ODESSA, TX — The Central Bobcats traveled to play Odessa High on Friday in a District 2-6A matchup where the Bobcats were seeking their first district win. In a close game for much of the contest, Central's defense exploded with three takeaways and a pick-six in the fourth quarter to help the Bobcats secure a dominant 38-14 victory.
Hats off to the Bobcats' defense on Friday night. Including the three takeaways in the second half, Central added two more interceptions in the first two quarters to bring the grand total to five takeaways. Every time Central needed them, the defense delivered. Backed up against the goal line on three different occasions, Central's defense came away with two interceptions and a turnover on downs to help Central claim the win.
"How about that defense?" head coach Mark Smith said. "Five interceptions in the game. When you do something like that, it's really special. What a remarkable thing to do. Coach (Jacob) Martin and the defensive staff coached an excellent game. I'm just so proud of those guys. To see them celebrate and have fun like that. They took it away in some critical moments as well, and that made the difference."
On Odessa High's first possession, Central's Landon Smith stepped in front of an errant pass from the Bronchos to give the Broncos great starting field position in Odessa High territory.
Unfortunately, Central would turn the ball over on downs after failing to convert a fourth-and-five four plays later.
Odessa High took advantage and went on a march. The Bronchos drained much of the first-quarter clock to take the lead on a screen pass to Ayden Garcia, 7-0.
Central responded quickly in the second quarter. The Bobcats finally kickstarted their offense behind the powerful legs of Zey Johnson. He ran for over 100 yards in the first half and scored two straight touchdowns, one from 18 yards out and one from 43 yards out to give Central a 14-7 lead midway through the period.
The Bobcats recovered a designed squib kick to set up a short field goal attempt to stretch the lead to 10, but then mistakes bit Central before the break.
First, a big play from Odessa High set up a short touchdown run to cut the lead to three, and then a false start on fourth-and-short in Bronchos territory pushed Central back to fourth-and-long. Central could not convert the subsequent deep pass to Gavin Johnson over the middle and Odessa High took over.
The Bobcats' defense responded, intercepting Bronchos' quarterback Phillip Carrasco in the end zone to secure the three-point lead. Central headed to the locker rooms up 17-14.
Central Bobcats' Zey Johnson scores against Odessa High 2026
Central's offense continued to struggle on fourth down in the third quarter; a punt and a failed attempt left the Bobcats' defense to contain an athletic Carrasco and keep Odessa High out of the end zone.
The Bobcats finally broke the stalemate in the fourth quarter. Central ran a play-action pass that left Isaiah McGrew wide open over the middle. Micah Smith hit the tight end in stride for a huge chunk down the field. Then Johnson took over again. He compiled the final 33 yards downfield for his third touchdown of the evening. Central led 24-14 with 4:53 to play.
"O-line and Zey did a great job," Smith said of the ground game. "Zey's a great player. He does a great job with the ball in his hands. We try to give them the ball as many times as we can creatively. When teams focus on him, it opens up things down the field."
With their backs against the wall, the Bronchos started to force things. Carrasco threw an errant pass right into the arms of Central's Blake Belcher, his second of the night. Belcher then sprinted the other way for a pick-six.
Not to be outdone, Gio Walker then snagged the next pass by Odessa High for back-to-back interceptions to seal the game. Zey Johnson would add a final touchdown inside two minutes to bring home a dominant showing on Friday night.
Central improved to 5-3 overall and 1-1 in district play, while Odessa High fell to 2-7 and 0-3.
Next up, Central squares off with Midland High on Friday, Oct. 30, in San Angelo. Kickoff in that matchup is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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