No lead was safe in last week’s contest between Permian and Amarillo Tascosa.
Yet, it was the Panthers that were able to come out on top in a 50-48 win against the Rebels.
While Permian had five different leads during the game, they also trailed by 14 at one point in the second half.
After Tascosa took a 42-28 lead in the third quarter, Permian scored 22 unanswered points to take a 50-42 lead before holding off a late rally from the visitors.
Permian head coach Jeff Ellison was proud of the way his players were able to fight back in last Friday’s game.
“Obviously, that’s a positive to be able to stay focused on the game and not get too up or too down, emotionally and continue to fight,” Ellison said.
With the victory, Permian improved to 4-0 for the season while Tascosa fell to 1-3.
“I’m proud of our kids’ fight,” Ellison said. “It was another close one. I’m proud of our guys in the second half for playing better.”
>> ONE PLAY: Tascosa’s Charlie McKinney scored off a one-yard run with 3:59 remaining to bring the Rebels to a two-point deficit.
On the two-point conversion play, the Rebels once again handed the ball off the McKinney but he was brought down a yard short of the end zone, preserving the Panthers’ win.
Permian was able to run out the clock.
“That was a great play by our defense,” Ellison said. “Our safety made the solo tackle for our team. That was huge.”
>> STRONG SHOWING: Once again, the Panthers’ offense had a strong showing, as running back Gavin Black had 32 carries for 256 yards and four touchdowns.
“Our running game was clicking on Friday night,” Ellison said. “We’re going to continue to get better. I’m proud of our guys. We were taking what they were giving us, both defensively and offensively. We were able to take advantage of that.”
>> UNDEFEATED START: Permian’s 4-0 start is only the second time this has happened in the last six seasons.
The other time Permian started off 4-0 during that span was just two years ago when the Panthers went 6-0 before losing their first game.
>> TASCOSA WOES: This year and last year haven’t featured friendly starts for the Rebels.
It’s not every year that the Rebels begin a season 1-3 but that’s where Tascosa currently sits.
The Rebels were also 1-3 at this point last year but it’s odd territory for a program that usually wins its district and makes a deep playoff run.
>> OUT OF STATE: This week, Permian will face a team from out of state as George Washington Carver High School in Birmingham, Ala. pays a visit to Odessa for the first time this week at 7 p.m. Friday at Ratliff Stadium.
The Rams (3-0) are also undefeated in the early portion of the season.
Their three wins have been mostly one-sided games, defeating John Carroll Catholic 26-7, Briarwood Christian 20-7, and Hayden 40-0.
“They’re very talented,” Ellison said. “They have a great quarterback. They have great receivers. They fly around, defensively. They have good inside linebackers. It’ll be a good challenge for us this Friday.”
It’s nothing new for the Panthers to face schools from outside of the state.
However, this will be the first time since 2019 that a team from outside of Texas will be traveling to Ratliff Stadium to take on Permian.
“It’s a big deal for our kids to get to play those teams,” Ellison said. “Their coach (Roderick Carson) used to be in Texas and he wanted his kids to have the same experience and come out to Ratliff Stadium. That’s a great honor for us.”
Permian’s last game against an out-of-state school was against Palm Desert from California which resulted in a 47-14 win for the Panthers on Sept. 20, 2019.
