By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
When Del Rio hosts Odessa High Friday night, one of those teams will snap a losing streak.
The Rams (0-1) have lost their three games dating back to last season, including the playoffs. Odessa (0-1) is on a 13-game losing streak dating back to 2019.
Something has to give.
Both teams tasted defeat in week one. The Rams fell behind early and could never recover, dropping the season open to San Antonio Veterans Memorial, 55-20. Odessa traveled to Lubbock Monterey and they, too, found themselves in an early 20-0 hole, but they managed to claw their way back and lost by only five points, 32-27.
Now Del Rio and Odessa face off for the first time ever, and both teams will have their hands full.
Del Rio will have to find a way to contain Odessa’s breakout sophomore wide receiver Ivan Carreon. Standing at 6’ 6”, Carreon hauled in eight catches for 152 yards and a touchdown. His lone score came on a 61-yard touchdown catch, but he also had a 43-yard reception in the game.
According to Del Rio’s official roster, the tallest defensive back on the Rams is junior Fabian Venegas, who clocks in at 6’ 2”. Fellow defensive back Nathan Reyes, a senior, stands 6’ 1”, so expect those two to shadow Carreon wherever he goes.
The Bronchos did most of their damage through the air. Senior quarterback Diego Cervantes threw for a career-high 267 yards and two touchdowns on 17-of-33 passing. He also rushed for a score and was the team’s leading rusher in terms of yards with 59 on eight carries.
Protecting Cervantes is Odessa’s top priority according to head coach Dusty Ortiz.
“They bring a lot of pressure. They line up in a 4-3 and bring six, seven at a time so that gives us opportunities to maybe hit a long ball or have a really big play offensively,” Ortiz told the Odessa American.
While Carreon was Cervantes’ favorite target, he wasn’t the only target. Terrance Samuel had three catches for 40 yards and a touchdown.
Odessa’s other touchdown came on the ground courtesy of Javonte Delce, who carried the ball 13 times for 47 yards.
Defensively, Odessa’s game plan will be to limit the playmaking ability of Del Rio sophomore quarterback Zack Taylor. Taylor accounted for 211 yards against Veterans Memorial. His biggest play was a 75-yard touchdown run, but he also had a big pass to Alan Dobbins that set up the Rams’ third score.
Del Rio also got a big game from running back Emiliano Lopez, who carried the ball 16 times for 117 yards and a touchdown.
For the Rams to succeed, the offensive line will need to give Taylor more time to throw. Taylor was 11-of-31 for 91 yards with two interceptions against Veterans Memorial. If Del Rio does stick to its ground game, they could find success. Last week Odessa gave up 339 yards rushing to Lubbock Monterey.
On the other side of the ball Del Rio’s defensive line and linebackers will need to plug those holes that Veterans Memorial was able to run through in week one and get after Cervantes.
Friday night’s kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Walter Levermann Ram Stadium. General admission tickets must be purchased online at https://www.vancoevents.com/us/events/landing?eid=11684&embed=1
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
