During its recent four-game winning streak, the Permian football team’s defense has been able to come up big to hold off its District 2-6A opponents to secure a playoff spot.
One of the players helping that surge is Bryce Woody, who holds down the free safety spot next to Kayden Baze in the Permian secondary.
The 6-foot-3 safety has used his length and quickness to cover some ground and break up passes against some tall, speedy receivers.
He played a big role in jumpstarting the Panthers’ winning streak in October against Wolfforth Frenship, coming away with an interception to slow down the Tigers’ offense.
Permian head coach Jeff Ellison gave Woody his first chance to compete with the varsity last year as a sophomore and the experience was beneficial for the young secondary member.
“Obviously, he’s a talented kid and a smart kid,” Ellison said. “He had a good year last year, learned a lot on the fly and I think that’s prepared him for this year.
“He’s done a good job in that back end of our secondary.”
When Woody jumped to the varsity, he took over a starting spot after Kendyn Armstrong was injured.
The quick learning experience and the extra push from his teammates was all he needed to grow into the position.
“It was scary because I just got thrown in there, but I had to step up for the team,” Woody said.
Against San Angelo Central two weeks ago, Woody finished the contest with four pass break ups to help the Panthers defeat the Bobcats 21-7 at home.
He feels like the game is slowing down for him now that he is getting faster and stronger, using the team’s offseason workout program to his advantage.
Ellison said the free safety sees the field better and understands coverages in a quicker fashion to be where he needs to be.
“The more we play him, the better he gets,” Ellison said.
Having a senior like Baze next to him in the secondary has helped Woody throughout his time as a Panther.
The energy the senior brings to the field is contagious for Woody and encourages him to go out and work to shut down opposing receivers.
Ellison feels confident having players like Woody and Baze on the back end of the defense, adding that they do a lot of the quarterbacking for that unit and making sure everyone is in the right spot.
Woody and the Panthers (7-2 overall, 4-1 District 2-6A) are set to face off with Midland Legacy (8-1, 5-0) at 7 p.m. Friday at Grande Communications Stadium in Midland, looking to clinch a share of the district title.
The safety said the defense as a whole is prepared to face an offense that has a lot of moving parts like that of the Rebels.
“We’re watching film, we have a great game plan by our coaches always,” Woody said. “We’ll be ready.”
Throughout the season, Woody has recorded 50 total tackles and is second on the team with six passes deflected.
He wants to turn those deflected passes into turnovers and he feels that he could do that by the time the Class 6A playoffs start.
To increase the interceptions, Woody said he needs to break faster on the football and that’s something he has worked on consistently throughout the year.
Being able to hold a district opponent like San Angelo Central to seven points scored gave Woody and the defense a boost that they’ll need against a tough opponent to close out the regular season.
“Each week, we’ve continued to improve in the secondary and he’s been a big part of that,” Ellison said.
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