By Zac Green
The Pampa Harvesters (0-3) hit the road for the third week in a row to play the Borger Bulldogs (0-3) on Friday night at Bulldog Stadium in Borger. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Pampa lost 28-27 to Iowa Park to start the season in week two to Plainview 49-41, and the Harvesters lost last week to Caprock 24-20. Borger has lost 55-0 to Bushland, 51-6 to Dumas, and 34-12 to Big Spring. Pampa has won 10 straight in the series dating back to the last loss being in 2014. As I do each week, I sat down with Head Coach Floyd White to discuss last week’s game as well as preview this week.
Pampa had Senior Running Back Max Neff miss the second half last week as well as Senior Quarterback Jarren Hill missing most of the second half. On the defensive end, Senior Linebackers Jack Dyer and Boston Botello were both out as well. I asked the coach for an update on the injury status of them.
“Going into a game like that you had to lose some of your key and vital cogs, but it's gotta be just like it is with everything else a next man up mentality. Our backups get reps for a reason and they have to be able to come in and give us production regardless of what happens in the game. At the end of the day, the Caprock Longhorns don’t care if they lost anybody or we lost anybody. You just gotta go ahead and make those plays when those plays have to be made,” White said. “Ultimately, I think our team continued to fight on regardless of what the scenario was. I hate that it happened but it also is one of those things where we have to narrow down the playbook and what we can do. It is what it is. Our kids fought and responded and that’s what you want to see from those guys.”
“As of right now, I believe both of them (Neff and Hill) are going to be good to go. Most of what happened last week was precautionary. Our trainer did a good job and held them out based on what she saw. I feel very, very confident they are going to be up and ready to play on Friday,” White said.
Last week, Pampa’s defense played well for the most part other than allowing late third-and-long conversions.
“That’s one of the more frustrating things is you get those guys in those situations, we had the quarterback hemmed up on our sideline, and he made a couple of kids miss. There was also a missed block-in-the-back in there as well but people don’t realize that until you watch the film. The kid who got pushed in the back was right there to make the play and they didn't throw the flag. I’m not going to get into missed call stuff. What I do know is our kids are fighting their tails off. We’ve gotta be able to get that guy on the ground once we get him hemmed up in our corner. That is where we didn’t succeed,” White said. “We had another third-and-three earlier on in that drive where we were right there to make the play and missed a tackle. We have to be able to put ourselves in position to make those plays and then we gotta make those plays when we get there. Ultimately, that becomes us going back to the drawing board and deciding if we need to adjust with our personnel or do we just need to work more drill work on open field tackles. We held them to about 40% on third down and we would like to be closer to 33% and all that is, is one more stop, which that one more stop is what we needed to win the game. We didn’t get it done and we have to continue to work on it this week.”
Pampa debuted a new kicker, Junior Bryan Montelongo last week.
“Our special teams did a great job most of the night. We hated that blocked extra point at the end. We had some stuff not happen for us on that one. We had a kid with his helmet pulled off on that play and that is right where the block came from. It kind of is what it is. You hate that but ultimately in the end what ends up happening is our kids got out there and we went out and worked. We made sure we had those kickers ready to go,” White said. “I saw Bryan (Montelongo) make a 48-yard field goal during practice the other day. Our other kicker Mauro (Lopez) did a great job punting the other night. I bet he averaged right around 40 yards a punt and was able to pin people down on the sideline which is exactly what we needed. We feel comfortable and confident with those guys now. “
Final thoughts on Caprock
“I know it sounds like a broken record but I am proud of how our boys are fighting and clawing to keep themselves into the game. We have to find those ways and extra little gears to get us over the hump. Whatever it happens to be,” White said. “We were one missed block away from returning the opening kickoff in the second half for a touchdown. Most people don’t realize that there is one guy over there and that one guy is the one who heel-stomped us and kept us from taking it to the house. We are getting close. Hopefully this week is the week we go ahead and push it over the top.”
Rivalry week
“It’s always been a big game as much as I can remember. Even back to the early 90s it was one of those deals where people would try to make a flashy entry to the stadium. I remember one time Borger didn’t show up for the pregame. They warmed up in Borger and got in the bus and drove over. About 15 minutes before kickoff they came driving down the road with ambulances, firetrucks, and all that stuff going on. It’s just a lot of fun,” White said. “They are always hotly contested games. Last year’s game was a 16-13 game that wasn’t decided until basically the last drive of the game. You can’t help but get your blood pumping to play those games.”
Borger offense:
“They are very talented. Their record doesn’t show how talented they are. Those kids go out there and play hard. They are led up front by their quarterback No. 5 Hunter Randles. He does a great job of distributing the ball around. They have two good backs in the backfield. No. 22 Dyllon Yanke and No. 19 Niko Ponce,” White said. “They are very athletic out on the edges. They have kids who can run really, really well. Up front, they are no slouches. They get out there and push people around multiple times. They haven’t been able to capitalize on some of the opportunities they have had. It’s going to be a test for us defensively, but if we just go out there and play our tails off, I think we will be fine.”
Borger defense
“They are pretty good up front, that is the one thing I can tell you. I have watched them multiple times now. I watched them play the first couple of plays against Bushland. They got right in the middle of Bushland’s tail. As things transpired, they got winded and tired, because they have to play both ways like a lot of folks around here do. They kind of struggled toward the end of the game and that is when the game kind of got out of hand,” White said. “They are very physical and pretty dang good up front. Their backers run around pretty well. Their secondary runs around really well. They aren’t going to give up the big play and try to keep everything in front of them and tackle you and get you on the ground in a hurry. Offensively, if we will just execute and do the things we are capable of doing, I feel confident that we will continue to be able to move the ball and put points on the board to help us out.”
Keys to the game:
Play clean football: “Once again, we have to stay away from turnovers. We didn’t have much in the way of turnovers last week but we gotta do that again.”
Sustain Drives: “We have to be able to sustain drives. Our achilles heel is when we cannot sustain a drive, it gives us some problems. We want to be able to continue to maintain that time of possession.”
Create Takeaways: “On defense, we have to continue to create takeaways. Last week, we had created a fumble and an interception but we also dropped two other interceptions and both of those were on drives that ultimately ended up scoring points for them. We have to capitalize on those opportunities when they come.”
Special Teams Plays: “We gotta make our own breaks in the kicking game. We have been very, very close to breaking multiple kickoffs for a touchdown. I don’t feel like Friday night will be any different if we just go ahead and get bodies on bodies and do the things we do we are going to be in great shape.”
I am also highlighting one player each week to end the interview. This week’s was Senior Linebacker/Fullback Parker Webb.
“Parker is one of those kids you just relish to have because he works hard. He is always inquisitive and always asking questions. He is always asking good questions and things that are very pertinent to the game. When you have guys like that, it makes your job a lot easier. It doesn't hurt that he is almost 6’3” and about 215 pounds. He is put together really well. He looks the part and does it very well,” White said. “I wish we had about 10 more of him on defense. If we did, we would be in great shape. Ultimately, he does a great job. He’s a leader and the kids follow him. He was one of our top vote getters when it came to our captains this year. It is a testament to who he is, his dad, and his family and how they raised him.”
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. Kevin Hunt and Clay Jones will be calling the game. The game will also be broadcast locally on 101.3 Legends Classic Country. That station will be piped through the YouTube feed. Live stats can be found here: https://www.turbostatslive.com/football/webcast/08002511465744. Season stats can be found on the team page: https://www.turbostats.team/site/2/team/football/pampahighschool/pampa%20good%20file%202025. The pre-game show will begin on YouTube and 101.3 at 6:45 p.m. and kickoff is set for 7 p.m. A weekly radio show with Coach White called “Whiteboard Wisdom” with yours truly interviewing him will play at 6:20 p.m. each gameday before Kevin Hunt gets on with his pregame show!