Midland Outlasts Mojo In Barnburner

While the blocked extra punt late in the fourth quarter allowed the point difference, giving up several big pass plays by the defense certainly did not help.  Four of Midland High’s scores came from two 44-yard TD passes, a 57-yarder, and a 49-yard catch-and-run.  For the Panthers, sophomore running back Ed Williams played workhorse for the offense and scored three of Mojo’s touchdowns.  Brother Miller also dazzled the crowd to an endzone-to-endzone 100-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter.  Williams accounted for 138 of Permian’s rushing yards.

After Permian ran three plays and punted on its opening possession, Midland needed only two – the latter being a 44-yard TD bomb.  The Panthers answered with a 12-play, 74-yard scoring drive that consumed over six minutes of clock.  Steve Steen took a 10-yard QB keeper to the house to knot the game at 7-7.  The Bulldogs took two plays to again find the endzone, turning a bubble screen pass into a 44-yard score.  Permian was unable to answer on the next set of downs, but Herb Anderson came up huge for the defense when he picked off a MHS pass and returned it down to the Midland 13.  Williams found paydirt two plays later to re-knot the game at 14-14.  On the ensuing kickoff, the Bulldogs coughed up the ball at their own 39 and Mojo recovered but was unable to convert a 4th-and-14 to cash in on the turnover. 

The Panthers and Bulldogs each added a score in the second quarter to leave the contest deadlocked at 21-21 at the intermission.  Permian scored on a 8-play, 67-yard drive that was capped off on a Williams 4-yard run.  Midland answered with a 6-play, 60-yard scoring effort.

While the third quarter went scoreless, a gutsy call late in the quarter paid dividends in the fourth.  Facing a 4th-and-5, Tanner Adams took a fake punt and rambled 29 yards deep into Bulldog territory.  Steen finished the drive to give Permian a 28-21 lead.  Another botched handling of the kickoff set the Panthers up at the Midland 29.  A personal foul penalty by the Bulldogs gave Steen the green light to score from 14 yards out on the next play to give Mojo a two touchdown lead.

The Bulldogs would not go away.  Back-to-back TD bombs of 57 yards and 49 yards made it a 35-35 game midway into the fourth quarter.  The momentum would swing back in the Panthers’ favor when Miller went coast-to-coast on the following kickoff return.  For the third time in the game, Permian recovered the loose rock on the turf during a kickoff.  Taking over just inside the Midland redzone, Permian ran four plays and Williams crossed the goal line for his third TD of the game.  A blocked extra point game the Panthers a 48-35 lead with a little over four minutes to play.

Starting at their own 21, again the Bulldogs utilized the long ball to invade Mojo territory.  A 5-play, 79-yard drive was capped off with a 16-yard TD strike to close the deficit to a six point game.  Permian’s lone blunder on offense came after a 21 yard run.  The ball went on the turf and Midland came up with the fumble recovery on the Mojo 39-yard line.  Six plays later, Midland High scored on a 7-yard TD pass to knot the at 48-48.  The Bulldogs made the extra point with 29 seconds remaining on the clock to take a 49-48 lead.  A short pass and three incomplete attempts left the Panthers on the short end of the back-and-forth affair.

Even with the loss, the Panthers still own a respectful 4-2 record.  However, that won’t mean squat toward reaching post-season, unless there is a minimum of three district wins attached over the next four weeks.  Permian will travel to Amarillo’s Bivins Stadium next Friday for a date with the Tascosa Rebels.  The Panthers will follow that by hosting San Angelo Central at Ratliff Stadium on October 21.

SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
MID – McLane Mannix 44 pass from Jackson Anuszkiewicz (Correa kick), 9:40
PER – Steve Steen 10 run (Jacob James kick), 3:25
MID – Jalen Childress 44 pass from Anuszkiewicz (Correa kick), 2:54
PER – Ed Williams 4 run (James kick), 0:25

Second Quarter
PER – Williams 4 run (James kick), 4:02
MID – Anuszkiewicz 1 run (Correa kick), 2:31 

Third Quarter
no scoring

Fourth Quarter
PER – Steen 8 run (James kick), 11:52
PER – Steen 14 run (James kick), 11:12
MID – Mannix 57 pass from Anuszkiewicz (Correa kick), 10:04
MID – Mannix 49 pass from Anuszkiewicz (Correa kick), 6:40
PER – Brother Miller 100 kickoff return (James kick), 6:26
PER – Williams 1 run (kick blocked), 4:22
MID – Juleion Bowers 16 pass from Anuszkiewicz (Correa kick), 2:51
MID – Courtney McMaryion 7 pass from Anuszkiewicz (Correa kick), 0:29

  

Share on Facebook

Repost on X