Permian defense dominates overmatched Midland High

The Permian Panthers punched their ticket for the Class 6A Division I playoffs Friday with a 34-7 victory over the Midland High Bulldogs at Ratliff Stadium. The Panthers (6-2 overall, 3-0 District 2-6A) not only secured a postseason berth, but took sole possession of first place in the district standings with the help of Amarillo Tascosa’s 49-26 victory at Midland Lee. “Defensively, we did an outstanding job,” Permian interim coach Jeff Ellison said. “This was a good team win because we struggled on offense. Our defense stepped up and had the offense’s back. They did a good job.” While the Panthers are assured an 11th game, Ellison was more concerned about taking care of business in the final two weeks of the regular season. “We’ve got to get ready for the next opponent, that’s all there is to it,” he said. “We’ve got to continue to get better. I thought we stumbled a bit tonight. We’ve got to come back next week and prepare ourselves to get better.” Ed Williams rushed for a season-high 239 yards and two touchdowns, sparking the Panthers to a 14-0 lead less than four minutes into the game with scoring runs on 36 and 64 yards on Permian’s first two possessions. Williams said hitting two big plays early helped set the tone for the Panthers. The senior went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season and became the sixth player in Permian history to reach 3,000 career rushing yards. “That let me know I should have a big night right off the bat,” he said. “Obviously, the run was there. “My offensive line were making holes for me, which in the long run means it should be great” The Panther defense forced five turnovers, including two interceptions by linebacker Tanner Adams. Keatyn Armstrong and Cameron Martinez also picked off passes, while Tanor Johnson recovered a fumble. “Our defense played great,” Adams said. “We were flying around to the football. For me, I was just in the right place at the right time. Getting five takeaways, that’s big, especially when you’re running the veer and can control the clock.” Permian finished with 387 total yards, 290 of it on the ground. Peyton Powell completed 4 of 11 passes for 91 yards and a touchdown and Christian Rodriguez added his first TD pass of the season, a 4-yarder to Tyler Ramage, in the fourth quarter. Horrell caught two passes for 58 yards and Ramage caught two for 37 yards. Midland High (3-5, 1-2) finished with 279 total yards. Quarterback Suddin Sapien rushed for 66 yards and a touchdown, but was interceted four times in completing 9 fo 24 passes for 115 yards. Running back Daniel Garcia rushed for 59 yards and caught three passes for 52 yards. After Williams’ opening salvo, both teams missed scoring chances the rest of the first half, combining for four turnovers in the second quarter. Midland High had a 10-play drive come up empty on a missed field goal. Permian Adams had both his interceptions in the second quarter, but the Pathers lost two fumbles, the first of which ended a red-zone possession while the second led to Midland High’s touchdown. Adam’s second interception led to a 37-yard touchdown pass from Powell to Horrell, giving Permian a 21-0 lead with 7:45 left in the second quarter. Permian’s second fumble led to Sapien’s 3-yard touchdown run with 4:45 left in the half. Horrell scored on a 2-yard run in the third quarter as Permian pushed the lead to 28-7. Ramage’s TD reception came with 3:46 left in the game.

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PERMIAN DEFENSE DOMINATES OVERMATCHED MIDLAND HIGH

SAM WALLER

Odessa American | 10/28/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Odessa American