Former Odessa High head football coach Dusty Ortiz has left the Permian Basin to take over the same position at Creekview High in Carrollton.
The announcement came last Thursday in a press release by the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District, meaning the Bronchos will have a new head coach going into the 2024 season in August.
Ortiz leaves after three years of being the head coach at Odessa High.
Under his guidance, Odessa High went from 3-7 in both the 2021 and 2022 seasons to a 5-4 showing last year.
The Bronchos’ 2023 season was the team’s best record in a decade which included a historic 49-42 overtime win over crosstown rivals Permian, the Bronchos’ first win over the Panthers since 2013.
Ortiz talked about the decision to leave Odessa High and the challenges he expects at Creekview High in a phone interview with the OA on Tuesday.
“Well, I’m excited for the opportunity,” Ortiz said. “A program like this, they haven’t won a game in 21 games so I felt like that was a challenge. It was a neat thing to take on. That’s what drew me to it and once I got into the process and meeting everyone and seeing what their thoughts and vision were for the program and it aligned with what I believed in. then things took off from there. I prayed about it with my family. We talked about it and we felt like it was the best decision for our family.”
Ortiz inherits a Creekview High program that is looking for better days.
The Creekview High Mustangs- which plays in District 6-5A, Division I, are currently on a 21-game losing streak which dates back to the 2021.
It’s a similar situation for Ortiz as it was when he first took over a Broncho football program that was coming off a winless 0-7 campaign during the COVID-impacted 2020 season
Ortiz said the challenges he faced at Odessa High have helped prepare him for the task at Creekview High.
“Odessa hadn’t won a game in a long time before I got there,” Ortiz said. “I felt like coming in, there needed to be some energy pumped into the program. The numbers weren’t what they needed to be. They didn’t have five teams competing throughout the year when I’m talking about varsity and junior varsity and freshmen teams. I felt like the academics weren’t good when I first took over and those were some of the things that I addressed. We had kids showing up and being committed and passing classes. We were able to keep all five teams intact for the whole year. We were able to win some games and put on a show for the fans in the stands.”
Ortiz said he’s already seen the excitement from his new players at Creekview High at strength and conditioning.
“We haven’t had to pump in a lot of enthusiasm,” Ortiz said. “The kids are really excited about what we’re bringing to the table. There are some special kids here. Those things are things we have to focus on. I feel like the magic starts in the weight room. We’ve had a good turnout the last couple of days. The kids are busting their tails and I’ve been really impressed.”
When asked if he planned on bringing any members of his coaching staff at OHS to Creekview, Ortiz didn’t rule out the possibility.
“I’m definitely going to pursue some because I think we have some good coaches on the staff,” Ortiz said. “In the time that’s coming, we’ll get those questions answered. I want to ask some. I don’t know if they’ll come or not but I want to give them this opportunity if they want to go on this journey with me.”
Odessa High came up one place short of making the state playoffs in 2023 as the Bronchos are still searching for their first postseason appearance since 2013.
Ortiz feels that the Broncho football program is in a better spot than when he found it.
“Obviously, the one thing I wished we had accomplished was getting to the playoffs and letting the kids get a feel for that,” Ortiz said. “But I felt like a lot of things have improved. I feel like whoever the new guy coming in is will find it in better shape than when I took over and he has a great opportunity to keep it going forward.”
Due to the timing of the announcement and the school year already over at Ector County Independent School District, Ortiz said he didn’t get to say goodbye to the players in the way he was hoping for.
“I didn’t get to do it the way I wanted to do it or the way it needed to be done,” Ortiz said. “That’s something that I feel like an in-person conversation or a phone call has to be done when something like that happens. I was able to call a bunch of the leaders who were on the team. I was able to tell them before the news broke out. I was able to send a message on our communications platform, giving them a heads-up before it happened and just telling them how much I appreciate them and all the work they’ve put forth and the special memories that we created.”
Regardless, Ortiz said he won’t forget his time at Odessa High.
“I think the biggest thing is that it’s all about the kids,” Ortiz said. “It was about giving the kids the opportunity to experience some of those things that we accomplished and try to lead them to being better people and better players … Obviously, the Permian game and getting that win was something special for the community. When I got there, I didn’t realize how important it was to the community. After that first time we played Permian, I realized how important is was to show up and try and win. All those things are what I’m going to take with me.”
