The Pampa Harvesters (0-0) begin the third year campaign under Head Coach Floyd White under the lights of Zach Thomas Stadium at Harvester Field on Friday night, August 28th, at 7 P.M. They will face the Caprock Longhorns (0-0) in week one of the 2026 Texas High School Football season. As I will do each and every week, I sat down with White to discuss the scrimmages as well as preview the game for Friday night.
Plainview Scrimmage
“The first thing I liked was that we were able to move the ball consistently. Guys were performing their assignments on a pretty regular basis. We didn’t have a lot of busts. We had some but not as many as we have had in past years. That was definitely promising on both sides of the ball,” White said. “Some of the things I didn’t like were that I didn’t feel like we were in quite good enough shape. Because of that, we just didn’t do things as crisp and consistently at the end because we were a little bit tired. Fatigue makes cowards of us all. That is always one of the tough deals. We figured out pretty quickly we needed to get ourselves in shape. The other thing I didn’t like was that I didn’t feel like we ran to the ball on as well as I would like them to on the defensive side of the ball. We are doing better on that now as a result but at that time we weren’t doing it very well. We had a bust or two on the defensive side where we forgot what we were doing for a second and it cost us. All in all, I walked away with the scrimmage pretty happy with where we were at the time just knowing we definitely gotta get better.”
Palo Duro Scrimmage
“Sometimes the scrimmages, while they are great, there are also sometimes I believe in divine intervention. I don’t think we lost any opportunity from it. The good Lord just didn’t want us to play for whatever reason,” White said. “You’d like to get out there and test your metal against an even better opponent than the week before but the bigger deal is that we got out of it healthy. There are a lot of teams who got kids injured in the scrimmage the week before. Just getting out of the scrimmages healthy, regardless of the situation, is more important than anything else. While I am not glad we didn’t play, I am also glad we didn’t end up hurting somebody and not having them this week.”
Week 1 Mindset
I asked Coach White what the mindset was like, having a team with a lot of younger players. Pampa will be bringing out 10 Sophomores on this varsity squad, led by one of them in Phoenix Lopez at quarterback. I asked if he expected to see any first-time jitters from those guys as well as where he sees the team mindset and energy heading into the season opener.
“Now that they have had a little taste of going out there and getting after it, I don’t think we will have the first-time jitters. Everyone is going to have a little bit of that when you get out there for the first time, but then all the sudden the ball is snapped and those jitters go away. That’s how it was myself growing up and my experience as I have gotten older and coached for a while. Sometimes when you get up against better players you get a little nervous but I don’t think the game situation makes you overly nervous,” White said. “I am just excited for these guys. I feel like right now our overall energy for a game one game is higher than it’s ever been since I have been here. The first year, we were just all happy and excited to be here. Last year, we felt pretty fired up about the opportunity against Iowa Park but fell a little short. This year, I feel like our kids are prepped, ready, excited, and excited to get to go against a good opponent. It doesn’t get any better than what we got right now.”
Offensively for Pampa
“It will be a little different than last year. We are not as much straight I-formation this year. Last year, we were more in that formation because of the limitations we had. We didn’t have a strong backfield presence. Now, we are a little bit better as far as that goes. That will allow us to do a little more. We are going to run the ball pretty heavily. That is just who we are. We are a good, tough-nosed team and that is who we are and what we do,” White said. “For us, we are going to be able to throw the ball a little better than in year’s past. Our quarterback is able to get the ball into those places we need it to go. We have guys who can catch the ball. We can throw and catch better than we probably have since I have been here. I am pretty excited about where we are going.”
Defensively for Pampa
“We will be pretty similar to last year. I feel like we are more athletic up front. We are longer, we are taller, and we can run better than with any group since we have been here. At the backer spot, we are young but we fly around and get to the ball in a hurry. In the secondary, we are probably the most experienced we have been with our safety and corner presence. We have Seniors across the board in pretty much every spot. I’m really excited about where we are going with those guys,” White said.
Caprock last year v. this year
“Last year, looking back at those guys, they were explosive and were able to get out there and get the ball out in a hurry. They were able to get on people and make things happen. I thought they were very explosive at the running back position last year. This year’s group is just a little different,” White said. “The quarterback is probably the most dynamic one we have seen in the three years we have played Caprock. He is a big, tall lefty. He can run and do those things. Up front, they are big and they are strong and like to get a hold of you and if they can do that they give you issues. Running backs are still pretty good. The receivers are pretty good. They do a good job of getting open and getting into spaces. The quarterback does a good job of delivering it while they are there,” White said. “On defense, they like to fly around and they will try to cram nine down into the box and try to stop the run game like we do. We’ve gotta be able to do the things we need to do to make sure we can continue to move the ball. We have to take advantage of mismatches and overshifts to the things we do. All in all, I think this is a better version of Caprock than what we saw last year. I also think we are a little better version of ourselves. I am looking forward to seeing what we got.”
Caprock returners
“You never know because they don’t mark who is starting on the rosters. You just kind of have an idea based on body types. Kids change over the course of the year. Some look the same, some don’t. If I am not mistaken, they were not returning very many offensive lineman. They were returning a bunch of skill kids. Most of their returners are on defense and that is where I feel like their strength was last year. I think, again, they are pretty good on defense this year. I think they are a little better offensively than they were the year before,” White said.”
Keys to the game
Take care of the ball on offense.
Avoid negative yardage situations on offense.
“First and foremost, if we take care of the ball, we feel like we can move the ball. It is just making sure that we move the ball on a consistent basis, protect it, and don’t get ourselves in negative yardage situations. You watch us in the scrimmages and these types of situations, the second we get into a negative yardage situation, it kind of stymies what we do. That is a big key for us to make sure we take care of that business there,” White said.
Limit big plays on defense. “Defensively, we have to make sure we limit the big plays. We can’t get beat up over the top. We have to make sure we get bodies on bodies and get those guys tackled and on the ground to give ourselves a chance. You can’t let that quarterback run around and throw the ball all day. Those are the things I think will really help us out,” White said.
First home game
Pampa is hosting the season opener for the first time since the 2023 season. He is asking for you the fans to get there early, and be loud throughout the game. I can also echo his sentiment that this team looks different, especially on offense, than compared to year’s past. Come out and support these hard working athletes!
“It’s always fun to get to start off the season at home. That is definitely a huge advantage for the Harvesters. What I want to see is the crowd get out there and get raucous. Just be loud, have fun, and cheer on the kids. Make this place the toughest place in the Panhandle to play,” White said. “When we are good and we are rolling, this place is as tough of a place to play in the entire Panhandle. That’s what I want to see is our fans out there. I want to see them out buzzing around. I want to see them there early. Be loud the entire game but also stay late and enjoy a victory. That is what I want to see.”
You can find HSN on Youtube: www.youtube.com/@HarvesterSportsNetwork/. You can also follow them on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HarvesterSportsNetwork. Lastly, there is a Twitter/X page: www.x.com/PampaHSN. Mike Mitchell and Troy Schwiegerath will be calling the game. The game will also be broadcast locally on 103.3 FM KRXZ Radio. That station will be piped through the YouTube feed. The pre-game show will begin on YouTube and 103.3 FM at 6:45 p.m. and kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
