VAN HORN For the second year in a row, the Permian football team experienced a weather delay during its scrimmage.
Mother nature, however, was the only thing slowing the Panthers down against El Paso Pebble Hills.
After the freshmen portion of the scrimmage was pushed back 30 minutes by lightning, Permian’s varsity offense struck early and often during its time on the field at Eagle Stadium.
The Panthers found the end zone nine times, including three in the live portion of the competition.
“I thought it was a good start for us,” Permian head coach Jeff Ellison said. “I was pleased with the overall effort on both sides of the ball.
“Liked up front with the offensive line. It was the starting point, establishing the line of scrimmage.”
Another bright spot was the play of returning quarterback Rodney Hall.
Guiding the Panthers down the field, he was also able to improvise when his protection broke down, including a long scamper for a touchdown where he started to his left, planted and reversed field before cutting up into the line and outrunning the defenders to the end zone.
“He was creative a couple of times,” Ellison said of his senior leader. “He can make some good things happen; I’m pleased with how he started leading our offense.”
Defensive lineman Des Hill set the tone for his side of the ball with two of Permian’s six sacks on the night.
Caleb Washington, working in the secondary, had two interceptions.
All positives heading into Permian’s opening game against Abilene High at 7 p.m. on Aug. 26 at Shotwell Stadium.
“I think the first scrimmage is a foundation,” Ellison said. “As the game went on, our offense started to gel.
“I liked our tenacity and our speed, especially on defense running to the ball.”
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