After two Hawks touchdowns and a safety went unanswered through two-and-a-half quarters, the Warriors responded with two scores of their own, including a two-point conversion, inside of the final 5 minutes of play. The Warriors fell flat on their second two-point attempt with 20 seconds remaining, and the Hawks held on for a 16-14 victory at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.
“You’ve got to play four quarters of football,” South coach Israel Gonzalez said. “Sometimes you’ve got to be ready to go to overtime. Kudos to Nikki Rowe for pushing us to the brink. It was a learning experience for us.”
Despite leaving 24 additional points on the table — by way of two touchdowns being called back, along with a special teams kickoff return for a score and a chip-shot field goal — due to what Gonzalez described as “a lack of execution,” the Hawks looked every bit the part of their No. 9 ranking in the RGVSports.com 5A-6A Poll.
Their rushing attack was responsible for 199 of their 259 total yards of offense. They built a 14-0 halftime lead off a 1-yard run from Alvin Edwards and 9-yard quarterback keeper by Austen Shroyer. Along with Dylan Anaya, the Hawks are expected to have two players under center.
On Thursday, Anaya and Shroyer combined for 60 passing yards on 7 of 18 completions.
Much is expected of the Hawks (8-4 overall, 6-1 in district in 2023), who beat McAllen Memorial in the bi-district playoffs before bowing out in the area round at the hands of Victoria West. They return 29 lettermen, including 12 starters, seven of those on offense.
Chief among the defensive returners is Marcus Garza, who blocked Rowe’s sixth punt of the game on their first drive of the second half. It resulted in a safety for the Hawks and a 16-0 cushion with 5:42 remaining in the third quarter.
After struggling during the opening half, Rowe quarterback Adrian Botello connected on 10 of 13 passes during the second half for 138 yards, including a 64-yard TD to Draven Niaves with 4:14 left to end the Warriors’ drought. Botello followed with a two-point run.
And with 20 seconds remaining, Botello again delivered, finding Mateo Castillo on a 14-yard pass. Botello’s heroics ended there, when he fell short of completing a second two-point run that would have tied the game.
The loss comes on the heels of a heavy couple of weeks for the Warriors, who learned last Wednesday that linebacker Adan De La Cruz had died after slipping off a roof trying to jump into a pool days earlier. The three-year letterman was one of the team’s top returning seniors.
Now, Rowe looks ahead to its second of three non-district games, traveling to Los Fresnos in Week 2 before playing host to Mercedes in Week 3.
Harlingen South returns to Boggus Stadium next week when it will take on Harlingen High in the Bird Bowl.
“We’re excited about getting the first win,” Gonzalez said. “Rowe came out and played tremendously well. I thought they were playing for something bigger than themselves tonight.”
