The Pampa Harvesters (2-2) will try to head into the bye week with a winning streak as they travel to Perryton Friday night. Pampa will face the Perryton Rangers (1-3). Perryton started the year hot by upsetting Canyon 45-44. The wheels kind of fell off after that with a 59-21 loss to Dalhart, a 49-19 loss to Randall, and a 41-13 loss to Hereford. It is homecoming in Perryton and the Rangers will look to use that momentum to try to get back in the win column.
On last week
Pampa defeated Borger 16-13 on homecoming while holding the Bulldogs to 150 total yards of offense and just 17 rushing yards. The pivotal play to seal the game was when senior linebacker Christian Davalos made a great open field tackle to pop the ball loose and recover the fumble to seal the win. That came right after a Bulldog dropped a pass in the endzone as the entire crowd let out a huge sigh of relief.
“Anytime you get into those rivalry games you can throw the records out the window. We had our chance to separate early in the game but for whatever reason we weren’t executing. We missed a key block here or there. Next thing you know, they made a play or two and we got a penalty or two that put us behind the sticks,” head coach Floyd White said. “Ultimately, in those types of games you have to be able to execute at a high level. It comes down to execution and when it came down to those spots we really needed to execute, we did. That is why we were able to squeak out the win.”
On first road game in a month
Pampa opened the season on the road at Iowa Park on Aug. 30. This will be just three days shy of a month since their last road game. Will this affect the mindset of the Harvesters any?
“The good thing is our kids understand what it means to travel. We went out with a whole new staff and traveled on the first game of the year. We went out there and executed really well,” White said. “The key thing for us, which we talk about before every road trip, is making sure we take this trip like it is a business trip. We are there to take care of business. We get the kids locked in with that mindset before we even hop on the bus. When they get on the bus, they are calm and cool and thinking about what they need to think about.”
On Perryton
Pampa and Perryton always seem to have close games just like another mini-rivalry game. Perryton defeated Pampa 29-21 last season in Pampa. Pampa beat Perryton 28-21 in Perryton in 2022. It was a 44-41 Pampa win at Perryton in 2021. Pampa won again 41-35 at home in 2020. You have to go back to 2019 to find a victory on either side greater than 7 points. It was a Pampa 40-14 win in Perryton.
“The thing about those guys is they are a really good football team. Coach Hernandez and those guys have done a great job with those young men up there. It starts and stops on offense with their quarterback. He is a pretty good player, #2 Cooper Schilling. He gets out there and operates the offense really well. He is a young guy, a sophomore. He is getting better and better every week. The scores may not reflect it, but you see him and their team improving each week,” White said. “They have two really good receivers they like to get the ball to, #11 Noel Vengas and #3 Gordo Estrada. They are dynamic and can run around and make stuff happen after the catch. They have a good little tailback. Up front, they are pretty big. They get out there and can scrap with you. Offensively, they are pretty tough. Defensively, they have a lot of the same kids playing on that side. They run around really well. They are big inside and plug up a lot of stuff in there. Out on the edges, they make plays. First play of the game against Hereford, they try a post up top and Perryton has their safety right there and intercepts it. You really have to get out there and be on your ‘A” game to win the game.”
Key Players
Who are the key players for the Rangers? White already mentioned the quarterback, #2 Cooper Schilling, as well as his wide receivers #3 Gordo Estrada and #11 Noel Vargas. Who are some of the others to watch for?
“They have a couple of big guys inside on defense. #75 Dane Staggs is the nose tackle. He gets out there and can plug up all kinds of different things. #4 Caden Rodriguez is their down safety. He is very athletic. You watch those kids and they fly around and make a lot of things happen. They are really good with their eyes and it is hard to get them moved. You gotta make sure you are doing things for a purpose. If we are doing things with a purpose, I think we can take advantage of some of the things they do,” White said.
Keys to the game
• Keep executing on offense
• Clean up mental things
• Get physical
• Get the pass game going
• Shut down the QB
“We have to continue to execute on offense. We have to continue to clean things up (penalties, turnovers), and we have to put bodies on bodies,” White said. “We have to use what size we have and our athletic ability to make sure we are creating holes for the backs to run in. We have to get our pass game going. That will be a huge deal. Once we get the passing game going, it will pull people out of the box and give us the opportunity to run the ball again on a consistent basis.”
“Defensively, we have to find a way to shut down the quarterback. We have to put bodies on bodies on those receivers so they can’t do things to pick us off and things to get us issues and give them wide open guys when they shouldn’t,” White said. “It comes down to us blocking and tackling. That is what this game always comes down to. You have to block everybody to put the ball where you want to on offense. On defense, you have to tackle everybody that has the ball. Last week, we were able to do that. We have got progressively better week-by-week. We continue to do that and I think we will find ourselves in a position to win the game again.”
How to watch
Of course you can attend by making the trip to Perryton and Ranger Field. If you cannot make it, the game will be streamed on Harvester Sports Network. You can find us on Youtube: www.youtube.com/@HarvesterSportsNetwork/. You can also follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HarvesterSportsNetwork. Lastly, we have a Twitter/X page: www.x.com/PampaHSN. Kevin Hunt and Richard Hawthorne will be calling the game. The game will also be broadcast locally on 101.3 Legends Classic Country. That station will be piped through our YouTube feed.
The pre-game show will begin on YouTube and 101.3 at 6:45 p.m. and kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Here is the direct link for the game:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrWaV1XsQdg.
We have also added a stat program. You can track the play-by-play along with the YouTube video at this link: https://www.turbostatslive.com/football/webcast/08002411464633. It will be the same link every week.
