After months of waiting, game week is finally here and the Odessa High Bronchos will begin their 2023 season on the road at 7 p.m Friday against Lubbock Monterey at Lowrey Field.
For Odessa High head coach Dusty Ortiz, the first week of the season is always about making sure everything is in the right place.
“I think it’s getting all the procedures right,” Ortiz said. “You’re playing your first game. You’re also traveling. Things change and you have to add school to the mix. You just need to get comfortable with what’s going to happen in the next 10-plus weeks.”
>> Lubbock Monterey: The Plainsmen enter 2023 hoping for better luck than last fall.
Led by second-year head coach Judd Thrash, Monterey is coming off a winless record last year, going 0-10 overall, 0-6 in District 2-5A, DI, in 2022.
Ortiz is expecting to face a better Monterey team this year.
“He’s implemented a new offense this year,” Ortiz said. “They’re running a lot more tight stuff, tight end formations. On defense, they’re doing the same thing but they’re going to be much improved. They’re going to be much-improved. This year, they’re an improved ball club. They’re going to have some weapons. They have two guys on offense that can fly and on defense, they fly to the ball. They’ll be an improved team this year.”
Despite going winless last year, the Plainsmen gave the Bronchos a scare as Odessa High held off Monterey for a 42-39 victory a year ago at Ratliff Stadium.
Monterey returns 9 starters on offense and 5 on defense.
>> Familiar faces: This year will mark the ninth time in the last 10 seasons that Odessa High and Monterey face each other in Week 1.
The only time during that stretch in which both schools didn’t play each other in the season opener was the COVID-affected 2020 season.
The Bronchos’ overall record against the Plainsmen is 9-5.
>> Road warriors: This week’s game will be the first of three consecutive road games for the Bronchos.
After Monterey, Odessa High will travel to face El Paso Americas on Aug. 31 before going to Fort Worth to take on Keller on Sept. 8.
Odessa High’s first home game will be on Sept. 15 against Amarillo High.
>> Scrimmage: Last week, the Bronchos held their first and only varsity scrimmage against Abilene Cooper at Ratliff Stadium.
Both teams played two live quarters in which the Bronchos scored four touchdowns in a 27-0 showing.
“We feel good,” Ortiz said. “We had a good scrimmage. We had a lot of plays at this past scrimmage. We got a chance to evaluate a lot of different kids at different positions. We found some depth. The kids are excited. They came in this morning about 20 minutes early. We feel pretty good.”
Ortiz praised his team’s defensive effort from last week’s scrimmage.
“We just need to do what we’re doing,” Ortiz said. “I felt like last week, our defense improved. We were flying to the ball. That’s going to be something that we hang our hat on. We have to continue to improve and not be satisfied. We need to get better every day.”
