Permian and Midland Legacy showed some nerves at the beginning of their District 2-6A matchup Friday.
Before the first quarter was over, the teams had combined for two touchdowns, a safety, two touchdowns called back because of penalties and two turnovers.
The teams eventually settled in and the Panthers led at halftime after a Terron Young second-quarter touchdown run, followed by a Tate Terry field goal.
But the Rebels were just finding their rhythm and it showed as they dominated the second half en route to a 33-25 victory against the Panthers at Ratliff Stadium.
Midland Legacy improved to 3-4 overall, 1-1 in district and snapped a three-game losing streak.
The Rebels had lost to No. 18 Cibolo Steele in overtime before allowing Converse Judson and Wolfforth Frenship to build huge first-half leads before outscoring the Rockets and Tigers by a combined 56-20 in the second half to nearly complete the comebacks.
“We’re the same team that lost in overtime to Cibolo Steele,” Midland Legacy head coach Clint Hartman said. “It seems like if you lose two or three in a row, everyone thinks you’re done.
“These kids worked hard. We just had to tell them to do your job and don’t try to make something that’s not there.”
Quarterback Marcos Davila was 13-of-25 passing for 215 yards and three touchdowns, with two interceptions.
He completed 10 of 12 passes for 189 yards and two scores after halftime.
Running back Zeke Luna finished with 29 carries for 148 yards and one touchdown and gave the Panthers’ defense fits.
“We just got our tails kicked,” Permian defensive coordinator Vance Washington said. “They did a great job of controlling the line.”
Permian quarterback Rodney Hall finished 9-of-19 passing for 147 yards and three interceptions, pressured all night into making throws on the run or quicker decisions on the option.
The Panthers (6-1, 1-1) also fumbled three times, losing one and falling on a loose ball in the end zone for a Rebels’ safety with 27 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Wide receiver Ja’Quan Richardson scored on a 31-yard counter, racing through a hole on the right side and then running untouched to the end zone with 2:44 remaining to play in the third quarter
Permian led 25-16 at that point and the Rebels scored 17 unanswered points to win.
“We have a lot to work on,” Permian head coach Jeff Ellison said. “We need to get better at a lot of things.”
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Midland Legacy 33, Permian 25
Score by Quarters
Midland Legacy – 9—0—14—10—33
Permian – 7—11—7—0—25
FIRST QUARTER
Permian: Juzstyce Lara 1 run (Tate Terry kick), 6:23.
Midland Legacy: Aiden Serrano 16 pass from Marcos Davila (Hayden Smith kick), 2:34.
Midland Legacy: Safety (quarterback tackled in end zone), :27.
SECOND QUARTER
Permian: Terron Young 7 run (Juzstyce Lara run). Drive: 8 plays, 52 yards, 3:44.
Permian: FG Tate Terry 31, :00. Drive: 7 plays, 41 yards, 1:05.
THIRD QUARTER
Midland Legacy: Deonta Sonnier 25 pass from Marcos Davila (Hayden Smith kick), 9:43.
Permian: Ja’Quan Richardson 31 run (Tate Terry kick), 2:44.
Midland Legacy: Zeke Luna 18 run (Hayden Smith kick), 1:08.
FOURTH QUARTER
Midland Legacy: FG Hayden Smith 28, 9:41.
Midland Legacy: Colin Brazzell 20 pass from Marcos Davila (Hayden Smith kick), 6:03.
Team Statistics
| Midland Legacy | Permian | |
| First Downs | 18 | 15 |
| Total Yards | 366 | 277 |
| Rushing (Att-Yards) | 36-151 | 38-130 |
| Passing Yards | 215 | 147 |
| Passing (Att-Comp-Int) | 13-25-2 | 9-19-3 |
| Return Yardage | N/A | N/A |
| Sacks-Yds Lost | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Fumbles-Fumbles Lost | 1-0 | 3-1 |
| Punts-Avg. | 3-34.0 | 3-41.6 |
| Penalties-Yards | 9-75 | 6-6 |
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Midland Legacy: Zeke Luna 29-148, Marcos Davila 3-13, Madden Milloy 2-(-2), Team 2-(-10).
Permian: Ja’Quan Richardson 4-47, Juzstyce Lara 17-37, Rodney Hall 10-28, Tabarie Jones 4-8, Terron Young 2-7, Jyzaiyah Solis 1-3.
Passing
Midland Legacy: Marcos Davila 13-25-2—215.
Permian: Rodney Hall 9-19-3—147.
Receiving
Midland Legacy: Colin Brazzell 4-73, Aiden Serrano 4-47, Brex Stevens 1-47, Deonta Sonnier 2-34, Skylar Wilburn 1-8, Elijah Price 1-6.
Permian: Ja’Quan Richardson 3-54, Deonte Bass 1-44, Isaiah Herrera 3-21, Tabarie Jones 1-15, Andrew Helbuera 1-13.
Interceptions
Midland Legacy: Canyon Moses 1-0, Aikiz Ozuna 1-2, Jamar Roberson 1-0.
Permian: Deonte Bass 2-18.
