DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — The last time Edcouch-Elsa had played at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium in 1997, it lost a quarterfinal playoff to Calallen.
The Yellowjackets’ latest trip didn’t go so great, either, against McAllen Rowe on Friday night.
The Warriors pounced on the Yellowjackets early and often, relentless in an offensive attack that was brilliant for most of the evening. Rowe earned a 48-28 win at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium, largely in part because of junior quarterback Hector Bosquez.
Bosquez, whom coach Paul Reyes was looking at along with John Perez as his signal-caller, had his way against the Yellowjackets, completing 9 of 12 passes for 206 yards and three TDs and carrying the ball 15 times for 191 yards and two more TDs before leaving with a 41-7 lead with 6:36 left in the third for Perez.
Whether it was Bosquez finding open receivers — WIDE open — time and time again or tucking it and getting yards himself, E-E had no answer. The Yellowjackets had concerns with their linebackers and secondary heading into the season-opener, and it showed.
Bosquez had sound protection up front, was decisive and precise with his throws, leaving little to no room for error. Rowe protected Bosquez, in his first year as a fulltime starter, with simple draws and bubble screens, but often his receivers turned little into big, piling up yards after the catch seamlessly.
Most of Rowe’s offensive success was because of the Warriors’ great speed and athleticism, particularly in space. But a lot of it was also because of an Edcouch-Elsa defense that was slow to get off blocks and missed assignments often.
It wasn’t much better offensively for E-E, which had 305 total yards (much of that late) to Rowe’s 539.
’Jackets sophomore QB Marco Aguinaga looked every bit his age early before playing strong in the second half with the game well in hand. Aguinaga completed 13 of 22 passes for 129 yards, a TD and two interceptions. He also ran the ball 11 times for 91 yards and a TD.
The Warriors’ new 4-3 defensive front ran rampant, often flushing Aguinaga out of the pocket and leaving ‘Jacket runners no breathing room inside. It wasn’t until late that he started making better reads on his progressions and became more assertive when it came time to take the ball himself.
Senior running back Lino Sanchez paced E-E with 13 carries for 80 yards and two TDs. Jose Chavez added 184 total yards and three TDs for Rowe.
Both teams entered the game with quarterback competitions. Rowe seemed to have gotten a lot of that answered. Perez played OK (5-for-9 passing for 41 yards and a TD; six carries for 17 yards), but the Warriors produced touchdowns on all six of Bosquez’s possessions.
E-E’s competition looked wide open until Aguinaga’s promising play in the second half, but likely remains a week-to-week basis.