The Rowe Warriors will head out on the road to face off against the Vela Sabercats at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Rowe will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Texas Rankings (they are ranked 803rd, while Vela is ranked 397th).
After soaring to 33 points the game before, Rowe were a bit more limited in their game on Friday. They fell just short of McAllen by a score of 9-6.
Meanwhile, Vela had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 52.7 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Palmview 35-2 on the road. The result was nothing new for Vela, who have now won six matches by 21 points or more so far this season.
Jamal Polley was his usual excellent self, rushing for 183 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 9.6 yards per carry. Polley is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last four games he's played. Bernabe Gonzalez did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 81 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Rowe has been struggling recently, as they've lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-5 record this season. As for Vela, their win was their fifth straight on the road, which bumped their overall record up to 8-1.
Friday's game might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Rowe has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 198.7 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Vela struggles in that department as they've been even better at 267.9 per game. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Rowe was dealt a bruising 62-14 loss at the hands of Vela in their previous meeting back in November of 2022. Can Rowe avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
