GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — When McAllen Rowe ripped off a lightning-quick 20 straight points in the fourth quarter to erase a two-score deficit, McAllen High coach Kevin Brewer didn’t need to say anything to his team.
Coming into the night at 1-1 in district, McHi’s players had labeled Friday’s game as a must-win. They already knew what was at stake, and what they had to do.
Josh McGowen scored with just under 4 minutes left to tie the game, then led the Bulldogs on a 49-yard drive to set up Cesar Flores’ 27-yard field goal as time expired, lifting McAllen High to a 43-40 win against Rowe at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.
“We were all thinking the same thing: We’re a brotherhood,” McGowen said. “We were all working trying to get the same thing, and that’s trying to get the win. We just came out there and did it.”
McGowen was the focal point of the attack all night for McAllen High, picking up 263 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries. The rest of the offense combined for 152 yards.
After fumbling and limping off the field with a left knee injury on McHi’s first offensive series, McGowen bounced back quickly, scoring a 53-yard touchdown on his next carry. He also had a 55-yard score early in the second half.
“He showed a tremendous amount of toughness,” Brewer said. “That’s huge. That’s what you need out of your tailback.”
McHi’s final drive began on its own 45-yard line with 1:26 to play and three timeouts. Not wanting to risk giving the ball back to Rowe’s explosive offense, Brewer chose to keep the ball on the ground and run McHi’s normal tempo. McGowen picked up 14 yards, then 5, then 6. After Caleb Youngblood pounded his way for 9 yards, McGowen ripped off a 15-yarder down to the 6. Brewer called timeout with 1 second remaining to set up Flores’ field goal.
“I feel very proud of myself and my team,” Flores said. “We’ve been working hard every single day, so I love my team.”
The win moves McAllen High to 3-4 overall and 2-1 in District 30-6A. Rowe drops to 2-5, 1-3 in district.
ROWE’S RALLY
Rowe fell behind 33-20 before things started to click. Over a span of just 2:14, the Warriors scored three times to claim their first lead of the game.
Joseph Moreno scored on a 21-yard run to make the defecit 33-26 with 10:35 remaining.
After a McHi fumble, Rowe’s Jose Chavez punched in a 1-yard run to tie the game. The Warriors recovered the ensuing onside kick and scored on the next snap, a 29-yard pass from John Perez to Raul Juarez that gave Rowe a 40-33 lead with 8:21 to play.
“That’s what we expect to do,” Rowe coach Paul Reyes said. “It was a good, hard battle. Our kids fought back.”
Perez embodied that resiliency. After taking three sacks and losing a fumble during three scoreless drives to start the game, Perez sat the remainder of the first half.
He bounced back in the second, playing the whole way to lead Rowe’s comeback. He finished 15-of-20 passing for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
“He’s going to be a gamer. He’s going to be ready to play,” Reyes said. “He came out and made some good plays (in the second half), so we rode with him.”
FINDING SCORING
With the base offense mostly reliant on McGowen, McHi found ways to put up points on defense, special teams and with the wildcat formation.
Stephen Valdez returned a fumble 87 yards for a score, Gunnar Henderson took a kickoff back 73 yards, and Ruben Gutierrez scored a 26-yard TD out of the wildcat.
“It’s critical,” Brewer said. “It’s got to be more than just Josh. For all three phases to score and other people to contribute, that’s huge. That’s what we need.”
DOWN ON D
McAllen Rowe was without four defensive starters for Friday’s game. Defensive lineman Ernest Martinez, linebacker Aaron Ramirez, linebacker Alex Juarez and defensive back Jose Barrera all missed the game due to injury.
Entering Friday, Martinez and Barrera ranked as the team’s two leading tacklers.