Scheide: Bronchos are no Cinderella

Shooting from the hip wondering just how cool it's going to be at 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene:

The Odessa High football team has a chance to extend its best season in more than a decade this weekend when it faces Arlington High in a Class 5A Division I area playoff game.

Though the run to the postseason was unexpected by many outside the program, the coaching staff and players felt all along that this year's team finally had all the components necessary to break the postseason drought.

So to label this year's Bronchos a "Cinderella" would be a stretch as the moniker is issued in the sports realm. A true Cinderella is one that limps into the postseason, and then makes a huge run to the surprise of everyone.

Had OHS finished in fourth place in the 10-team District 2-5A and then routed El Paso Franklin 54-24 as it did last week to win a bi-district playoff game, then perhaps the comparison would be appropriate.

But when the Bronchos finished second in the district at 8-2, with their only two losses coming to the fourth-ranked team in the state (Permian) and another playoff qualifier (Midland Lee), then the scullery maid never got the invitation to the big dance.

Instead, this year's success is founded in the fact the players on this team finally understood what head coach Ron King was teaching and have been playing as one unit and not individuals. The lights finally went on in the Bronchos' locker room and success has followed.

>> Bring your woolies: The forecasted high temperature for Saturday is 62 degrees and that's supposed to be around 5 p.m., when the game is still more than two hours away - and the sun is still above the horizon.

Just fine for the folks who will be watching the Abilene Christian University-West Texas A&M playoff game scheduled for noon, but not so good for the fans driving in from the Permian Basin or the Metroplex.

The cool temperatures, however, will make for perfect football weather. A little worried, however, about the "How to drive in the rain" link on weather.com

>> Postseason accolades: The meeting to nominate players for the 2-5A all-district team already has happened and the results still are top secret (at least to the media), but here's my choices for the top awards: MVP - Odessa High quarterback Derrick Teegarden; Offensive Player of the Year - Sherard Ray, Permian; Co-Defensive Players of the Year - Hunter Byler and Adam Pertile, Midland Lee; Newcomer of the Year - Bradley Marquez, Odessa High.

>> A quick fix: In Tuesday's OHS notebook, it was stated sophomore running back Bradley Marquez was one touchdown shy of the school single-season record of 25 set by J.W. Thompson in 1945. Marquez has 19 rushing touchdowns and five touchdown receptions this season.

However, his 97-yard kickoff returned for a score against Amarillo Tascosa was omitted, so Marquez actually is tied with Thompson entering Saturday's area playoff game against Arlington High.

With 150 points this year, Marquez now is just 18 points shy of Byron Townsend's season-mark of 168, set in 1947.

>> Looking at who's left from District 2-5A:

>> Odessa High 47, Arlington High 30: Too much balance on the Bronchos' side of the football, while the OHS defense forces the Colts to become one-dimensional on the night.

>> Permian 56, Burleson 17: The Panthers show the Elks what a running game is all about and that, yes, players, coaches and fans take their football very seriously in West Texas.

>> Arlington Bowie 42, Midland High 27: The Volunteers are just one touchdown away from a perfect season and have won eight consecutive games to get to the matchup with the Bulldogs, who are coming off a hard-nosed victory over El Paso Coronado.