THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Permian High School Athletics

LUBBOCK Despite scoring six touchdowns, the scoreboard at Lubbock-Cooper’s Pirate Stadium read 0-0. A fact that sits well with Permian senior quarterback Steve Steen. The Panthers starting signal-caller believed the offense and defense shined during the preseason scrimmage with the Pirates on Friday. “Other than getting some work in, this scrimmage doesn’t count for any records,” Steen said. “We did a lot of good things on offense and defense and that’s what you are really worried about going into a scrimmage.” Permian’s offense posted six touchdowns, while the defense allowed one. The Panthers finished with 606 yards of total offense. Lubbock-Cooper was limited to 298 and 12 first downs. Permian ended with 22 first downs — 18 those were rushing. “We did some real good things on both sides of the ball,” Permian head coach Blake Feldt said. “Overall, I was pleased with the scrimmage.” During the two scrimmage sessions, Steen went 6 of 8 for 187 yards and three touchdowns. The senior quarterback — who is verbally committed to Navy — also had 12 carries for 114 yards and one score. Brother Miller was on the receiving end of all three touchdowns passes from Steen. The 6-foot-2 senior slot back made four catches for 163 yards — an average of 40.8 yards per catch — and three scores. “(Steve and I) have been working a lot this summer, trying to get our chemistry back,” Miller said. “Steve has been working hard and I’m glad that he’s airing it out and looking good. That was an area that he needed to improve in and I’m glad that he put in the work and that it’s showing on the field.” Steen said the offense put together drives, but also ate up large chunks of yards through the air or on the ground. The Panthers posted 10 plays of 20 yards or more, which included a game-best 55-yard run from Miller. On the first drive of the scrimmage, Permian went 10 plays for 70 yards. Justin Hammond scored from seven yards out. Steen also connected on a 22-yard pass to Hammond on a second-and-4 situation at Permian’s 37-yard line. “We got out there and started attacking,” Steen said. “We put together a nice drive at the beginning and went in and scored. We were rolling on all cylinders. The offense was moving the ball and it was a lot of fun to go out there and play.” Through the first five series, Feldt was pleased with Permian’s defense. The Panthers grabbed four turnovers — interceptions from Rakeeb Adeyemi, Andres Delao and Ben Vore, and a fumble recovery from Andy Notley. However, it was the second-to-last drive from the Pirates that didn’t sit well with Feldt. The Pirates scored their only touchdown that finished with an 8-yard score from quarterback Brenden Mehl. “We played really well until the (second-to-last) time we were out there and I wasn’t very pleased,” Feldt said. “I thought we lost our intensity and we kind of went out there like it was over. I didn’t like that one bit. “That (second-to-last) series left a sour taste in my mouth.” Adeyemi said the defense played strong throughout a majority of the contest. Yet, the 6-foot, 175-pound cornerback knows the defense will have to play four complete quarters to win a varsity contest under the lights on Friday night. “From the start, we were flying around and getting to the ball,” he said. “Toward the end, we kind of slacked off a little bit. We are trying to get better.” The Panthers have their first opportunity to play four complete quarters against Austin Vandegrift in each team’s season opener at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Ratliff Stadium. Permian completed a come-from-behind 21-20 victory against the Vipers last season. Feldt said the team has to continue to make strides with Vandegrift in Week 1. “Vandegrift has an excellent football team and they are one of the better teams in central Texas,” Feldt said. “They are very well-coached. They are going to be very well-prepared for us. They are going to play hard and get after it. “We better be at our very best on Friday night or we’ll get beat.”

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Permian High School Athletics

PERMIAN SCRIMMAGE AGAINST LUBBOCK-COOPER SHOWS PANTHERS' CONSISTENCY

ROYAL MCGREGOR

Odessa American | 8/25/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Jacob Ford