he was unable to find the end zone as a rookie last season.

He said he was unsure the protocol of who is entitled to the ball when it represents the first touchdown for both the passer and the receiver, but he wasn’t going to wait for anyone else to sort it out.

“I took it, so unfortunately he’s not getting it,” Bech laughed. “I don’t know how we determined it, but I had it and I wasn’t giving it up so I guess it’s mine.

“He can have the next one.”

Fellow wide receiver Dareke Young said the formula was simple. Mendoza will have a chance to put up more touchdowns overall because he is a quarterback and Bech is a receiver, so Bech should get the ball.

Whether that logic is sound or not, Mendoza wasn’t going to put up a fight anyway.

“Jack has it,” Mendoza said. “He risked his body and made a great catch. The line made great blocks. It was great. I actually didn’t realize it was Jack’s first touchdown. Looking forward to him scoring many more in the regular season.”

Bech, who finished with a team-high three catches for 25 yards is excited about the progress he has seen from the rookie quarterback.

“The amount of poise he had to be able to get through all his progressions and make amazing throws, he’s really starting to see the game and understand it at a great level,” Bech said. “He’s in there every day working hard every day watching film, putting in the physical work but the mental work as well. He’s done really great so I’m excited to see him keep going.”

Not excited enough, however, to let him keep his first touchdown ball.