ODESSA HIGH TAKING CONFIDENT STEPS TOWARD IMPROVEMENT IN SECOND SEASON UNDER SERVANCE’S STAFF

For Odessa High, a stride forward starts with sure footing. This fall, the Bronchos have that. Since two-a-days opened in mid-August, the Odessa High football team has taken to the practice field working with a new confidence in every move, a new sureness in every step and a comfort and certainty in every motion that was absent a year ago. It’s the team’s second season under head coach Danny Servance and his staff — and things have changed. “This year has a different feel to it,” Servance said during the first week of fall camp. Yes, the Bronchos coaches and players are more than a year into their effort together now at Odessa High, and now, with that first-year adjustment out of the way and everyone moving in sync, they’re all moving through workouts and preparing for the season with certainty in their stride. It’s still a long way to the finish line for Odessa High after the struggles of 2016 — but the journey, in 2017, has started with some sure-footed first steps. “The kids seem like they’re more confident. I think the coaches are more confident in the kids, and their abilities,” Servance said, seated in his office in the fieldhouse just before another scorching workout. “I think it’s showing through our kids, in them making plays in practice and doing things consistently, and finishing plays, and just playing at a different level than what we’ve seen in the past.” Out on Coleman Field, that’s what Servance has seen. The woes of 2016 are behind the Bronchos, and so is any fog of uncertainty that clouded camp in the coaches’ first year on campus last fall. Now, their only focus is in improving and getting better — and getting set for the season opener Aug. 31 against Lubbock Monterey. “With us being here a whole year now, I think it really helps our kids to know, when we say something, they know exactly what we’re talking about,” Servance said. “They don’t have to second-guess, ‘Am I right or am I wrong?’ They know for sure, ‘This is what coach wants,’ and they react now and play, instead of thinking too much.” It’s something they’ve carried through the summer, and now, into the preseason and into game week. The Bronchos are sure about what they need to do now. All that’s left is for them to continue putting it all into action. “I just think, our kids, they just feel better about themselves,” Servance said. “They’ve done some good things in the offseason. They’ve seen gains in the weight room. They’ve seen themselves compete in 7-on-7 and do some really good things against some really good people. I think, with that, comes confidence. “Especially knowing exactly what you’re doing when you’re on the football field, with it being a year removed, that also adds confidence, and you’re able to play faster when you’re not out there trying to think too much and you’re just reacting to what’s happening on the field.” When Bronchos offensive coordinator Dean Garza looked over the first few days of practice this fall, he might have seen more answers than questions moving their way around drills. Plenty of major contributors are back for the Bronchos on that side of the ball — all operating more cohesively than ever. “You can tell it’s not Year 1 anymore,” Garza said. Junior quarterback Trey Smith sees it the same way from inside the huddle. “We had a lot of young people last year, and now it feels like we’ve got that year out of our way,” Smith said. “Now we’re all ready. “We know what we’re doing. We know how everything works.” Smith is back behind center at quarterback, entering camp set to start against Lubbock Monterey, with plenty of weapons around him including most of Odessa High’s top receivers from 2016. Leading receiver Tyrone Caufield is back, as are senior receiver Zay Brown and senior tight end Jacob Munoz. Playmaker Julian Galindo is back, too, at slot receiver — and former quarterback Chase Webster is added to that mix as well. Webster, who split snaps with Smith at quarterback all throughout last season, elected to move over into the slot before spring practice, thrusting his confidence behind Smith and the other quarterbacks while bringing his own talent and vision of the field to the receiving corps. “When you have that kind of experience coming back, you look for those guys to do some special things,” Servance said of the receivers. In the backfield, running back Josh Lara has seemingly grown into form as a junior, while senior Tony Carrasco is back after missing much of last season with an injury. Carrasco moved to linebacker and is eyeing a starting spot there on the defense, but he’s also ready to take more handoffs on the offensive side. “It’s going to be a great one-two punch,” Garza said of those two at running back. Nathan Levarrio is back, too, after taking 35 handoffs last season as a junior. They’ll all be running behind a new-look offensive line, which has gone through several changes now with assistant coach Dex Dennard shifting positions to lead the group. Junior Caedon Murry is working at left tackle, finally back after missing most of last season due to injury. His fellow junior, Luis Nunez, is slotted to bookend him on the other side at right tackle. Inside, Nathan Sanchez has moved from tackle to center, while Christian Alvarez is working at left guard and Branden Jones is working at right guard. Apart from Murry, who missed so much of last season, all of those others are back after seeing significant playing time and earning several starts each on an ever-evolving offensive line in 2016. “That’s coming together,” Garza said of the offensive line. “And that’s something, last year — crap, I don’t know if we ever went back-to-back weeks with the same five up there. “We think we’ve got a good combination, the best combination, out there right now.” Behind Smith, fellow junior Kameron Gonzales is also taking snaps at quarterback, pushing him in what the coaches are calling a healthy competition in that spot. There’s plenty of that going on at every position on the offensive side, though — with plenty of experienced players back and battle-tested from last year’s difficult season. “We’re just excited about the number of guys coming back who’s already been in the fire,” Servance said. “They know what to expect, and I think they won’t be gunshy on Friday nights.” Matt Anastasio knows that, on defense, speed kills. And with the Bronchos on that side of ball entering their second season under him as defensive coordinator, those sure-footed first steps are set to make Odessa High even faster. On any given play, that built-in familiarity and knowledge of the system should allow the Bronchos to spend less time thinking about where they need to be, freeing them to get there — and to the ball carrier — that much faster. Through the first week of fall camp, that’s what Anastasio had seen. “The kids understand the coaches more — understand all the defensive coaches a little bit more and understand what we want out of them,” Anastasio said. “I’m having fun out there, and I think the kids are right now, too. “They understand it. They understand what we expect out of them.” And besides that, both Anastasio and Servance see more athleticism and quickness in this group compared to last season, but plenty of experience is back, too, to anchor the defensive side. That experience starts up front on the defensive line, where veteran seniors Joseph Chavez and CJ Washington are set to put their hands down as opposite defensive ends — both set to begin their third season on the varsity squad, after both put in plenty of playing time and logged plenty of starts as sophomores and juniors. Chavez and Washington pulled down 47 tackles each last season, tied for second-most among returning players. “They’ve been in the fire,” Servance said of those two. “They know exactly what they’re doing. “We expect big things out of those guys, because of their experience, for one. And Joseph did a great job for us last year. He’s kind of a leader on defense, especially on the defensive line, so we look for him to have another big year.” Between those two, the Bronchos are confident in a solid rotation at defensive tackle. Ke’Evan Majors, Juan Gallegos, Johnathan Denmand and Murry should all see snaps there, among others, as coaches rotate in fresh, explosive power into the trenches when possible. Behind the front four, junior Oscar Lucio is back again to lead the group inside, after recording 51 tackles last year. Entering the season, he’s set to be flanked by Carrasco on one side, and junior Michael Gonzales on the other. In the secondary, senior Aaron Ochoa is back at corner, after pulling down two interceptions including a pick-six in 2016. Returner Cameron Limon is opposite him once again. Meanwhile, junior Charles McClure is primed at safety, after seeing time and making plays there last year, first relieving injuries before taking over there once then-senior Jorge Lopez moved from safety to linebacker later in the year. At the other safety, junior Parker Cherry is battling with Seth Marsh, Christian Rocha, and Brown, crossing over from receiver, to see who falls where by the time the season opens. “Right now, defensively, we’ve got two-deep, solid, at every position, so that we can really tell the kids, ‘Play as hard as you can. If you need a break, there’s not any let-off from the first and second team,’” Anastasio said. “It’s also worked out well because that’s a competition in practice. They’re going against each other. That’s brought that level up a little bit.” With senior kicker Baylee Gamble still rehabbing her knee through the first week of fall camp, Servance expects sophomore Cain Cordova could handle kicking duties Week 1 when the season kicks off against Lubbock Monterey. Cordova started as a freshman for the soccer team at times last spring. Meanwhile, back at punter, natural multi-sport athletes in Carrasco and McClure have joined Lara to take snaps and handle duties there. “It’s always good when you have running backs and receivers back there that are punters — you have a threat, whether that guy’s going to kick the ball or whether he’s going to do something else,” Servance said. “We’re liking those guys being back there.”

ODESSA HIGH TAKING CONFIDENT STEPS TOWARD IMPROVEMENT IN SECOND SEASON UNDER SERVANCE’S STAFF

Photo Credit: Mark Sterkel

Contact Us