NATHANIEL MATA | THE MONITOR
McALLEN — The injury bug bit has been lingering around the McAllen Rowe Warriors all season, and Friday night was no exception. Rowe fought through players getting hurt all night and a resilient La Joya Juarez-Lincoln squad to win 31-28 in the District 30-6A opener.
Jonas Ortiz threw two touchdown passes in his first varsity district start. The sophomore knew the Warriors (3-1) had the depth to win.
“It’s a great feeling man,” Jonas said. “We never gave up. We knew some players were down here and there, but that didn’t stop us from trying to win a game. Like I said, I’m trying to win games out here. We didn’t change up our game plan too much. We knew we could win this game with the potential we have, even with the guys that went down.”
Raudel Garcia opened the scoring for Rowe with an 11-yard rush, following his own 53-yard carry to get into the red zone.
The opening drive looked like it could have been a preview of Garcia’s dominance on the ground, but he didn’t return to the field due to an upper-body injury.
Rowe’s Chris Neal intercepted Efren Martinez on the ensuing possession, which led to a Rowe drive down to the goal line. The Warriors, however, settled for a 23-yard field goal. The door was left open for the Huskies, and that became a theme of the night.
The Huskies (4-1, 0-1) stormed back during the second quarter. Brothers Albert and Efren Martinez scored on 12 and 1-yard rushes, respectively, to take a 14-10 lead into halftime.
Rowe coach Bobby Flores knew the Huskies wouldn’t go quietly, pointing to their 17-14 road win in La Joya a year ago.
“Juarez is a very, very good team. Very well-coached,” Flores said. “And we didn’t expect them to go away. Just like last year, they were going to fight till the end.”
Ortiz’s arm and his speedy receivers came up big out of the break.
Noe Ramirez spun three times to evade defenders, and was able to stay on his feet for a 53-yard score. Then, Ortiz placed a pass perfectly in stride to Angel Rodriguez for a 50-yard touchdown.
The young quarterback said practicing as the starter has been helping him take leaps in his development as a thrower.
“I’ve been getting all the reps in practice, getting my ball there,” Ortiz said. “I’ve been feeling better lately. I learn from my mistakes and get better as the year goes.”
Special teams played a huge factor in the contest. Juarez-Lincoln blocked two Rowe puts and turned them both into points. The second block was picked by Luciano Ruelas, and he returned the loose ball a short distance for six points.
Coming up big for the Warriors was another youngster, recently promoted from the JV sqaud.
“Due to the fact that we’ve had some injuries we’ve had to move up some people and they were untested,” Flores said. “One of them is Alex Anzaldua, a sophomore, came in there and he did what he needed to do. On his first varsity game, he ran the ball hard.”
Anzaldua ran for 40 yards, gaining some crucial first downs. He almost punched in his first varsity TD, but it was called back because of a holding violation.
“Man, it felt good, just to come on the field,” Anzaldua said. “Just carrying the team, helping the team. They’ll heal slowly but surely, and hopefully we get them back soon as possible.”
Adrian Bernal had a rushing touchdown on a direct snap, and was commended as a leader by his coach. The receiver had to step up after his fellow senior Hector Ramirez left with an ankle injury.
His wildcat run stood as the winning points for the Warriors.
Juarez-Lincoln coach Tommy Garcia wasn’t satisfied with his team’s energy in the district opener.
“To me, Nikki Rowe was ready to play, and that’s my fault,” Garcia said. “This was on me. I just felt we came out flat, with no intensity, no excitement. When you get to the next level, which is after the non-district games, you got to turn up the switch and we didn’t do that.”
Juarez-Lincoln will have a shot at a first district win, when it takes on La Joya Palmview. Rowe will play a non-district game against Grulla, before resuming district play.