Odessa steamrolls over Oroville

ODESSA - It didn't take long for the Tigers to execute their game plan of scoring early and often against the Oroville Hornets in their non conference 1B football matchup Friday, Sept. 8. After putting 40 points on the scoreboard in the first quarter, the Tigers cruised to a 60-12 win.

On the opening kickoff, Odessa caught the Hornets off-guard with a successful onside kick, recovering the ball on the 50-yard line. On the fifth play of their drive, senior quarterback Zane McMillan hit senior running back Chad Strebeck on a swing pass to the left, which Strebeck carried 39-yards into the end zone.

After Strebeck ran in the two-point conversion, Odessa led 8-0 with 10:49 left in the first quarter.

That opened the floodgates.

On the ensuing kickoff, junior Tucker Walter executed a second onside kick, which Odessa also recovered.

Strebeck scored 29 seconds later on a 37-yard run around the left end. His two-point conversion run made it 16-0 with 10:20 left in the first quarter.

After a 3 and out by the Hornets, Odessa took over and scored again when McMillan hit junior Corbyn Neilson on a 53-yard pass with 7:04 remaining in the quarter. McMillan then connected with his brother Landon on the two-point conversion to make it 24-0.

Before the first quarter ended, Neilson and Levi Hartung each plowed in for touchdowns from the one-yard line. With successful two-point conversions, the Tigers led 40-0 after one quarter of play.

In the second quarter, junior Sean Devore took over at quarterback for the Tigers. With nine minutes left in the quarter, he hit Hartung in the end zone from the 8-yard line. Strebeck tacked on two more points to make the score 48-0.

Oroville finally got off the schneid with 4:40 left in the half when Trai Ovitt connected with Jose Bugarin on a 45-yard pass to make the score 48-6.

In the second half, Odessa freshman Leo Martinez scored touchdowns on an eight-yard run and a 15-yard pass from Devore. Both two-point conversion attempts failed. Martinez's touchdown stretched the score to 60-6.

Oroville got on the scoreboard for the last time on a 31-yard run by Valentin Castrejon, followed by his two-point conversion.

The final score was 60-12.

Besides kicking eight onside kicks, four of which the Tigers recovered, Walter led his team in tackles.

Strebeck provided much of the Tiger's offensive punch with a combined total of 236 yards via rushing and receiving.

"I think we executed really well today," Strebeck said. "Everybody did their assignments, and I ran the ball as hard as I could. The season ain't over, so we've got to get ready for next week."

Odessa head football coach Joe Schlomer said, "I'm not going to lie to you. I was nervous before the game."

He was proud of his team's energy at the start of the game.

"We came out on fire," he said. "We executed well and looked really smooth. Our boys did really well tonight. We've still got some things to work on and some things to shine up, but they did great. I'm happy with the win."

With the win, Odessa improved its record to 2-0. The loss dropped Oroville to 0-2.

The Tigers' next game is the annual Sausage Bowl during Deutschesfest Weekend against Cusick at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15.