The Odessa High coaching staff knows what it has each time the whistles blow on Friday night.
Now, it’s up to the Bronchos’ players to get on the same page.
They got a lot closer Friday against Permian, the game much more competitive than it has been the past few seasons.
Now, the Odessa High players need to feed off the message of offensive coordinator Creighton Reed.
“Before the game the last two weeks, I told them don’t play for the scoreboard,” Reed said. “Because against Midland High I felt we were playing for the scoreboard, just watching the time clock drain and then when we got down, they kind of got the ‘we can’t come back from this,’ and that wasn’t the case early on in the year when we would get down and we would battle back.
“I told the offense that you’ve proven yourself this year and your are in any game, at any time. Even if you get down 21-0, even 28-0, you can come back so believe in yourselves and don’t look at the scoreboard.”
That speech will resonate this week as well as the Bronchos are set to host District 2-6A leading Midland Legacy at 7 p.m. Friday at Ratliff Stadium.
The Rebels (5-1 overall, 2-0 in district) have plenty of offensive firepower, but Reed is just as impressed with their defense and knows that Odessa High is going to have to use everything at its disposal to compete.
“They have a very good front seven with their defensive line and linebackers,” Reed said. “They put pressure on you and we have to find a way to slow them down.”
>> TOPPING THE CHARTS, NO. 1: Wide receiver Ivan Carreon quickly established himself as a top target for quarterback Diego Cervantes this season, with multiple games of more than 100 receiving yards.
hose efforts have had Carreon, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, racing up the Bronchos’ single-season and even career receiving charts.
He made more moves following Friday’s contest against Permian.
Tied with Fabian Galindo for most receptions in a season heading into the game, Carreon’s seven catches moves him to 56 for the season, well in front.
His 108 yards receiving gives Carreon 814 on the season, besting the mark of 755 set by Daniel Rivas in 2006. Carreon needs just 186 yards to become the program’s first 1,000-yard receiver.
Odessa High’s career yardage mark sits at 1,128 yards, set by Gabriel Rodriguez (2007-2009).
>> TOPPING THE CHARTS, NO. 2: In its 101-year history of putting a football team on the field, Odessa High has had just one quarterback top the 2,000-yard mark in a single season:
>> Derrick Teegarden, 2,225 yards, 2008.
Teedgarden nearly eclipsed the mark the following season, finishing with 1,911 yards passing in 2009.
Now, there are two.
Cervantes was 26-of-39 passing for 364 yards and two touchdowns, with two interceptions against the Panthers.
That pushed him to 156-of-244 passing for 2,031 yards and 17 touchdowns, with seven interceptions, on the season.
He also has 455 rushing yards and 13 scores this season, putting him at 2,486 yards of combined offense (rushing/passing). That is just 482 yards shy of Teegarden’s single-season mark of 2,968, set in 2008.
The 30 touchdowns are four shy of Teegarden (34, 2008).
>> SUBVARSITY: It wasn’t a good week for the Bronchos’ lower level squads as they all lost by shutouts.
This week, the freshmen teams will host Midland Legacy Thursday at the Ratliff Stadium turf field, beginning at 5 p.m.
The JV squads will travel to face the Rebels at Memorial Stadium with the first game beginning at 5 p.m.
>> Follow Lee Scheide on Twitter at @OALeeScheide
MIDLAND LEGACY AT ODESSA HIGH
>> When: 7 p.m. Friday.
>> Where: Ratliff Stadium.
>> Last Season: Midland Legacy (Lee) 46, Odessa High 0.
>> Records: Midland Legacy 5-1 overall, 2-0 District 2-6A: Odessa High 3-4, 1-2.
>> Radio: KHKX (FM-99.1)
>> Live Updates: Follow on Twitter at @OALeeScheide.
ODESSA HIGH PLAYER OF THE WEEK
IVAN CARREON
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 190
Class: Sophomore
Position: WR
Last Week: Caught seven passes for 108 yards and one touchdown, rushed once for eight yards and scored a 2-point conversion in a 48-29 loss to Permian.
This season: Has 56 receptions for 814 yards and six touchdowns. Both the receptions and yardage are program single-season records. Has rushed twice for 10 yards.
