Morley’s big game propels McHi past crosstown rival Rowe
McALLEN — The Texas high school football playoffs might not start until next week, but Friday night’s rivalry clash between crosstown foes McHi and Nikki Rowe had all the feels of a win-or-go-home postseason game.
The Bulldogs secured their spot in the playoffs while also playing spoiler against the rival Warriors with a 23-7 win Friday at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium in McAllen.
The victory locked the Bulldogs (7-3, 5-2) into the No. 3 seed in District 16-5A DI and bounced the Warriors from playoff contention. Rowe finishes its season 4-6 overall and 3-4 in district play.
The Bulldogs will be making their fourth postseason appearance in five years after grinding out the win over the Warriors in their regular season finale Friday night in McAllen.
“That’s what I anticipated, a hard fought game, right? It’s a crosstown rivalry and Nikki Rowe’s got a good football team,” McHi head coach Patrick Shelby said. “They are physical. They are tough. Coach Taylor does a tremendous job over there with his staff. The atmosphere and getting the game going, that’s what we expected.”
McHi running back Hunter Morley had himself a day with over 150 yards on the ground and two rushing touchdowns, including a 76-yard dagger down the right sideline early during the fourth quarter. His long touchdown run put the Bulldogs up 16-7 over the Warriors with 9:36 remaining.
The 6-foot-1 senior running back credited his O-line for creating room to run all night. He crossed the 1,000-yard mark on the season and upped his touchdown total to 11 in the win.
“I feel like right now, the way our offense and defense are helping each other, we’re unstoppable,” Morley said. “I think we can make a deep playoff run if we put it all together next week and have a good week of practice.”
Morley, quarterback McCoy Wolthoff and receiver Finn Henderson helped keep the chains moving for the McHi offense to the tune of 353 yards. Defensively, the Bulldogs played with their hair on fire for four quarters and delivered a dominant out performance.
The Bulldogs forced and recovered two Rowe fumbles and defensive back Eli Schwarz jumped an out-breaking route during the fourth quarter and took the interception to the house for a 45-yard touchdown return for a 23-7 lead.
“I think at the beginning, we weren’t really playing our brand of football, but by the end of third quarter and fourth quarter, we really turned it up and showed them who we are,” Eli Schwarz said.
Linebacker Oliver Schwarz knew the Bulldogs would be in a four-quarter battle against the Warriors, but McHi’s physicality took over down the stretch and their playmakers put them over the top.
“The more physical team wins. You gotta play downhill, you gotta hit hard, you gotta make your tackles,” Oliver Schwarz said. “It’s so fun playing with your brothers and lifting each other up.”
McHi now shifts its focus to the bi-district round of the playoffs for a matchup against Corpus Christi Flour Bluff (9-1, 7-1). The Hornets finished as runner-up in District 15-5A DI with their only loss of the season coming in Week 10 against PSJA North.
The Bulldogs are riding a hot streak as they enter the postseason with four-straight victories. McHi has outscored opponents 168-37 during that span.
"It feels great coming out with the victory and knowing we have a guaranteed spot in the playoffs," Oliver Schwarz said. "We have next week, we're going to go in and play our hardest. We're going to play complimentary football. The defense is going to go off the offense, and the offense is going to go off the defense. We're just going to play together and come out with the victory."
