The first week of the 2021 UIL football playoffs is here and the Permian football team will be competing in the Class 6A Division I bracket.
Permian will kick things off in the bi-district round against a familiar opponent in El Paso Franklin Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Cougar Stadium in El Paso.
The Panthers come into the contest with a 7-3 overall record, finishing in third in District 2-6A after a 34-21 loss to Midland Legacy to close out the regular season.
El Paso Franklin went 8-2 and recorded an undefeated record in district play to win the District 1-6A championship.
“They’re a good football, they’ve got a good quarterback, they’re big up front on both sides of the ball,” Permian head coach Jeff Ellison said. “They’ve done a great job this year going undefeated in district.”
In its all-time series against El Paso Franklin, Permian has the edge with five wins and one loss.
The stumble came in the second game of the 2019 regular season, where the Cougars defeated the Panthers 49-28.
Permian regrouped and defeated the Cougars 48-13 in the bi-district round of that year’s playoffs.
Ellison said his team’s main focus in practice this week has been on minimizing early mistakes like the ones made against Midland Legacy in its last game.
The Panthers had chances to tie the score multiple times early against the Rebels, but a fumble in the first half on the opponent’s 9 and a goal line stand from Midland Legacy to start the second half held the Panthers back.
They’ll look to quickly fix those issues on the road against the Cougars.
>> FAMILIAR FACE: This year’s bi-district round matchup will mark the sixth straight year that Permian goes up against El Paso Franklin.
The Panthers currently own a two-game winning streak against the Cougars, with the last victory coming by a 37-26 score last year at Ratliff Stadium.
“We’ve played them, I couldn’t tell you how many times,” Permian defensive coordinator Vance Washington said. “Coach [Daren] Walker does a great job, going undefeated in any district is hard.
“They just rolled through that district.”
>> MOVING PARTS: When the Panthers played Midland Legacy last week, they went up against an offense that featured a lot of moving parts.
Whether it was the running game led by Makhilyn Young, or the receiving group that would rotate between pass catchers like Chris Brazzell, Donny Bishop and Nate Suttle.
The Cougars present a similar challenge, with multiple players showing the ability to score at any time.
Quarterback Cameron Byrd has shown dual-threat ability for El Paso Franklin with 2,649 passing yards and 549 yards on the ground with 35 total touchdowns.
He’s complemented by Miles McWhorter at running back and Beau Sparks at receiver.
McWhorter has picked up 1,213 rushing yards throughout the season and Sparks has 1,210 receiving yards.
Washington said there has been a lot of carry over in what the Panthers have seen from week to week and that should help them in their preparation.
“We’ve had good carry over, so it’s been nice to be able to have that,” he said. “We’re a veteran team and our kids just jump in and pick it right up.
“They’ve got good skill kids and it’ll be another big challenge for us.”
>> WINNING MARK: Throughout Permian existence, the Panthers have posted strong showings in the bi-district round of the playoffs with a 31-4-2 record.
Permian has won its last six appearances in the opening round of the postseason.
The last time Permian fell in the first game was in 2012, when the Panthers were defeated 34-33 by El Paso El Dorado at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock.
Permian will make the 300-mile trip out to El Paso Franklin’s on campus stadium to start this year’s playoffs.
>> LOWER LEVELS: Permian’s subvarsity teams finished their seasons last week against Midland Legacy, with the Junior Varsity teams splitting their games and the Freshman teams suffering losses.
The Freshman White team lost 28-17 against the Rebels, while Freshman Black fell by a 49-46 score.
The Junior Varsity Black team was defeated 27-13 and Junior Varsity White won 19-13.
The win for JV White helped them win the district title to close out the 2021 campaign.
>> Follow Chris Amaya on Twitter at @OA_CAmaya
PERMIAN AT EL PASO FRANKLIN
CLASS 6A DIVISION I BI-DISTRICT PLAYOFFS
>> When: 7:30 p.m. (CST) Friday.
>> Where: Cougar Stadium
>> Last Season: Permian 37, El Paso Franklin 26
>> Records: Permian 7-3 overall; El Paso Franklin 8-2.
>> Radio: KMCM (FM-96.9); KHKX (99.1)
>> Live Updates: Follow on Twitter at @OA_CAmaya.
PERMIAN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
JAQUAN RICHARDSON
Height: 6-foot-0
Weight: 185
Class: Junior
Position: Wide Receiver
Last Week: Caught six passes for 94 yards and a score against Midland Legacy to close out the regular season.
This season: Leads team with 22 catches for 514 yards and eight touchdowns to go along with 58 yards on the ground.
