The Odessa High football team closed out its spring portion of the calendar with its annual Red-White Spring Game Wednesday at Ratliff Stadium.
The Red Team ended up winning, 30-18 against the White Team.
Odessa High head coach Dusty Ortiz liked what he saw for the most part from his players.
“It was just an extension of practice for us,” Ortiz said. “We looked at film and put them in game-type situations and now we get more film to evaluate. It was good that we came out and had some explosive plays, offensively. I thought it was good for our offense. We changed coordinators and saw how that went. And I thought the offense did well.”
The Red Team got going early, scoring on its first drive with running back Jorge Valdez finding the end zone on a short run.
Team White responded with a scoring drive of its own, culminating with wide receiver Santi Medrano hauling in a touchdown pass and tying the score at 6-6.
A 29-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Ivan Carreon on the following drive put Team Red back in front.
A 75-yard touchdown run by Team White quarterback Aramis Rodriguez tied things back up at 12-12.
Quarterback Mikey Cota then scored on a 23-yard run to put Team Red in front where they would remain for the rest of the spring game.
“Mikey’s been our starter throughout the entire spring and he is who we thought he was,” Ortiz said. “He came out here and scrambled around. We were in some bad situations and he got us out of those situations using his legs and then also looking down field and making throws. I feel like that’s what he’s going to do all year.”
Team Red added two more touchdowns before the conclusion of the game.
Ortiz thought Cota solidified the starting position at quarterback.
“I think he’s been doing that all during the spring,” Ortiz said. “We have some other receivers that have been coming on to compliment Ivan Carreon. Jalen Warren has been one of them. Brendon Thompson is another. Our running backs, we have a committee that can do great things. It starts with Dae Dae Green and Jorge Valdez. The offensive line has also been solid. Most of them are returning and we should be better, offensively. I know these guys want to be successful.”
There were a few fumbles here and there from both sides during the spring game.
“There are a lot of bodies going in and out,” Ortiz said. “Some of the teams aren’t used to working with each other because we had to split the teams and that’s kind of what you get. I think for the most part, our first team was clean. After that, sometimes it can get a little choppy but I think our players recovered well.”
Wednesday’s spring game did get pushed back a little bit due to the threat of rain and lightning but the sun eventually came out from behind the clouds.
“We practiced in the mornings so it worked out to our favor with the cloud coverage and that little cold front coming in,” Ortiz said.
Now comes the summer conditioning part of the schedule as the Bronchos will return to the practice field in August.
“This is the part that’s most critical,” Ortiz said. “We’re going to go into the summer conditioning mode and get stronger and get faster. The UIL gives us an extra hour each day of football skills during the summer. We’re going to utilize that hour and get better.”
The first day of varsity practice is Aug. 7.
Ortiz also talked a little bit about the schedule for the 2023 season which will feature a lot of road games for the Bronchos.
The team will be on the road for the first three weeks of the season, playing against Lubbock Monterey, El Paso Americas and Keller High School before playing at home against Amarillo High on Sept. 15.
“We’re going to be on the road quite a bit,” Ortiz said. “We’ll be going to Lubbock, El Paso and Fort Worth. We’ll know how to travel and hopefully, that prepares us for the playoffs.”
