Rowe picks up first 30-5A win by beating La Joya
McALLEN — Desperate to remain alive in the District 30-5A playoff chase, McAllen Rowe found another gear in the second half and pulled away from La Joya, 50-29, on Friday at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Rowe quarterback Daniel Navarro accounted for five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) and 291 yards of total offense to lead the Warriors to their first District 30-5A win in three games.
“This is just what we needed,” Navarro said. “All the credit goes to the offensive line because we wouldn’t have made all those big plays without them.”
Big plays were to be found for each team. Seven of the game’s 11 touchdowns came from at least 39 yards. Navarro hit Victor Castro on TD passes of 42 and 45 yards for Rowe’s first two scores. He rushes for scores of 17 and 39 and added an 8-yard TD pass to Jonathan Bimpong.
Navarro, who share QB duties with Josh Gatling, received most of the snaps on Friday.
“I have confidence in both of them,” Rowe coach Gary Lauer said. “Daniel seemed to have the hot hand so we stayed with him a little more. They both know that’s how we work this.”
The Warriors (2-4 season) trailed, 29-28, with 2:03 left in the third quarter when La Joya (2-4, 0-3) scored on a 47-yard TD run from Lee Ramirez. Rowe answered with a 54-yard TD run by Issac Govea, Navarro’s 39-yard score and a 51-yard TD run by Eli Suarez that gave it a commanding 50-29 lead. In between all that, the Coyotes lost a fumble and were picked off twice.
Rowe struck quickly in the second-half with scoring drives that went for three, two, two and one play.
“We were just trying to keep our guys focused,” Lauer said. “We needed a win in district to keep this thing going. Both of us needed this. We just hung in there and got some turnovers in the second half and turned them into points.”
La Joya pounded 348 yards on the ground, led by Ramirez’s 189 yards on 19 carries. Ramirez also had a 55-yard score. The Coyotes’ Lorenzo Garcia had 15 carries for 111 yards.
