Odessa High’s offense continues to put points up on the board.
That was pretty evident in last week’s 57-49 win against Lubbock Monterey in nondistrict play last Thursday at Ratliff Stadium.
It was the third time in as many games that the Bronchos (2-1) have scored over 48 points.
Not bad for an offense that graduated a bunch of talented players on offense.
“Our offense is hitting on all cylinders, which is a good thing,” Odessa High head coach Erik Hartman said. “We don’t want any setbacks on that. With the way our offensive line is playing, we’ve been down a couple of linemen but we’ve had guys step up and doing a good job of filling in.”
In the Bronchos’ victory against the Plainsmen, OHS finished with 663 total yards from 67 plays on offense.
Quarterback Mikey Cota once again had another strong performance, going 25-of29 passing for 482 yards and throwing seven touchdown passes.
Wide receiver Santiago Medrano had 158 yards receiving while Aramis Rodriguez had 113 yards while Andrew Rodriguez finished with 112.
Running back Jorge Valdez finished in the triple digits again with 19 carries for 138 yards and a touchdown.
“To have a running back go three straight games with over a hundred yards and have the offensive linemen do a good job of opening up holes for him and him taking advantage of it has been great,” Hartman said. “Jorge has done a great job of making things happen. He has great vision and has been running the ball well.”
>> FIRST HOME WIN: The Bronchos’ victory against Monterey was not only the team’s first win at Ratliff Stadium this season but also the first home victory for Hartman as a head coach for Odessa High.
The Bronchos came up short the previous week at home against El Paso Eastwood in a 56-49 loss to the Troopers on Sept. 13.
>> MORE TIME TO PREPARE: For the first time this season, Odessa High doesn’t have to worry about another Thursday night game.
They also don’t have to worry about playing on Friday, either.
This week, Odessa High gets its first (and only) Saturday game in the regular season when the Bronchos face Killeen Ellison at 1 p.m. Saturday at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene.
That gives the Bronchos over a week between games and more time to prepare.
Hartman talked about how the players and coaches have been planning on using the extra time off to prepare.
“It’s given us coaches a little more time to prepare with film,” Hartman said. “It’s given our players more time to heal. It gives us more time in that aspect. We’ve used the extra time to not put them through as heavy of a workout right now. We’re trying to save their bodies for later on and use this time to get them back in shape.”
>> HAVE WE MET? The Ellison Eagles come in with a 1-3 record, having lost to Copperas Cove (49-34), Killeen Shoemaker (67-46) and Red Oak (35-7).
The Eagles’ lone win of the season was a 58-52 win against Killeen High on Sept. 6.
“Ellison is a good, athletic team. Their record doesn’t show it but they’ve played some really good teams. There are things that we can take advantage of. Defensively, it’s another tough task because they throw the ball well. But I think we match up pretty well with them. We’re looking forward to a good matchup this week.”
A familiar face will be standing on the opposite side of the field as former Odessa High head coach Danny Servance is currently the head coach of the Eagles.
Servance was the head coach of the Bronchos from 2016-2020 before being reassigned from his position.
During his time at Odessa High, he compiled a record of 10-37 which included two winless seasons in 2016 and 2020.
Servance hasn’t had much luck in Ellison, however.
After being named the head coach of Ellison back in 2021, Servance has yet to see a winning season or a playoff appearance with the Eagles.
His teams have posted records of 4-6 in 2021, 5-5 in 2022 and 2-8 last year.
Odessa High vs. Killeen Ellison
>> When: 1 p.m. Saturday
>> Where: Shotwell Stadium in Abilene
>> Records: Odessa High 1-2; Killeen Ellison 1-3
>> Radio: FM-96.9 (KMCM)
