ABILENE For the majority of the first half of its Class 6A Division I area round playoff contest, the Permian football team was in control against Euless Trinity.
Aside from some long runs from Ollie Gordon, the Trojans were held off as Permian jumped out to a quick lead.
The Panthers couldn’t keep that going in the second half, as Euless Trinity adjusted and defeated Permian 28-17 to advance to the regional round against Allen.
“We knew that they were going to come out with something different and they did give us some different looks as far as techniques up front, and things like that,” Permian head coach Jeff Ellison said of the Trojans’ adjustments after halftime. “We didn’t do a good job of holding on to the ball and they got after us the second half.”
Permian stormed out to a 7-0 lead to start the game, capping off a nine play, 75-yard drive with an 11-yard rushing score from Brian Mahaffey to jump ahead.
The Euless Trinity offense couldn’t get on the field throughout the first quarter, touching the field for only seven plays.
The second quarter also started off with a bang for the Panthers, as playmaking receiver Jaquan Richardson was able to break away for a 35-yard touchdown reception to put his team up by two scores.
A 65-yard rushing score from Gordon gave the Trojans life immediately after, but Euless Trinity couldn’t muster up another scoring play throughout the quarter as Tate Terry hit a 27-yard field goal to give Permian all the momentum at halftime.
“I couldn’t be more proud of them, they did exactly what we asked them to do,” Permian defensive coordinator Vance Washington said. “[Gordon] is really good, we know that, he’s one of the best in the state and I couldn’t be prouder of our kids for executing our game plan and playing hard.”
Permian couldn’t contain Gordon or the Euless Trinity rushing attack in the second half, as the Oklahoma State commit finished with 261 yards to run out the clock and help his team jump ahead.
The Trojans scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, which included an 8-yard scoring reception from Buddy Leota and a 13-yard fumble recovery from Jacob Schaeffer after a sack of Permian quarterback Rodney Hall.
Gordon scored the game’s final touchdown by pushing through the Permian defense from one yard out to keep his senior season alive.
Permian ended the 2021 campaign at 8-4 overall.
Ellison said he was impressed by this year’s group of seniors because of the adversity they have endured throughout their high school careers.
That includes seeing school shut down and their 2020 football season altered because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I was extremely proud of their fight all year, but there’s so much more than just this game that they’ve had to fight through and get to where they are right now,” Ellison said. “They’ve taught us so much about life, resiliency and their character.
“They’ve taught us a lot of life lessons, the adults, fans and how hard they fought for years to get to this moment.”
It was the sixth straight playoff trip that Permian hasn’t been able to advance past the area round.
The last time the Panthers won their second-round matchup was 2014, defeating Amarillo Tascosa by a 49-28 score.
Washington believes the team’s performance throughout the game will be beneficial to the players who will return next season.
“The juniors got a lot of great experience and that’ll just help them for next year, and carry over,” he said. “We do have a lot of kids coming back and that’s exciting, it’s hard to think of right now.
“It can do nothing but help them, they understand what it takes to play at this level and that’s a big deal.”
>> Follow Chris Amaya on Twitter at @OA_CAmaya
Euless Trinity 28, Permian 17
CLASS 6A DIVISION I AREA PLAYOFFS
At Shotwell Stadium, Abilene
Permian……………….. 7.. 10 0 0 — 17
Euless Trinity……….. 0…. 7 0 21 — 28
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
Permian: Brian Mahaffey 11 run (Tate Terry kick) 6:55. Drive: 9 plays 75 yards, 5:05. Key play: A 32-yard run from Mahaffey on the team’s fourth play helped them get a shorter field to work with.
Second Quarter
Permian: Jaquan Richardson 35 pass from Rodney Hall (Tate Terry kick) 10:28. Key play: A 13-yard punt from Euless Trinity set the Panthers up to score on one play.
Euless Trinity: Ollie Gordon 65 run (Kelson Cotner kick) 10:10. Key play: Gordon helped the Trojans stay in the game by scoring on the first play of the drive.
Permian: Tate Terry 27 field goal. 0:00. Drive: 13 plays 51 yards, 5:26. Key play: A 24-yard reception from Jaquan Richardson helped the Panthers move closer to the red zone.
Fourth Quarter
Euless Trinity: Buddy Leota 8 pass from Cade Bartelemess (Kelson Cotner kick) 10:31. Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 2:11. Key play: A 54-yard run from Ollie Gordon helped the Trojans get the offense going.
Euless Trinity: Jacob Schaeffer 13 fumble return (Kelson Cotner kick) 9:08.
Euless Trinity: Ollie Gordon 1 run (Kelson Cotner kick) 1:29. Drive: 6 plays 38 yards, 1:44. Key play: A 27-yard run from Gordon converted a third down and kept the drive alive.
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TEAM STATISTICS
Permian Euless Trinity
First Downs…………………… 16……………….. 12
Total Yards…………………. 269……………… 333
Rushes-Yards………… 42-164…………. 37-295
Passing……………………… 105……………….. 38
Comp-Att-Int……………… 9-14…………. 5-11-1
Fumbles-Lost………………. 3-2………………. 1-0
Punts-Avg………………….. 3-47…………….. 4-26
Penalties-Yards…………. 2-20…………….. 4-45
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Permian: Brian Mahaffey 4-68, Caysen Clinton 15-43, Devon Pierce 4-27, Rodney Hall 17-23, Jaquan Richardson 2-3.
Euless Trinity: Ollie Gordon 25-261, Gary Maddox 8-14, Junior Tuipulotu 1-14, Buddy Leota 1-8, Manuel Perez 1-2, Cade Barthelemess 1-(-4).
Passing
Permian: Rodney Hall 9-14-0—105.
Euless Trinity: Cade Barthelemess 5-11-1—38.
Receiving
Permian: Jaquan Richardson 3-72, Devon Pierce 3-18, Brian Mahaffey 1-8, Tabarie Jones 2-7.
Euless Trinity: Jarvis Heimuli 1-8, Kedric Corbin 1-8, Nasir Allah 1-8, Buddy Leota 1-8, Hector Valdez 1-6
Interceptions
Permian: Jadyn Pruitt 1-16.
