NATHANIEL MATA | THE MONITOR
McALLEN — The McAllen Rowe Warriors kept rolling and didn’t let a comeback attempt from the McAllen High Bulldogs develop. Rowe pulled away for 48-27 win Friday night at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Angel Rodriguez put the Warriors in great position following a 73-yard return on the opening kickoff to set up an opening-drive score. Rowe only needed 2 minutes, 10 seconds to notch its first points. The Warriors never trailed after that.
Rowe’s senior running back Raudel Garcia had his best performance of the year against his rivals, getting into the end zone four times. He helped his team get payback for an overtime loss in the matchup against McHi last season, knotting the all-time series at 13 wins apiece.
“It’s really intense. They’re right across the street,” Garcia said. “The feeling is unbelievable, just to see the result, it’s a great feeling.”
McAllen (5-3, 1-3) came out of the gates plagued by some of the issues that have lingered all season. McHi fumbled on its first offensive play, and Rowe recovered.
The Warriors (7-1, 4-0) jumped out to 14-0 and 21-6 leads in the first half before McHi closed the gap to make the halftime score 21-14.
Garcia found the end zone twice before the break.
“Our team came out hard,” Garcia said. “We practiced all week full speed. I’m just proud of these guys. They work really hard and make my job easier, the line and just everyone is coming together.”
The Warriors were playing superior offense but made things tougher on themselves after fumbling a kickoff.
Gunnar Henderson returned a second-quarter punt 34 yards to allow the Bulldogs to score and convert the two-point conversion, pulling within 21-14.
Roy Gutierrez was the workhorse for McAllen. He finished the night with 194 yards and a score.
Rowe coach Bobby Flores knew that the Bulldogs would come out of halftime hungry to put up offense. McHi’s Aaron Nixon scored on a quarterback keeper after a long drive to nearly tie the game, but the Bulldogs missed the extra point and continued to trail 21-20.
“All I know is we knew they were going to come out and fight us both halves,” Flores said. “We spoke about being resilient the second half. We’ve stressed second halves this whole season. In the second half, we executed.”
After the Nixon scamper, the Warriors put their foot on the gas to take control.
The Warriors scored 27 unanswered points to make the game decisive before Gunnar Henderson got on the board for the Bulldogs with a 66-yard catch.
Jonas Ortiz found his passing touch when he hit Adrian Bernal for an 81-yard touchdown throw and catch. Noe Ramirez hauled in two touchdowns on the night for Rowe, as well.
Still, the offensive star was Garcia. The running back scored four touchdowns in total, following his blockers on a 63-yard screen pass for a score.
“Raudel is a senior running back, and to me, he’s carried our team,” Flores said. “He’s fought through injuries, but he works hard. He has great hands, he’s very agile, and we’re lucky to have him.”
Both Garcia and Flores pointed to the offensive line as the catalyst to the 48-point outburst.
Mark Quiroz, a guard for the Warriors, said that their success is no secret.
“It’s not really that difficult. All we have to do is talk to each other on the line and call out everything,” Quiroz said. “We just execute.”
Rowe will try to keep it rolling against La Joya High, which is fresh off a 24-10 win over La Joya Juarez-Lincoln on Friday.
“Tonight, we’re going to celebrate,” Quiroz said. “It’s going to be a good night tonight.”