Abilene High controlled the clock and the scoreboard for most of its matchup against Permian.
The Eagles came away with a 42-21 win over the Panthers in the District 2-6A opener Friday at Ratliff Stadium.
Abilene High got on the board first with a 12-play, 70-yard drive that was capped off with a 5-yard rushing touchdown from Da’King Thomas for a 7-0 lead.
The Panthers would embark on a 70-yard drive of their own when they got the ball to tie the game behind some big plays from Rodney Hall.
Permian’s quarterback ran for 34 yards and completed two passes, including a 10-yard screen to his left to Jaquan Richardson to even up the score at 7-7 with 3:31 left in the first quarter.
It would take the Eagles less than two minutes to find the end zone again, when Abel Ramirez connected with Tim Outlaw from 27 yards out, giving Abilene High a 14-7 advantage to close out the period.
The Abilene High defense would stifle the Panthers throughout the second quarter, holding the home team to -5 yards of offense and capitalizing on big plays to increase their lead.
Thomas would carry the ball six times for 39 yards in the quarter, setting up Ramirez to complete some timely passes to move the ball up field.
Abilene High’s quarterback found the end zone again when he completed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Ramirez with 4:32 left before the intermission.
Although the Eagles continued to show their quick strike ability after Thomas ran in the team’s first play of the second half for a 52-yard score, the Permian offense started clicking.
The Panthers cut the deficit to 28-14 after Hall found Juzstyce Lara for a 21-yard touchdown pass on a swing route to his left.
Lara would outrun defenders on his way to end zone to give his team a needed confidence boost.
Permian drove down the field after Richardson returned a kick to start his team at its own 36.
The Panthers were close to scoring after Hall made some plays with his arm and legs, but a fumble at the Abilene High 13 would stop the drive just as Permian was knocking on the door.
Richardson and Hall connected again for a late 72-yard touchdown score, but Ramirez punched in two quarterback sneaks to seal the 42-21 win for Abilene High.
>>Follow Chris Amaya on Twitter at @OA_CAmaya
Abilene High 42, Permian 21
Abilene High……….. 14…. 7 7 14 — 42
Permian……………….. 7…. 0 7 7 — 21
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
Abilene High: Da’King Thomas 5 run (Anthony Ramirez kick) 7:34. Drive: 12 plays 70 yards, 3:58. Key plays: Thomas carried the ball five times on the drive, collecting 23 yards on the ground along with the score.
Permian: Jaquan Richardson 10 pass from Rodney Hall (Tate Terry kick) 3:31. Drive: 9 plays 70 yards, 4:14. Key plays: Hall ran for 34 yards on three carries to set up the touchdown pass.
Abilene High: Tim Outlaw 27 pass from Abel Ramirez (Anthony Ramirez kick) 1:32. Drive: 6 plays 69 yards, 1:55. Key plays: Abel Ramirez put up 48 yards of total offense before the score.
Second Quarter
Abilene High: Anthony Ramirez 25 pass from Abel Ramirez (Anthony Ramirez kick) 4:32. Drive: 8 plays 50 yards, 4:01. Key plays: Thomas ran for 24 yards on three carries to set up the scoring pass.
Third Quarter
Abilene High: Da’King Thomas 52 run (Anthony Ramirez kick) 10:35. Drive: 1 play 52 yards. Key play: Thomas took Abilene’s first play of the half in for a 52-yard score.
Permian: Juzstyce Lara 21 pass from Rodney Hall (Tate Terry kick) 6:58. Drive: 7 plays 63 yards, 3:26. Key plays: Hall ran for 25 yards on two carries to set up the passing score.
Fourth Quarter
Abilene High: Abel Ramirez 1 run (Anthony Ramirez kick) 4:18. Drive: 13 plays 90 yards, 7:51. Key plays: Thomas carried the ball seven times throughout the drive to run down the clock.
Abilene High: Abel Ramirez 2 run (Anthony Ramirez kick) 1:41. Drive: 4 plays 26 yards, 1:09. Key play: Antoine Rashaw ran the ball three times for 22 yards in the drive before Ramirez punched the ball in.
Permian: Jaquan Richardson 72 pass from Rodney Hall (Tate Terry kick) 1:38. Drive: 1 play 72 yards.
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TEAM STATISTICS
Abilene Permian
First Downs…………………… 20……………….. 13
Total Yards…………………. 354……………… 281
Rushes-Yards………… 40-248…………… 24-99
Passing……………………… 106……………… 182
Comp-Att-Int……………. 10-16……….. 12-20-1
Fumbles-Lost………………. 1-1………………. 1-1
Punts-Avg………………….. 2-45………….. 4-28.8
Penalties-Yards…………. 5-43…………….. 4-37
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Abilene: Da’King Thomas 21-175, Abel Ramirez 14-30, Antoine Rashaw 4-27, Luke Castaneda 1-16.
Permian: Rodney Hall 14-67, Tristan Johnson 6-25, Brian Mahaffey 2-8, Juzstyce Lara 1-2, Devon Pierce 1-(-3).
Passing
Abilene: Abel Ramirez 10-16—106.
Permian: Rodney Hall 12-20—182.
Receiving
Abilene: Anthony Ramirez 3-44, Da’King Thomas 4-30, Tim Outlaw 2-27, Demarco Upshaw 1-5.
Permian: Jaquan Richardson 5-117, Deonte Bass 3-41, Juzstyce Lara 2-28, Brian Mahaffey 1-2, Tristan Johnson 1-(-6).
Interceptions
Abilene: Jaycob Parker 1-0.
