Two games into this season and the Odessa High offense seems to be doing just fine.
Sure, there have been a few hiccups here and there, but the Bronchos’ attack already looks to be just as good as last season, if not better.
Despite losing to El Paso Eastwood 56-49 last week, Odessa High (1-1) is already on track to average more points a game than last year’s unit (which averaged 37).
“We executed well,” Odessa High head coach Erik Hartman said. “There are still some things we need to work on, but looking back on film, there’s a lot of things we did well on, offensively. I’m proud of the fight that we kept up. There were situations where we’d be down and we’d be up. Whenever we’re up, we just need to continue to play hard and play up. Sometimes, the problem is when we’re up, we made some mistakes. When we’ve been down, we’ve been playing well.”
Coming into the season with some tweaks made to the offense, the Bronchos didn’t have a lot of time to get used to the new scheme.
It certainly hasn’t looked that way if results from the last two weeks have said anything.
“Our kids have really put in the time and effort to learn the plays and the offense,” Hartman said. “When you have guys like that who study and prepare for it, it’s going to be successful, regardless of what offense you’re running.”
The Bronchos put 301 total yards of offense against Eastwood last week.
Quarterback Mikey Cota finished 18-of-25 for 324 yards and threw four touchdowns while wide receiver Santiago Medrano had seven receptions for 146 yards and two touchdowns.
>> ANDREW RODRIGUEZ AT QB: Wide receiver Andrew Rodriguez has seen playing time at quarterback this season and last week, the junior went 6-of-10 for 157 yards and threw two touchdowns.
“It was good,” Hartman said. “We’ve worked him in at quarterback as well as Bo Rodriguez. Those guys are very versatile athletes. (Andrew) looked good. He made some plays and then tried to make another one and made a mistake, but that’s just learning in that position.”
>> COMING BACK: After a season-ending injury last year, Medrano has bounced back and has made up for lost time.
“He’s playing great,” Hartman said. “He’s another versatile guy who can play different positions and he’s even played some defense for us. He’s making up for lost time. He’s doing great for us.”
>> ONE MINUTE DRILL: Eastwood’s game-winning score came with just eight seconds left with Nathanael Chavira scoring on a 33-yard run to avoid overtime.
Hartman feels like if his team just had a minute remaining, that would’ve been enough time to get the ball down the field for a touchdown.
“We’re designed to do that,” Hartman said. “I felt like if they had given us some time, we would’ve been able to do that.”
>> LUBBOCK MONTEREY: Last year, Odessa High became the first team for Lubbock Monterey to beat in two years in the Bronchos’ 44-42 loss in Lubbock.
It turned out to be a turning point for the Plainsmen who, despite finishing 4-6 last year, still surprised a lot of people.
Monterey will be looking to continue that momentum this season as the Plainsmen hope to make the playoffs out of District 2-5A, Division I.
Odessa High will be looking for revenge when the Bronchos host the Plainsmen in this week’s nondistrict game at 7 p.m. Thursday at Ratliff Stadium.
“They’re a good team,” Hartman said. “They’re sound. They play well and play hard. We just need to make sure we have another good week where prepare hard. We talked to the guys after last week’s game and said that we’re still 0-0 in district. These games are to help us get better and Monterey is another tough one to help us get better.”
Monterey (1-2) is coming off a 36-14 win against El Paso Franklin last week.
Lubbock Monterey at Odessa High
>> When: 7 p.m. Thursday
>> Where: Ratliff Stadium
>> Last season: Lubbock Monterey 44, Odessa High 42
>> Records: Lubbock Monterey 1-2; Odessa High 1-1
>> Radio: FM-96.9 (KMCM).
