NATHANIEL MATA | THE MONITOR
McALLEN — For one half, Thursday’s game looked like smooth sailing for the McAllen High Bulldogs, but that didn’t last. Turns out they needed every minute of the clock, including late-game heroics, to prevail 34-27 over Mission High and seal a playoff berth.
Four of the game’s nine touchdowns were scored in the final quarter, capped off by the game-winner, a 4-yard rush for McHi power running back Roy Gutierrez.
“It’s great. I feel like we were the underdogs,” Gutierrez said. “It was a hard battle. It was long, too. We just came out to win. I’m just glad. It’s great.”
Mission had clawed all the way back from a 20-0 halftime deficit to take its first lead on a 51-yard scoop-and-score touchdown by Victor Gutierrez after an Aaron Nixon fumble.
Only 6:13 remained on the game clock when the defensive lineman crossed the goal line. The Bulldogs appeared to be in dire straights, as they were having trouble moving the football compared to their strong start.
McAllen coach Kevin Brewer said the Bulldogs knew a storm was coming in the form of a Mission push back, but his team was built to weather it.
“We knew it was going to be a hard-fought game in the second half, so we weren’t surprised. We were ready,” Brewer said. “My kids know, and they’ve been trained, that it’s not over till the last second ticked off.”
The Bulldogs found their offense again late in the fourth with a combination of running and passing. Nixon found Kristian Soliz for a beautiful 28-yard over-the-shoulder catch that set McAllen up with a first-and-goal at the 2-yard line.
Nixon eventually found Gunnar Henderson, who was visibly hobbled by a lower-body injury, for a 4-yard TD pass to make the score 26-21.
Mission was left with 2:06 on the clock, and the Eagles quickly flipped the field with a deep pass from Damian Gomez to Steve Villarreal that put the Eagles into the red zone. Gomez had 189 passing yards on the game — none bigger than the 76-yard connection.
Gomez’s next pass was incomplete into the end zone for Sebastian Gonzalez, but a flag was tossed. Initially, the call appeared to be going against Gonzalez for a push-off. Instead, it went against the cornerback.
Mission’s Horacio Moronta V punched the ball in from the 2-yard line for his second score, making the score 27-26 in the Eagles’ favor.
If the fumble recovery had McAllen fans down, Moronta’s touchdown had the purple and gold faithful stunned, with only 59.7 seconds left to play.
The doom and gloom didn’t last for too long, however. Coming out of a timeout on fourth-and-9, Nixon found Henderson on a wheel route for a first down and much more. The senior wide receiver powered through his leg injury to sprint down the sideline for a 70 yards.
He likely would have scored without the ailment, but it didn’t matter, because Roy Gutierrez did the rest.
Gutierrez finished with 155 yards and three scores on the night. Sophomore quarterback Nixon finished the night 6 for 15 for 156 yards.
The running back and McHi’s defense were MVPs of the first half. McAllen recovered three first-half fumbles and turned all of those into points to build the 20-0 lead going into the break.
After the game, with all of the McHi seniors on the field to celebrate the senior night victory, Gutierrez saluted the gusty performance of Henderson.
“We’re just TPW, baby. That’s what we do. Tough people win,” Gutierrez said.
Henderson, who finished the night with 84 receiving yards, credited the resilience of Mission.
“They always fight hard. They never give up, no matter what the score is,” Henderson said. “That’s living proof right there. They did it all season long.”
Brewer said that he asked Henderson to make one more play for the team through the pain, and that’s what motivated the senior.
“I thought about all the hard work that our team had put in together, and I wanted to do it for everyone,” Henderson said. “Everyone that believed in us. The stands, the cheerleaders, everyone. I just had to suck it up for 10 seconds, and I did.”
McAllen High qualifies for the postseason with the win and will face Eagle Pass next week. The details of the game are to be determined.
“It feels amazing, especially for everyone who counted us out,” Henderson said. “Shout out to y’all. We did it for y’all.”