Eight-man clash goes to Odessa

ODESSA - Bruce Todd isn't afraid to admit that coaching the state's top-ranked eight-man football team is hard work.

Todd's duties were made tougher last Friday with a slew of injuries to his Tigers during their game with the fourth-ranked Columbia-Hunters Lions. But Odessa made use of its depth and held off a late Hunters rally to post a 34-20 victory at Finney Field.

ODESSA - Bruce Todd isn't afraid to admit that coaching the state's top-ranked eight-man football team is hard work.

Todd's duties were made tougher last Friday with a slew of injuries to his Tigers during their game with the fourth-ranked Columbia-Hunters Lions. But Odessa made use of its depth and held off a late Hunters rally to post a 34-20 victory at Finney Field.

"There's always a target on us," Todd said. "Everybody ranked us No. 1, and I'm starting to feel it a little bit because now, with these injuries and everything going on it weighs on me a little bit."

The Tigers (6-0) figured to get a stern test from a strong Hunters running attack that features seniors Martin St. John and Jason Denison. Odessa was able to win the battles in the trenches, limiting the Lions' tailbacks to very few big plays.

"Fortunately we had most of the key guys up front still there," Todd said. "(Hunters is) a hard-hitting team and they come out hard. Our guys did a good job of stopping the run."

The Tigers' defensive line of Andy Read, Mark Sebesta and Seth Hauge were in the Lions' backfield all night, as were linebackers Justin Karnitz and Andy McClure. Karnitz and McClure each had four solo tackles, and McClure notched a pair of sacks.

"That's kind of the key of our defense right there, our linebackers and up front," Todd added.

Conversely, Odessa's offense had plenty of big plays. They all started on the game's opening play as Jacob Schmidt scampered 25 yards into Hunters territory. A few plays later, quarterback Ryan King tossed the ball to Schmidt on an option, and the 5-foot-10 senior outran several defenders for a 39-yard score.

Tack on King's two-point conversion pass to Andy McClure, and the Tigers had an 8-0 lead just 66 seconds into the game - a lead they'd never relinquish.

Hunters (5-1) kept things interesting for a while. After Travis Todd's quick kick pinned the Lions at their own 1, they moved out of danger using the running of St. John, Denison and quarterback Ryan Kieffer.

A 17-yard pass from Kieffer to Denison brought the Lions into Odessa territory, and on a third-and-9 play, St. John took a pitch to the right, cut back against the pursuing defense and bolted 41 yards to the end zone. Kieffer's two-point conversion run was no good, but Hunters had clawed within two points early in the second quarter.

A 23-yard Hunters punt gave Odessa great field position midway through the quarter, and the Tigers took advantage. Schmidt rolled around the right side for 21 yards and King capped the 52-yard march with a 9-yard keeper.

Odessa's defense immediately forced another Hunters punt, and with less than three minutes left on the clock, the Tigers went to their shotgun offense.

Not known for spreading the field and throwing deep, Odessa showed it was capable on this drive. King scrambled for 20 yards into Lion territory, hooked up with Travis Todd on a 19-yard screen pass, then threw a perfect corner route to a streaking Schmidt - a 26-yard score and a 20-6 halftime lead.

Schmidt, who carried 12 times for 117 yards, left in the third quarter with an injury. Nothing else is known about his status for this Friday's contest at Wellpinit.

"He's so fast," Bruce Todd said of Schmidt. "Hopefully he's not seriously injured and we can get him back next week."

Odessa removed much of the doubt from the final result by dominating the third quarter. The Tigers drove 74 yards in less than two minutes, a march culminated on King's 15-yard option run through a wide-open hole.

King finished the night with 77 rushing yards on 10 carries, and completed 8 of 14 throws for 71 yards.

Hunters scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, a 30-yard pass from Kieffer to Sean Wilson and a 42-yard St. John run that came off a broken play. Odessa's final score came after a failed onside kick set the Tigers up at midfield, and Travis Todd finished the ensuing drive with a 2-yard plunge.

With three games left on the Northeast 1B schedule, Odessa's biggest worry is its health. That's something made easier by Odessa's depth and its approach to physical fitness, Bruce Todd indicated.

"They're confident in themselves," he said. "I told them from the start, we've got to be the best conditioned team and the best prepared team, no matter what."