When CJ Washington thought ahead to this week’s matchup, one word came to mind.
And it bore repeating.
“Every play is just physical, physical, physical,” he said.
Odessa High’s senior defensive end and the rest of his Bronchos teammates know just what to expect from this week’s meeting with Amarillo High, set for 7:30 tonight at Ratliff Stadium.
The Bronchos and Sandies are set to meet for the 55th time in Odessa High’s 2017 home opener — and Washington knows he and the Bronchos are set for a physical battle.
“You can’t play soft against Amarillo High,” Washington said, after his team’s practice Monday. “You’ve got to bring you’re ‘A’ game.”
Washington and his teammates had just finished up their first workout of the week which, for defensive players like him, included plenty of work against the scout team as the Bronchos get set to face the Sandies’ dreaded Wing-T offense.
Amarillo High is set to bring its throwback, run-first philosophy to Ratliff Stadium with designs on overpowering Odessa High and wearing the Bronchos down.
And, this week, the Bronchos have been bracing themselves for the challenge.
“They just drive, every play,” senior defensive end Joseph Chavez said. “That’s all they do is fire, fire — keep on going at you.
“They’re not going to stop.”
Amarillo High should run the ball on about 90 percent of its offensive snaps tonight. At its heart, the Sandies’ Wing T concept revolves around precise footwork from offensive linemen and backs, and the mastering of a select core set of running plays.
Key to the offense’s success is the linemen’s ability to pull to the outside to become lead blockers in the open field, or to trap defensive linemen inside by sealing them off from an unexpected angle. Rather than simply crashing into the defender in front of them on the snap, linemen will disregard that man in front of them to use their feet to jet outside to lead running backs on toss plays — or leave that opposing lineman free to go block another, only for that one to get hit by different guard or tackle from the other side of the line.
As those familiar schemes flickered across the screen in the film room this week, Odessa High head coach Danny Servance couldn’t help but think back to his high school days.
“I can call out every single play that they’re running and the coaches just laugh,” Servance said.
Yes, it’s an old-school approach — just like what Permian used when Servance played for the Panthers in the late 80’s.
“Student body right, student body left, buck sweep, trap, play-action pass,” Servance said with a smile after a practice this week, listing off plays at the core of that offense.
But those are concepts that have stood the test of time. And in head coach Mel Maxfield’s eighth season, the Sandies are running that offense masterfully.
Odessa High won its season opener last week in thrilling fashion last Thursday, beating Lubbock Monterey 28-24 on a scoop-and-score touchdown by Washington in the final moments. Amarillo High lost a tight 17-13 contest at Lubbock-Cooper in its season opener last Friday.
But the Bronchos know better than to take lightly the team that beat them 57-0 in Week 2 last year.
This time, though, Odessa High is looking to punch right back with its own physicality.
“We’re not going to fold,” Washington said. “We’re going to bring it back to them.”
To do that, Odessa High will have to play ‘assignment football’ on defense.
Defensive linemen like Washington and Chavez will be tasks with reading those Sandies offensive linemen — and determining, through the flash of massive bodies firing off the snap, where to make their next move.
“Me and CJ, we’re reading that tackle,” Chavez said. “Whatever that tackle does, that’s what we’ve got to do.”
In those early moments of each play, the Bronchos will have a chance to bust up those Sandies schemes, maybe by turning an outside run back inside, or by throwing a wrench into those precise blocking patterns.
But that’s difficult to do exactly right on every play over the course of 60 running plays in a game — and that’s how the Sandies feed on opposing defenses.
“They want to keep the ball, they want to grind the clock and keep your offense off the field, and take advantage of the mistakes that you make on defense,” Servance said. “We’ve got to play great, fundamental defense — great, sound, disciplined defense.”
Last season, the Sandies rolled up 308 rushing yards on the Bronchos, as mistakes on defense and mistakes on offense compounded on themselves for Odessa High in the blowout.
This year, though, the Bronchos are hoping to make it a different game.
“It’s like what Coach Servance said, ‘This game is like a puzzle. All the parts are moving. You’ve just got to fit that part,’” Chavez said.
That’s easier said than done — but the Bronchos are ready for the challenge either way.
“You’ve got to stay steady,” Servance said. “You’ve got to do your job. It’s much like playing an option team. Everybody has a responsibility and you can’t try to overcompensate for someone else.
“You’ve got to do your job, and do your job only, and do it well.”
