Photos Courtesy of Bergen Pulse - The Pulse Photography
The 2026 football season may not have unfolded the way the Pampa Harvesters envisioned when they took the field in August, but head coach Floyd White believes the foundation built through adversity could pay dividends for years to come.
Injuries, an inexperienced varsity lineup and the challenges of a difficult district schedule tested the Harvesters throughout the fall. Yet as White reflected on the season, his focus was not simply on the games Pampa won or lost. Instead, he pointed to the tremendous growth of his players, the toughness they displayed and the lessons that will carry into the offseason and beyond.
“This season our kids took a big leap forward,” White said. “They learned as the season moved on that they could play with any group in our district. Not only that, they grew as football players. Their knowledge of the game increased dramatically. I was very happy with how we grew. Now they have to take all of that growth and translate it to the season next year.”
For White, one of the defining moments of the season came during the Harvesters' matchup with Randall. The Raiders had established a reputation for overwhelming opponents from the opening kickoff, but Pampa's defense delivered an early statement that showed just how far the team had come.
“My favorite moment from the season was the beginning of the Randall game,” White said. “Randall had been mowing people down from the opening kickoff of every game. Our defense took the field and went three and out made them punt, we fumbled the punt, then the defense took the field and went four and out. It shows the resiliency of our kids and our coaches!!”
That sequence represented something White saw repeatedly throughout the season. Even when circumstances worked against the Harvesters, the players continued to respond, compete and give themselves an opportunity to make the next play.
Perhaps no challenge was greater than the injuries that accumulated throughout the year. With significant portions of the varsity roster sidelined at different points, Pampa was forced to rely heavily on younger players who otherwise would have been developing at the junior varsity level.
The result was a difficult situation in the present, but one that White hopes will benefit the program when those young players return with valuable varsity experience.
“Only time will tell how the snaps will be for the next team,” White said. “As far as this year, it caused a ton of sophomores to play varsity snaps. They went out and fought like crazy and won a bunch of individual battles. I am hoping it will pay dividends for TEAM 118.”
White was particularly proud of the sophomores who were thrust into significant varsity roles before they might otherwise have been ready.
“There just aren’t enough older kids who wanted to play varsity football,” White said. “So, your sophomores who should be seasoning on JV had to step up and get play above their heads to make the team better. They did an outstanding job, I could not have been prouder of a group!”
The experience gained by those underclassmen could prove especially important next season. Having already faced the speed, physicality and pressure of varsity football, they will enter the offseason with a much clearer understanding of what it takes to compete at that level.
White also believes the program's younger teams are developing something equally valuable: an expectation of winning.
Pampa's junior varsity squad finished the season with a 7-3 record, and White believes it had opportunities to finish even better.
“The JV team did exactly what they needed to do,” White said. “They finished 7-3 and could have finished 9-1 if a couple of things went their way in those games. The expectation of winning is being instilled in our lower levels which will help them moving forward.”
For a program working to establish a consistent winning culture, that mindset could become one of the most significant developments of the entire season.
“They won’t go into games thinking that they are going to get beat,” White said. “They will have the expectation of having to play their hearts out to win.”
While much of the attention naturally turns toward the returning players, White also emphasized the importance of the senior class and the example several veterans provided throughout a challenging final season.
Despite injuries, frustration and adversity, players such as senior Cy LeBlanc, Carter McLaughlin and Connor McKinley continued to demonstrate the commitment White wants future Harvesters to embrace.
“Seniors like Cy LeBlanc, Carter McLaughlin, and Connor McKinley are prime examples of how seniors should finish up,” White said. “Their example will be shown for years to come. They have shown how to work, how to fight when things seem bleak, and how to recover when you stumble.”
White said their commitment to finishing what they started is something he will always appreciate.
“I will forever be grateful to those kids who have stayed in the program and learned how to finish up what they started,” he said.
Looking back at the difference between the team that entered fall camp in August and the group that finished the season in November, White pointed to two characteristics that stood above everything else: grit and adaptability.
“This team showed more grit and adaptability than most teams will ever have to show,” White said. “When 1/3 of your team is injured in a game and you go out and play one of your toughest games of the season, you have shown what you are made of. Our kids are tough and they are only going to get better.”
That toughness was more than physical. White believes the difficult circumstances helped reveal the character of the young men in the program.
Throughout the year, White consistently emphasized winning the next play, trusting the process and continuing to compete regardless of what happened previously. Those principles became especially important during a season when the Harvesters encountered more than their share of obstacles.
“Our kids have a special knack for grinding through the hard times,” White said. “The young men that we are teaching realize that you have to finish regardless of the circumstance. Not much in this life is going to be fair. There will always be bigger, stronger and faster people.
Learning to compete against everyone, regardless of circumstance, will help them in all facets of life.”
For White, the growth of the program extends far beyond what takes place underneath the Friday night lights.
He believes the culture being established within Harvester football is producing young men who represent their school and community the right way, both on and off the field.
“When I got here, we had a program that was not in great shape,” White said. “The young men who are in this program and left this program are prime examples of what the community wants in young men. They are polite, respectful, determined, and smart.”
White also praised the relationships his players have developed with one another, their willingness to encourage teammates and their commitment to academics.
“They have no problem lending a helping hand to a person,” White said. “They love one another and are quick to encourage one another. They take school seriously and we have very few discipline problems. I hope that the community is proud of the young men we are producing through this program.”
With the season now complete, attention turns toward an offseason that White believes will be critical in determining just how much progress the Harvesters can make.
The emphasis will be on correcting recurring mistakes, spending more time on football-specific development and continuing to improve the team's overall size, strength and speed.
“The plan for this offseason is to work on the issues that have given us problems this season,” White said. “Spending more time doing football related activities are the biggest priority. We will continue to gain mass and speed. I am excited to see how they grow this next year.”
But beyond the physical improvements, White wants his returning players to develop a greater level of consistency and attention to detail.
“The work is the work,” White said. “Having to work harder sometimes is a result of our own issues. We will need to learn to do more things right the first time so we can focus more of our energy on fixing other things. Not fixing the same mistake repeatedly.”
He believes eliminating those repeated mistakes will allow the Harvesters to spend more time improving other aspects of their game and ultimately win more of the individual battles that determine the outcome on Friday nights.
“When we make that leap this offseason, we will have a great time winning more battles than we lose,” White said.
Despite the difficulties of the 2026 season, White enters the offseason optimistic about the direction of Harvester football.
The program will return a group of young players who have already experienced significant varsity competition, a junior varsity class accustomed to winning and an understanding of the commitment required to compete against strong district opponents.
The challenge now will be turning those experiences into results.
“Next year I expect these guys to go out every week and compete,” White said. “They will have a chance in every game to go win. They will have to find that ‘it’ factor that makes them go play hard enough to win. This is going to be a tremendous group as long as they use the offseason to make themselves great.”
The 2026 season will be remembered for its adversity, but White hopes it will also be remembered as a turning point for a young Harvester program.
For Team 118, the work toward next season has already begun. The lessons have been learned, the expectations have been established and the opportunity to turn this year's struggles into future success now rests in the hands of the returning Harvesters.
End of Season Stat roundup
Please bear in mind these stats are done by myself and John Lee during the game. We do the best we can but it is hard sometimes to get all the tackles recorded. The coaches go back on the weekend and watch film and can get more accurate stats. Regardless, we wanted to share the statistics we have with you.
Offense
Rushing
Colton Rose – 150 carries, 862 yards, 6 TDs
Jeryn Owens – 104 carries, 542 yards, 2 TDs
Aiden Hammond – 24 carries, 136 yards, 0 TDs
Madden Campos – 27 carries, 99 yards, 0 TDs
Kiaro Flores – 16 carries, 58 yards, 1 TD
Kaden Newton – 14 carries, 54 yards, 0 TDs
Phoenix Lopez – 12 carries, 27 yards, 1 TD
Cruise Godino – 12 carries, 16 yards, 0 TDs
Izarius Johns – 4 carries, 5 yards, 0 TDs
Team Total: 376 carries, 1,742 yards, 10 TDs
Passing
Jeryn Owens – 34-of-71, 461 yards, 3 TDs, 6 INTs
Gage Gamblin – 14-of-29, 101 yards, 0 TDs, 3 INTs
Phoenix Lopez – 3-of-7, 41 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs
Team Total: 51-of-108, 603 yards, 4 TDs, 9 INTs
Receiving
Paxton Daniels – 8 receptions, 159 yards, 0 TDs
Cruise Godino – 13 receptions, 130 yards, 1 TD
Gunter Thomas – 11 receptions, 115 yards, 2 TDs
Aaron Martinez – 7 receptions, 110 yards, 0 TDs
Jeryn Owens – 5 receptions, 46 yards, 0 TDs
Madden Campos – 2 receptions, 22 yards, 1 TD
Cy LeBlanc – 1 reception, 11 yards, 0 TDs
Baron Botello – 1 reception, 10 yards, 0 TDs
Kiaro Flores – 1 reception, 3 yards, 0 TDs
Colton Rose – 2 receptions, -3 yards, 0 TDs
Team Total: 51 receptions, 603 yards, 4 TDs
Defense
Tackles, Fumble Recoveries, Interceptions & Sacks
Aiden Hammond – 27 solo, 12 assisted, 39 total tackles, 2 fumble recoveries, 0 INT, 1 sack
Mason Mitchell – 28 solo, 8 assisted, 36 total tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 0 INT, 1 sack
Ira Smith – 21 solo, 11 assisted, 32 total tackles, 0 fumble recoveries, 0 INT, 0 sacks
Ramiro Baca – 17 solo, 14 assisted, 31 total tackles, 0 fumble recoveries, 0 INT, 0 sacks
Cruise Godino – 16 solo, 4 assisted, 20 total tackles, 0 fumble recoveries, 1 INT, 0 sacks
Cy LeBlanc – 17 solo, 2 assisted, 19 total tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 0 INT, 0 sacks
Kiaro Flores – 14 solo, 5 assisted, 19 total tackles, 0 fumble recoveries, 0 INT, 0 sacks
Connor McKinley – 12 solo, 3 assisted, 15 total tackles, 0 fumble recoveries, 0 INT, 0 sacks
Gunter Thomas – 13 solo, 1 assisted, 14 total tackles, 0 fumble recoveries, 0 INT, 0 sacks
Baron Botello – 9 solo, 5 assisted, 14 total tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 0 INT, 0 sacks
Cade Wilson – 7 solo, 5 assisted, 12 total tackles, 0 fumble recoveries, 0 INT, 0 sacks
Paxton Daniels – 8 solo, 3 assisted, 11 total tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 INT, 0 sacks
Kenneth Ryan – 4 solo, 2 assisted, 6 total tackles, 0 fumble recoveries, 0 INT, 0 sacks
Aaden Marquez – 4 solo, 0 assisted, 4 total tackles, 0 fumble recoveries, 0 INT, 0 sacks
Carter McLaughlin – 2 solo, 2 assisted, 4 total tackles, 0 fumble recoveries, 0 INT, 1 sack
Jace Jones – 2 solo, 2 assisted, 4 total tackles, 0 fumble recoveries, 0 INT, 1 sack
Mauro Lopez – 2 solo, 1 assisted, 3 total tackles, 0 fumble recoveries, 0 INT, 0 sacks
Colton Rose – 2 solo, 0 assisted, 2 total tackles, 0 fumble recoveries, 0 INT, 0 sacks
Kaden Newton – 2 solo, 0 assisted, 2 total tackles, 0 fumble recoveries, 0 INT, 0 sacks
Austin Hunt – 1 solo, 0 assisted, 1 total tackle, 0 fumble recoveries, 0 INT, 0 sacks
Bryan Montelongo – 1 solo, 0 assisted, 1 total tackle, 0 fumble recoveries, 0 INT, 0 sacks
Jeryn Owens – 1 solo, 0 assisted, 1 total tackle, 0 fumble recoveries, 0 INT, 0 sacks
Joseph Russell – 1 solo, 0 assisted, 1 total tackle, 0 fumble recoveries, 0 INT, 0 sacks
Miguel Moreno – 1 solo, 0 assisted, 1 total tackle, 0 fumble recoveries, 0 INT, 0 sacks
Madden Campos – 0 solo, 1 assisted, 1 total tackle, 0 fumble recoveries, 0 INT, 0 sacks
Vincent Blackmon – 0 solo, 1 assisted, 1 total tackle, 0 fumble recoveries, 0 INT, 0 sacks
Gage Gamblin – 0 solo, 0 assisted, 0 total tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 0 INT, 0 sacks
Team Defensive Totals
Solo Tackles: 212
Assisted Tackles: 82
Total Tackles: 294
Fumble Recoveries: 7
Interceptions: 2
Sacks: 4
Special Teams
Punting
Bryan Montelongo – 23 punts, 764 yards, 33.2 average, long of 82 yards
Mauro Lopez – 12 punts, 252 yards, 21.0 average, long of 48 yards
Kiaro Flores – 3 punts, 39 yards, 13.0 average, long of 24 yards
Team Total: 38 punts, 1,055 yards, 27.8 average
Kickoffs
Bryan Montelongo – 27 kickoffs, 1,080 yards, 40.0 average, 5 touchbacks
Mauro Lopez – 1 kickoff, 42 yards, 42.0 average, 0 touchbacks
Ira Smith – 1 kickoff, 14 yards, 14.0 average, 0 touchbacks
Team Total: 32 kickoffs, 1,260 yards, 39.4 average
Touchbacks
Kickoffs – 5 touchbacks (Bryan Montelongo)
Kickoff Returns
Gunter Thomas – 22 returns, 367 yards, 16.7 average, 1 TD
Jeryn Owens – 9 returns, 321 yards, 35.7 average, 1 TD
Cruise Godino – 10 returns, 170 yards, 17.0 average, 0 TDs
Paxton Daniels – 2 returns, 15 yards, 7.5 average, 0 TDs
Aaron Martinez – 1 return, 11 yards, 11.0 average, 0 TDs
Aiden Hammond – 1 return, 4 yards, 4.0 average, 0 TDs
Kaden Newton – 1 return, 2 yards, 2.0 average, 0 TDs
Team Total: 51 returns, 898 yards, 17.6 average, 2 TDs
Punt Returns
Kaden Newton – 1 return, 26 yards, 26.0 average
Gunter Thomas – 1 return, 16 yards, 16.0 average
Team Total: 3 returns, 42 yards, 14.0 average, 0 TDs
Field Goals
Bryan Montelongo – 4-of-6, 66.7%, long of 30 yards
Team Total: 5-of-8, 62.5%, long of 30 yards
Extra Points (PATs)
Bryan Montelongo – 10-of-12, 83.3%
Team Total: 11-of-13, 84.6%
