THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Permian High School Athletics

At the tail end of Blake Feldt’s post-practice speech Monday, the Permian head football coach conveyed to his team that the nondistrict part of the schedule is over. Meaning the Panthers’ 3-0 record is in the past, because those victories won’t help them get to the playoffs. The most important of Permian’s season begins against district opponent Wolfforth Frenship at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Ratliff Stadium. “We finished the preseason schedule pretty good, but we want to let that go because these are the games that count and these are the games that get us into the playoffs,” Permian senior slot back Brother Miller said. “We want to start and finish. We want to play for four quarters.” The Panthers sat in a similar position during the 2016 campaign after they rolled to a 4-0 start. Permian continued that strong play in the first half against Wolfforth Frenship to a 28-10 lead. However, the Panthers experienced a first-hand implosion when the Tigers outscored them 30-0 during the final two quarters. Permian junior linebacker Tanner Adams, who finished with seven tackles and one sack against Wolfforth Frenship a year ago, admitted the team was naive despite a strong start to the season. “Last year, we started off real good, but having a young team, we did get kind of cocky,” Adams said. “We didn’t know what we were getting into until it already happened. You can’t take it back, but you can learn from it. We bounced back this year and we are ready to go.” After the 40-28 loss to the Tigers, the Panthers proceeded to drop the next three district contests — included back-to-back defeats by one point to Midland High and Amarillo Tascosa. Those four straight losses to start its District 2-6A schedule ended Permian’s playoff hopes for the second time in six years. “We are going to get everybody’s best shot, whether it’s Frenship or somebody else,” Feldt said. “They give it all they got against us. Everything plus the kitchen sink. “It doesn’t matter who it is. Frenship will show up on Friday night and play their best game of the year. They’ll play hard and they’ll get after it. We have to respond.” Though the Panthers enter as one of four teams in District 2-6A with an unblemished record, the team didn’t have an easy route to a 3-0 start. >> Permian needed a game-winning touchdown catch from Justin Hammond to defeat Austin Vandegrift 28-24 in the season opener. >> El Paso Franklin, which was steamrolled 61-0 in 2016, hung around until a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns runs from Permian’s Ed Williams and Steve Steen put the game out of reach in a 42-14 victory during Week Two. >> The Panthers trailed 20-14 at halftime against El Paso Eastwood, but Permian’s defense collected four turnovers in the second half en route to a 49-27 victory in Week Three. Those three contests were a little different than a year ago when the Panthers outscored their nondistrict opponents 192-66. “We got more experience this year, so we are going to come out and execute,” said Panthers defensive end Matt Jones, who collected two of the four turnovers against El Paso Eastwood. With a chance to make an opening statement in District 2-6A, Feldt said the team isn’t taking that opportunity lightly. “The first district game is always a huge game, because you want to get started off on the right foot no matter who you are playing,” he said. “We’ve got to be at our very best. “We’ve talked to our football team a bunch about this, ‘We don’t want to be just a good district team. We want to be a great statewide team.’ To do that, we’ve got use every opportunity for us to improve and get better.” That’s a statement Permian couldn’t say in 2016 when the team lost two starters on defense. “Right now, we don’t have any that should be out,” Feldt said. “I mean not anybody whether they are first-team, second-team or third-team.” Despite no season-ending injuries, the Panthers haven’t gone unscathed. Senior offensive lineman Pablo Olivares and Steen are each battling bumps and bruises. Olivares has been cleared to play after he sidelined for Permian’s nondistrict finale. Steen said he suffered a right shoulder injury against El Paso Eastwood, but it isn’t serious enough to keep him off the field. Even after the play that caused his right shoulder injury, Steen zipped a six-yard touchdown pass to Zach Jaquez in the fourth quarter. “It’s something that you always worry about in the back of your mind, but right now we are all good,” Steen said. “If my shoulder is the worst that it gets, that’s a blessing for a team. We are all trying to stay healthy and we are taking it week by week.”

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Permian High School Athletics

PANTHERS SET SIGHTS ON DISTRICT 2-6A OPENER AGAINST WOLFFORTH FRENSHIP

ROYAL MCGREGOR

Odessa American | 9/30/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Jacob Ford