Football: Sophomore receivers paying dividends for Bronchos

Odessa High assistant coach Jet Carriker, in charge of the Bronchos’ passing attack, had seen the highlights video put together on wide receiver Johnny Campos while he was still a ninth-grader at Bowie Junior High.

Jonathan Lara already was on Carriker’s radar as a member of the OHS junior varsity in 2008, but suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the first game of that season.

So when spring practices rolled around, Carriker got his first good look at both players — and liked what he saw.

“When I saw the video on Johnny, I knew right away that he was going to be a player that was going to be able to help us,” Carrier said. “The fact that he was up playing varsity baseball with Coach (Mike) Munguia really helped, too, because he knew what to expect.

“With Jonathan, he’s a quiet guy and he didn’t get to play much last year, so we were waiting to see what he really could do and he opened some eyes in the spring. He’s got great feet and puts himself in good position every time and when he gets some more experience, he’ll be so much better.”

Both have been very good for the Bronchos (9-2) this season as the team prepares for its Class 5A Division I area playoff at 7:30 tonight at Ratliff Stadium against Arlington High (9-2).

“It’s exciting,” Campos said. “To get this far in the playoffs and be able to play at home is good for us.”

Campos, a sophomore, has caught 18 passes for 252 yards and one touchdown, while rushing for two other scores.

Lara, a junior, has caught 16 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns, including a wide-receiver option pass from Campos for a 34-yard touchdown in the first half of the Bronchos’ 28-21 victory against Midland High.

“That was pretty cool,” Lara said. “Catching that touchdown from Johnny and then hearing the crowd was nice.

“I’m just happy to be getting a chance to play this year and trying to learn everything I can to help the team.”

That’s because Campos, Lara, Nathan Navarette and Austin Tavarez are the heir-apparents to the current wide receiving corps of Gabriel Rodriguez, Tyler McQueen and Jairo Gavaldon.

And as good as his receiving tandem has been the past three seasons, Bronchos quarterback Derrick Teegarden knows that OHS is going to have another solid group of “hands on” players the next two years.

“Tyler, Jairo and myself, we’ve been playing together for six years now between OHS and Bowie,” Teegarden said. “We’ve been able to develop that relationship on the field.

“But with Johnny and Jonathan, you can see just how much they want to be out there and how hard they work. I think the biggest thing is that they worked so hard during the spring and 7-on-7 that the receivers in front of them knew that they had to work harder because someone wanted their playing time.”

That competition between the wide receivers just helps the Bronchos offense move up and down the field at will as they are just as proficient in blocking for Teegarden, the running backs and the other wide receivers as they are catching the ball.

Of course, that’s one of the necessary skills for the wide receivers if they expect to see the field in head coach Ron King’s offense.

“You had better be able to block,” King said the outside threats. “And all of our receivers do a good job in that area, for the most part.”

The parts that the younger receivers struggle with? That’s where the leadership of Teegarden, Rodriguez and McQueen comes in, helping them understand how to set up defenders for certain routes and how to get off the line of scrimmage better.

Carriker, along with assistant coach Bryan Gayoso, talks with the group every day, going over video and game plans and explaining what’s expected of them each and every play.

Then, on Friday nights, the fun begins.

“All the wide receivers are a great group,” Carriker said. “And a lot of the credit has to go to Coach Gayoso for the work he does with the inside receivers.

“I’m going to miss Gabe, Tyler and Jairo when they leave, but they are leaving the program in good hands.”