ABILENE The Odessa High coaching staff finally got a chance to see the Bronchos face someone other than teammates Thursday at Shotwell Stadium.
Traveling east on Interstate 20, Odessa High faced Abilene Cooper in its only scrimmage for the 2022 season and head coach Dusty Ortiz was encouraged by what he saw.
“It went really well, I thought,” said Ortiz, who is starting his second season at the helm of the program.
“I would have liked for us to get out to a faster start but when you factor in that we’ve really only been in pads for three days because of media day and the rain on Tuesday, we did well. But we finished strong.”
In the live quarter of play, the Bronchos’ defense stepped up as safety Jayven Gonzales went up for an interception and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown.
Gonzales also spent some time work behind center as the backup quarterback.
“I was pretty proud of them,” Ortiz said of the defense. “There was a lot more energy, they were excited about playing and a lot more hats to the ball.”
Ortiz was also impressed with the play of senior quarterback Jaylien Jones.
Jones, who was forced into service last season when Diego Cervantes was injured, showed that the game has slowed down for him as he has matured while learning the offense.
“He does have a different maturity now,” Ortiz said. “You can see his confidence, he did a nice job reading defenses and looked a lot more comfortable.
“He can throw 50 yards off his back foot. And with the receiving corps we have, it’s a nice luxury to have a kid like that.”
Odessa High now sets its sights on the season opener against Lubbock Monterey on Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. at Ratliff Stadium.
After getting back after midnight, the players returned to school early Friday morning to lift weights and watch video.
“We have things to work on and it’s nice to have video against someone else to show them, so we can show them how to correct mistakes,” Ortiz said.
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