McALLEN — Nikki Rowe will enter the postseason having won five straight games.
The Warriors closed the regular season Friday with a 48-14 win over PSJA Memorial at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium, finishing 7-3 overall and 6-1 in District 16-5A Division I.
Rowe had already secured the district’s No. 2 seed, but the regular-season finale gave the Warriors another opportunity to work through adjustments before their first-round matchup with Flour Bluff.
Junior quarterback Ramiro “Alex” Leon finished with 202 passing yards and three touchdowns.
“We had stuff to fix, and we came in and we fixed it,” Leon said of Rowe’s halftime adjustments. “We had a reverse come in. That was a big key to our momentum, and that helped us a lot.”
Rowe controlled the first half despite leaving points on the field.
Leon opened the scoring with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Ronaldo Gonzalez, who made the catch through tight coverage. Alejandro Coronado followed with two touchdown runs as Rowe built a 20-0 halftime lead.
The Warriors nearly added another score in the second quarter when Leon found Jesse Cantu for what would have been a roughly 60-yard touchdown. The play was called back for an illegal man downfield.
Leon said the offense did not dwell on the mistake.
“We learned from that mistake,” Leon said. “It happens. We just learn from it, and we move on.”
Rowe continued attacking through the air after halftime.
Leon found Gonzalez for his second touchdown of the night on the Warriors’ opening possession of the third quarter, extending the lead to 27-0.
PSJA Memorial answered with its first touchdown, but Rowe responded with the play Leon had been waiting months to run.
The Warriors went to a reverse, with Anthony Hernandez taking the ball and breaking free for a 58-yard touchdown. Hernandez made one final defender miss with a stutter step on his way to the end zone, pushing Rowe’s advantage to 34-7.
“Probably the reverse,” Leon said when asked about his most memorable play of the night. “We’ve been practicing that play for a couple months already. We haven’t ran it. We ran it today, and it worked.”
Leon later connected with sophomore Benjamin De Leon for an eight-yard touchdown, his third scoring pass of the night, giving Rowe a 41-7 lead late in the third quarter.
Rowe eventually went to its reserves, with freshman Jedi Thomas adding a 37-yard touchdown reception in the fourth.
For Leon, much of the offensive success came from recognizing how PSJA Memorial was defending the Warriors.
“I saw they were playing robber a lot,” Leon said. “The safety would come down, try to blitz, and give us that slant. Gave us a lot of comebacks.”
The win completed a five-game run that began after Rowe’s loss to district champion McAllen High. Since then, the Warriors have beaten Palmview, Donna North, McAllen Memorial, Rio Grande City and PSJA Memorial.
Now the margin for error changes.
Flour Bluff secured the matchup with Rowe after beating Weslaco East 77-63 Friday night. The Hornets will travel to McAllen for the bi-district round Thursday.
Leon kept his message for Rowe’s next opponent short.
“Enjoy the Valley.”
