AMARILLO It doesn’t by how much or how late, only that you win.

The Permian Panthers pushed it to the limit Thursday night, defeating Amarillo Tascosa 32-25 in District 2-6A action at Dick Bivins Stadium.

What seemed to be a rather workmanlike victory in the making early for the Panthers almost became a gut-wrenching loss after the Rebels rallied from a 24-13 deficit to take a 25-24 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

After one more miscue by Permian, jubilation reigned for the Panthers as Peyton Powell connected with Justin Hammond for a 49-yard touchdown with 46 seconds remaining on a chilly, drizzly night.

For Permian interim coach Jeff Ellison, the key the rest of the way is to avoid the mistakes that made such dramatics necessary.

“We’re just making it hard on ourselves,” Ellison said. “We’re making too many mistakes. There’s no excuse for the mistakes we made throughout tonight with 15-yard penalties, false starts at crucial times. We made it extremely difficult on ourselves.”

However, the outcome made it easier to deal with such issues.

“I told the guys, their fight and their heart is above and beyond,” Ellison said. “This team has really come a long way from the offseason and the first part of the season with our nondistrict schedule. They fought hard the entire time.

“Their fighting their tails off and they want to win football games. In the end, especially in district play, that’s what counts.”

The Panthers (5-2 overall, 2-0 district) took a big step forward in the playoff race, all but assuring themselves a bi-district berth with three games to go.

Tascosa (4-3, 1-1) dropped to third in the standings and will be tied with the winner of Friday’s Midland High-Wolfforth Frenship game. Odessa High could make that a four-team logjam with a victory over Midland Lee.

Powell completed 7 of 15 passes for 199 yards with two touchdowns, both to Hammond, and rushed for 62 yards and a score on eight carries. Hammond caught three passes for 93 yards and rushed seven times for 50 yards.

Ed Williams rushed for 80 yards, moving past Koefie Powell into sixth place on Permian’s career rushing list, with a touchdown on 19 carries as the Panthers totaled 405 yards on offense. Tyler Ramage also caught three passes for 59 yards.

On the winning touchdown, Hammond raced down the right sideline and caught Peyton Powell’s pass in stride.

“We’re all competitors on the offensive side,” Hammond said. “The linemen were all blocking good and I just got the best out of the play.

“I knew Peyton was going to put it on the money and I just had to go get it.”

Powell also threw two interceptions, but hit four completions of 30 yards or more as Permian was able to hit plays over the top of the Tascosa secondary.

“It’s just the brotherhood of the locker room that won this game,” Powell said. “Guys didn’t want to let each other down. That’s what brought us this W.”

Tascosa finished with 295 total yards as quarterback Joseph Plunk rushed for 110 yards on 25 carries and completed 5 of 9 passes for 58 yards. King Doerue, who scored the Rebel’s go-ahead touchdown, rushed for 75 yards on six carries and had three receptions for 42 yards.

The teams each put together 10-play scoring drives on their first possession.

Permian took the early lead on Williams’ 3-yard run, but Tascosa answered with a wacky touchdown late in the first quarter. The Rebels’ Parker Settle fumbled into the end zone and several players from each team appeared to have a chance at the recovery before Tascosa’s Josue Torres came up with the ball.

The Panthers pulled ahead 17-7 on Hammond’s 14-yard TD reception and Carson Roberts’ 28-yard field goal, which came with 4:55 left in the half.

Tascosa’s Max Burleson scored on a 5-yard run with 28 seconds left, capping a 14-play, 74-yard drive that was kept alive when a late-hit penalty got the Rebels out of a third-and-17 hole.

Powell’s 28-yard TD run on the Panthers’ first series of the second half appeared to put Permian firmly in control, but that was when Tascosa started its comeback. Settle scored on an 8-yard run with 1:32 remaining in the third quarter just three plays after Permian lost a fumble at its 27.

Permian’s next two series resulted in a punt and a failed fake punt. Doerue cashed in that latter opportunity with a 31-yard touchdown run, putting the Rebels in front 25-24 with 6:48 remaining.

The Panthers appeared to have missed their chance to regain the lead when two false-start penalties left Permian with fourth-and-18 at the Tascosa 42. Powell’s pass for the end zone was intercepted by Brandon White at the Tascosa 4 when simply batting the ball down would have put the Rebels near midfield.

Backed up in their own end, the Rebels managed to run the clock down to 1:03 before punting. Powell hit Hammond for the winner two plays later.
