NATHANIEL MATA | THE MONITOR
McAllen Rowe will need all the help it can get against a powerful McAllen Memorial (7-2, 5-0) squad Friday night. Senior quarterback Jesus Sanchez will return to the huddle for the Warriors (7-2, 4-1) for the first time since he was injured during a Week 2 loss to Mercedes. Prior to last week’s 17-14 loss to La Joya High, Rowe hadn’t dropped a game since his shoulder injury. He suffered two fractures on his humorous bone back on Sept. 8.
“Definitely, Jesus could see action,” Rowe coach Bobby Flores said. “Jonas (Ortiz) has gotten us where we’re at right now. Jesus just got released this week to come out and take snaps full go. We are looking for him to also play some quarterback.”
Sophomore Jonas Ortiz started the season at tight end before being thrust into the QB role. This week, he might still see time at quarterback, but he also could slot back into the position he played to start the year.
“Jesus has been in our system, and when we lost him, we had Jonas at tight end,” Flores said. “(Ortiz) definitely gives us another weapon to go to. We’re just going to get to the game and see what we can do. That’s what we do week to week. We see what’s working for us. If it’s the run game that we can open up, we’ll go to the run. If we need to spread the ball out a little bit more and pass, that’s what we’ll do.”
McAllen Rowe has been bitten by the injury bug plenty of times, but the Warriors may have dodged a bullet last week against La Joya High. Wide receiver Adrian Bernal suffered a shoulder injury last week, but upon further evaluation, it turned out to be less serious than initially feared.
“That’s where we’re at right now, it’s week to week,” Flores said. “He hasn’t been ruled out completely, so that’s a good thing for us, most definitely.”
Rowe can claim a share of the district title for the first time since 2001 with a win over Memorial. The Mustangs have won the last three championships outright and will share the title this year even with a loss.
“This one is special, because we have the opportunity to obviously win a share of the district championship,” Flores said. “We’re in the title game, along with the city championship opportunity. It is exciting for the city of McAllen to have two teams battling it out.”