The Permian football team survived a second half comeback attempt by Abilene High to remain undefeated while giving the Eagles their first loss.
Playing against their longtime former District 2-6A foe, the Panthers moved to 3-0 with a 42-37 win against the Abilene High Eagles (2-1) Thursday night at Ratliff Stadium.
The Panthers saw their 35-16 halftime lead evaporate before holding off Abilene High in the final minutes of the game.
“I thought we played well in the first half,” Permian head coach Jeff Ellison said. “We came out in the second half and made some mistakes. We weren’t able to put the game away but the fight from our kids was amazing.”
Permian running back Gavin Black had quite the performance, scoring four touchdowns for the Panthers and rushing for 198 yards off 22 carries.
By halftime, Black already had compiled 103 rushing yards.
“He’s a load and he’s getting better,” Ellison said. “He was hard to bring down tonight. He has a lot of speed and can pull away from people as well.”
Permian quarterback Jakob Garcia completed 16 of 20 passes for a total of 314 yards while wide receiver Cayden Hernandez had four receptions for 114 yards receiving.
Abilene High quarterback Brayden Henry went seven-of-20 for 51 yards passing while Adrian Munoz had 51 yards receiving.
The Eagles’ rushing attack was led by Henry who had 21 carries for 227 yards.
“It just shows what our team is made of,” Abilene High head coach Mike Fullen said. “We’re young in some spots and we didn’t play well in the first half. Defensively, we have some things to work out but we’ll be fine. Permian has a good football team. I told the guys at halftime that we can fall but that’s not who we are. We’re going to come out and fight. We gave ourselves a chance to win the game. I couldn’t be more proud of our guys. We have some things to clean up. We’re going to learn from this and be better.”
The Panthers didn’t waste time, scoring on their first offensive drive of the game as Garcia completed a 36-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Landon Robles and Jaden Stringer’s extra-point was good, giving Permian a 7-0 lead with 10:31 left in the first quarter.
Abilene High responded with a scoring drive on the Eagles’ first offensive possession as Henry scored on a 33-yard run and Adrian Munoz’s PAT tied it up with 6:35 on the clock.
Black scored on a 29-yard run on the next drive, putting the Panthers back in front with 2:11 remaining.
Permian’s lead remained 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Black added to the Panthers’ lead after scoring his second touchdown of the night on an eight-yard run with 11:30 left in the second quarter.
The Eagles responded with a four-play, 75-yard scoring drive as Henry scored on a run to bring Abilene High to a seven-point deficit with 9:41 remaining.
However, Permian had another answer, scoring on a quick, three-play, 65-yard scoring drive, resulting in a 57-yard touchdown pass from Garcia to wide receiver Tyran Williams to take a 28-14 lead with 8:37 left.
The Panthers’ defense forced the Eagles to punt on their next drive but Permian was pinned deep at their own 4 from Abilene High’s punt.
The spot on the field proved to be disastrous for the Panthers as the first play of the drive resulted in a safety with under five minutes to go, cutting the lead to 28-16.
However, the Panthers were able to get the ball back after Permian safety Roman Lueras picked off Henry at the Permian 20 with 3:42 left.
Permian would make the Eagles pay as the Panthers went 80 yards in five plays, resulting in a one-yard touchdown run by Black with 47 seconds remaining as Permian took a 35-16 lead at the half.
Abilene High wasn’t finished as Henry scored on a 10-yard run, trimming Permian’s lead to 35-23 with 6:16 left in the third quarter.
A promising drive by the Panthers saw them move the ball into Abilene High territory as Permian looked to add to its lead.
However, the drive ended up stalling as penalties pushed them out of field goal range to the Abilene High 40 and Permian was forced to punt late in the quarter.
The Eagles’ offense took advantage, driving inside the Permian 10 as the third quarter came to an end.
Abilene High running back Ethan Joyner scored on the first play of the fourth quarter and Permian’s lead was now only 35-30 with 11:55 remaining.
Shortly after, Black’s 75-yard touchdown run brought some sigh of relief for Permian fans, giving the Panthers a 42-30 lead with 11:48 remaining.
Abilene High’s offense didn’t go away and the Eagles made it 42-37 after Tristan Beal’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Munoz came with 9:41 left.
The Panthers’ offense continued to move the ball down the field but were forced to try for a 30-yard field goal attempt that ended up being blocked and Abilene High took over with 7:31 remaining.
With the ball on the Permian 18, Henry’s pass to the end zone fell incomplete on fourth down, giving the Panthers the ball with 3:27 remaining.
Permian will remain at home next week when the Panthers face Amarillo Tascosa at 7 p.m. Sept. 20 at Ratliff Stadium.
Abilene High will be back at home against Midland Legacy at 7 p.m. Sept. 20 at Shotwell Stadium.
