Rowe’s Low Yield Painful As Injury

The sweat was relentless as it ran down his body, but no match for the pain Patrick Rowe was going to feel when he tried to remove his shoulder pads.

So Rowe sat motionless in front of his locker Saturday, numbed for now by the shock of San Diego State’s 21-20 defeat to the Air Force Academy.

Two weeks ago, the Aztec senior wide receiver made it as far as the second quarter before being forced to retire with a shoulder injury. He missed last week’s game, but returned Saturday with extra padding on his right shoulder. And then he hurt his left shoulder.

“I just made up my mind to play through it,” said Rowe, who required the help of trainers to lift his shirt off. “I knew coming in my (right) shoulder was going to hurt any time I hit the ground. It was just a matter of how much I wanted to play. Then I took a helmet directly to my left shoulder.”

This was not how he had planned to experience his final season at San Diego State. Patrick Rowe is supposed to be the Aztecs’ game-breaker, the go-to guy in critical situations.

He’s on the cover of the Aztecs’ 1991 media guide. Inside his bio comes first, filling a complete page, and proclaiming him San Diego State’s “All-American Candidate.” Magazines such as Playboy, Sporting News and Sport touted him as one of the country’s top receiving prospects this season.

However, his body has betrayed him, and against the Falcons, his own quarterback ignored him when the game was on the line. On the Aztecs’ final four offensive plays, one of the country’s top collegiate wide receivers failed to draw so much as a look from quarterback Cree Morris.

“We were over there yelling, ‘They’re gonna go to Rowe, they’re gonna go to Rowe,’ ” Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry said. “I don’t know if that influenced them. I told him (Rowe) after the game that he’s as good a receiver as there is in the country.”

If this catches on, SDSU’s opponents figure to start yelling on the walk out of the locker room. If that’s all it takes to keep the Aztecs from throwing the ball to him . . .

On first down Morris threw an incomplete pass to wide receiver Jake Nyberg. On second down he handed the ball on the draw to running back Marshall Faulk for a one-yard gain. On third down Cree’s pass for Merton Harris was batted down at the line of scrimmage. Time out.

After consultation on the sideline, Morris reloaded and went deep down the sideline to Rowe. Wrong Rowe, though. Morris overthrew tight end Ray Rowe, and the Falcons had a victory.

“I think I could have beaten my guy,” Patrick Rowe said, “But that has nothing to do with the play-calling. It was a play that the offensive coordinator thought would work. We just tried to execute it, and it was unsuccessful.

“I wanted the ball. That’s not being selfish, I just wanted to make something happen, as any of the receivers did. I just wanted to keep the drive alive and keep this team’s momentum going.”

Rowe caught 71 passes in 1990 and led the country with 126.5 yards a game, but Saturday he was limited to five catches for 37 yards. His longest reception of the day went for 12 yards.

“They took him away,” San Diego State Coach Al Luginbill said, while focusing on his team’s final drive. “I mean, we got two guys running wide open; all we got to do is throw the ball there and they’re still running. We didn’t get the ball there.

“That has nothing to do with Patrick Rowe. Merton Harris and Larry Maxey are five yards apart running wide open right smack up the middle of the field, and we throw the ball short.”

Positive things happen, however, when the ball is in Rowe’s hands. On third and five at the Air Force 11 in a 14-14 game in the third quarter, the Aztecs went to the right Rowe and he caught a six-yard pass for a first down. On the next play, Faulk rolled into the end zone to give SDSU a 20-14 lead.

“When he’s on the field you have to know where he is,” Luginbill said. “He’s a competitor, he’s playing hurt, and Patrick tried to make an impact today. We didn’t get the ball to him. When we did, he caught it.”

After the first three games of what is supposed to be a grand season for Patrick Rowe, he has seven catches for 66 yards. He has yet to score.

“I know he’s probably frustrated now,” DeBerry said. “But he’s going to have a good year.”

If Rowe is frustrated, he is going to keep it to himself. He said the Aztecs can not dwell on Saturday’s disappointment, just as he cannot allow himself to be distracted by the pain he feels in each shoulder.

“I’m not worried about the numbers or the statistics or anything like that,” Rowe said. “I’m more worried about the (wins) for this team. Big numbers for Patrick Rowe don’t equate to wins every time for the Aztecs, and wins are what I am after.

“If the ball comes in my direction, that’s fine. But I can’t be out there trying to be a selfish player. There’s just too many weeks of football left to get all wrapped up in Patrick Rowe. This is a team game, and we have a number of good receivers.”