It may have been a stressful second half but the Permian football team managed to hold off a highly-talented Abilene High squad in last week’s 42-37 nondistrict win at Ratliff Stadium.
After building a 35-16 halftime lead, the Eagles (2-1) outscored the Panthers in the second half 21-7.
However, Permian had just enough gas left in the tank to secure the win and remain undefeated at 3-0.
For all the defensive frustrations in the second half for the Panthers, they still managed to force a game-saving turnover on downs with 3:27 left.
With the ball on the Permian 18, an incomplete pass by Abilene High quarterback Brayden Henry gave the ball back to the Panthers, who were able to run out the clock.
“I won’t say our defense was frustrated but Abilene High is a very good team,” Permian head coach Jeff Ellison said. “They’ve won a lot of football games with what they have. Their offense was giving us issues all night. It’s a tough thing to do when they’re making a comeback, but I thought our defensive coaches did a great job of making plays and staying calm and focus. They came up big at the end of the game with that huge stop.”
>> OFFENSIVE HIGHS: Permian’s offense was able to get the ball moving in the first half, taking a 14-point lead twice before a touchdown run by running back Gavin Black helped the Panthers to a 35-16 lead at the break.
“I think what stood is offensively, we were able to do what our goal was and that was to get our passing game going,” Ellison said. “I was proud of our quarterback and our guys making plays Thursday night.”
Quarterback Jakob Garcia went 16-of-20 for 314 yards passing and the Panthers also had two receivers finish with over a hundred yards in receptions.
Tyran Williams had six catches for 103 yards and a touchdown while Cayden Hernandez finished with four receptions for 114 yards.
“Jakob did a great job,” Ellison said. “Our receiving corps, we had two receivers who had over a hundred yards receiving. I don’t know the last time we had that. But again, our quarterback did a great job of making good decisions and made our offense more explosive and more well-rounded to be able to do those things.”
>> THURSDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: Permian’s game against Abilene High was a rare Thursday night contest for the Panthers.
It was the first and last time they will be playing on a Thursday during the regular season as the Panthers return to playing on Friday nights beginning with this week’s 7 p.m. contest against Amarillo Tascosa at Ratliff Stadium.
>> WE MEET AGAIN: There are few nondistrict teams that Permian plays almost every single year but Amarillo Tascosa is one of the exceptions.
The Rebels (1-2) used to be in Permian’s district before moving down to Class 5A in 2020 where they have remained since.
Each of the last four years, the Panthers have face the Rebels in the nondistrict portion of the season.
It’s safe to say that both teams know each other pretty well.
“We are very familiar with them,” Ellison said. “They’re a good football team. They do a great job. Coach (Ken) Plunk has been there for a few years and has done a good job with their veer-based offense. They have a new defensive coordinator and have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball, so it’s going to be a tough one for us on Friday.”
>> DIFFICULT START: For the Rebels, it’s been a difficult start to the season as the team finds itself with a losing record, having lost to Palo Duro for the first time in 11 years in their season opener as well as getting crushed by Lubbock Cooper 27-7 last week. Not exactly the ideal start for a team that’s used to making deep runs in the playoffs.
Amarillo Tascosa at Permian
>> When: 7 p.m. Friday.
>> Where: Ratliff Stadium.
>> Last season: Permian 43, Amarillo Tascosa 6
>> Records: Amarillo Tascosa 1-2; Permian 3-0
>> Radio: FM-99.1 (KHKX)
