GREG LUCA | THE MONITOR
McALLEN — PSJA Memorial running back Jonathan Treviño admits he was tired on the Wolverines’ final offensive possession of their 19-14 win.
Treviño was one of many Memorial players and coaches who had battled the flu throughout the week, and he had already carried the ball 23 times before Memorial took over possession down 14-13 with 9:17 left to play.
Regardless, Treviño continued to be the Wolverines’ workhorse. He carried the ball eight times and punched in a 1-yard touchdown on a 15-play drive that ate up 7 minutes and 3 seconds. That possession proved to be the difference in PSJA Memorial’s win against McAllen Rowe on Friday at McAllen Memorial Stadium.
“I was a little bit tired, but at the end, you just have to fight for your team if you want that ‘W,’” Treviño said. “And we took it.”
As heavy rain fell in spurts, coach Gus Cavazos said Memorial all but abandoned the passing game.
That led to an increased workload for Treviño. He carried seven times on the Wolverines’ opening possession, which ended when he fumbled under the wet, slippery conditions.
From then on, Treviño ran with two arms clamped squarely on the ball, sacrificing big-play potential in favor of safety. He finished the game with 156 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries, and only four of those carries went for double-digit yards. His biggest gain on the night was 18.
“I’m glad it was a cool night, because if it had been a hot night, I think he would’ve been out there cramping up,” Cavazos said. “He asked to come out a couple of times, came out for one or two plays, and went right back in.”
Quarterback Michael Gonzalez was quietly consistent for the Wolverines, completing 9 of 13 passes for 103 yards with an interception.
Rowe’s offense struggled to find that same consistency and was done in by a few costly mistakes, especially in the second half.
In the third quarter, wideout Jonathan Colin dropped a potential touchdown pass on fourth down from the Wolverines’ 40-yard line.
On Rowe’s next drive, quarterback John Perez fumbled the first two snaps. Starter Hector Bosquez re-entered the game, fumbled a third-down snap, recovered and watched Victor Adames drop a would-be first down pass.
The Warriors also came up short on a pair of first-half fourth-down tries and kicked a 6-yard punt on the night.
“We come out early in the third, pretty much it’s going to be a touchdown pass, and we dropped that,” Rowe coach Paul Reyes said. “We dropped some other passes that could have kept some drives alive. It’s a wide-open pass. You can’t make that kind of mistake. Whether it’s dry football or rain, you just have to make plays.”
Bosquez finished the night 13-of-26 passing with 100 yards and an interception — part of wild final series as Rowe tried to rally after taking over with 1:36 to play.
On second-and-5 from the Memorial 46, Bosquez’s pass was intercepted by Ismael Canizales, who fumbled the ball back to Rowe. That gave new life to the Warriors, but their comeback attempt came to an end when Bosquez’s 22-yard pass into the end zone was knocked away as time expired.
“As a football payer, you have to adapt,” Bosquez said. “That’s how great football teams win. Unfortunately, we didn’t come out with a win, but we still fought to the end.”
WARRIORS’ WEAPON
Rowe’s Jose Chavez scored both of the Warriors’ touchdowns — on rushes of 2 and 4 yards — to give him six scores on the season.
He finished the game with 7 carries for 44 yards and added a pair of catches for 11 yards. Chavez entered Friday as District 30-6A’s leading receiver, catching nine passes for 204 yards and a pair of scores in Rowe’s first two games.
SLIGHT DELAY
Although neither team took the field until after 7:20 p.m., Friday’s game kicked off at 7:32 — just past the scheduled time.
No lightning was spotted in the area, but heavy rains kept both teams in the locker room as kickoff approached. The teams skipped all pregame festivities — including player introductions and the national anthem — in order to start on time. Rowe’s players ran out of the inflatable tunnel and immediately onto the field to kick off.
UP NEXT
Both teams face stiff tests to close out their non-district schedules next week.
Rowe travels to face a Laredo United team that gave Sharyland a test in a 28-23 loss last week.
PSJA Memorial hosts a 3-0 Edinburg Vela team that has won each game by at least 25 points.