Odessa High bounced back from two rough weeks of play with a solid effort against Schertz Clemens in nondistrict play Saturday at Ratliff Stadium.
The Bronchos came out firing on all cylinders in their spread hurry-up, up-tempo offense, opening a three-score lead in the first quarter and never looking back in their 35-24 win.
“That’s something we preached all week,” offensive coordinator Creighton Reed said. “Our first two games we were able to play really, really fast and get the defense gassed, and with our offense, if we can pick up a first down, we score like on 80% of our drives. It’s just picking up that first down and having success on first down and getting the tempo going.
“And tonight, we got it rolling from the get go. Our first out of our first six possessions we scored five touchdowns and I think a lot of it was because of the tempo. The Buffaloes defense wasn’t ready for it.”
Bronchos head coach Dusty Ortiz concurred with Reed.
“Our offense got a little creative – we were driving around, utilizing or other weapons and it just paid off,” Ortiz said. “It was helpful when you get up in the first quarter, when it was 21-0.”
Bronchos quarterback Jaylien Jones targeted seven different receivers for 239 yards and three touchdowns, none more than his top target in 6-foot-6 wide receiver Ivan Carreon.
Carreon, coming off a zero-catch performance last week against Amarillo High, had a team-high 10 catches for 158 yards and two touchdowns against the Buffaloes.
“[My performance] was good,” Carreon said. “I just gotta trust Coach Reed and most of the balls I received were pretty good. We were able to run the ball this game, so it really set up the pass and the play-action plays.”
Coach Reed believed that the early first-quarter lead and the strong ground game allowed for the big play threat of Carreon to be in full effect on Saturday.
“Our whole offense is about establishing a run game and Ivan just being patient,” Reed said. “We’re not going to force-feed and we’re going to run our offense and put him in situations to be successful.
“So, from the very get go, our first play tonight was a down screen to him just to get him going and get them in touch and to get him confident again. Throughout the game, we found the matchups that put him in one-on-one situations or even two-on-one and move the [defenders] around a little bit to make the defense move. He had a great game and our offensive line gave Jaylien time to make the throws to them. So, our offense really just came together today and put on a show.”
The Bronchos also racked-up their first three turnovers of the season.
The first was a near touchdown by defensive back Adrian Muzquiz in the third quarter.
He took the interception 88 yards for a touchdown, but the run back was called back to the Buffaloes’ 22 yard-line due to an illegal block in the back penalty.
The team also forced an interception and a game-sealing fumble recovery in the fourth quarter.
Those turnovers came as a relief for Coach Ortiz.
“I know the defensive staff was just super happy because we hadn’t had any takeaways this whole season, other than the scrimmage,” Ortiz said. “Those are preparing you for the season and so it was good to have the interceptions.
“It was good to have a fumble. You know, hopefully that’s going to be turned in our way on the next few weeks.”
The Bronchos (3-2) have a week off before starting District 2-6A play against Permian on Oct. 7 at Ratliff Stadium.
“We’re hitting an open week this next week, and you always want to go into an open week with success,” Ortiz said. “It just makes the week of practice that you don’t have a game that much better.
“So, we’re going to go into this open week, let some lower bruises heal, but also start to prepare for that district game, our first one in two weeks.”
