Football: Timely defensive plays get the job done for Bronchos

EL PASO Frank Mijares set the tone.

Facing an El Paso Franklin offense that kept churning out yards on the legs of running back Joe Damian, the Cougars threatened to score right away to open the game.

Until Mijares stepped in front of a Cougars receiver, wrestled the ball away for an interception and laid down the foundation for Odessa High’s 37-23 victory over El Paso Franklin in a Class 5A Division I bi-district playoff at the Sun Bowl on Friday night.

“He threw it right to me,” Mijares said. “All I had to do was catch it. I have to give credit to my coaches for putting me in the right position.”

Odessa High (9-2) didn’t dominate the Cougars’ offense.

Led by Damian, who carried 21 times for 219 yards and a touchdown, El Paso Franklin (6-5) racked up 450 total yards of offense.

But the Cougars couldn’t punch the ball into the end zone in the first half. Every time El Paso Franklin came close, Odessa High came up with a stop.

“We should have scored a lot more points,” Damian said. “When we got down there, they were focused on stopping the run, and when they did, we made mistakes in the passing game.”

Bronchos cornerback Darrian Samuels broke up Josh Valenzuela’s fourth-and-12 throw to end the Cougars’ second drive.

Leading 14-0 to begin the second quarter, El Paso Franklin rolled down into the red zone and threatened to close the gap, but Bronchos linebacker Cody Ross shot past a blocker to drop Cougars receiver Chris Valtierra for a 2-yard loss. Cougars kicker Daniel Wolford had to be satisfied with a field goal.

“We stepped it up when we needed to,” Ross said. “I read that play pretty good, saw it coming and decided to go for it.”

But Mijares made the play that helped the Bronchos break the game open.

Following a Derrick Teegarden fumble to start the second half, El Paso Franklin picked its way down the field to set up a first-and-goal at the Bronchos’ 8.

Playing the curl route, Mijares picked off his second pass. Three plays later, Ronnie Marquez broke free for a 50-yard touchdown run to give the Bronchos a 24-3 lead.

From that point on, El Paso Franklin was forced to abandon the run and throw the ball.

“We’ve been watching film, and that’s what I’ve been seeing,” Mijares said. “I was glad they decided to pass.”

Damian answered Marquez’s run with a 54-yard carry of his own to set up first-and-goal at the Bronchos’ 8 on the very next series.

Slicing through the offensive line, Kody Tennison and two other tacklers stuffed Damian on fourth-and-goal to get the ball back.

“We just read the keys defensively, the defensive line fired off and we stopped them,” Tennison said. “That play gave us a lot of momentum.”

And took away any rhythm the Cougars could put together.