Permian jumped out early in the opening 12 minutes, but the Cougars fought back to trail by a touchdown at the break. The Mojo defense took over in the second half, holding Franklin scoreless in final two quarters. Richardson finished the game with three receptions for 177 yards, plus 26 rushing yards.
The Panthers opened the game by reeling off four plays that covered 60 yards for a quick 7-0 lead. It featured Richardson hauling in a Rodney Hall 47-yard touchdown strike. On the ensuing possession, the Cougars knotted the game after converting a 4th-and-10 on the Mojo 13. Richardson would find the endzone the next two set of downs from 11 and five yards out for a 21-7 Permian lead. Hall connected with Richardson for the fourth TD in the quarter on a 58-yard catch-and-run.
Leading 28-7, the Black Cats watched the Cougars score three times in the second frame to get back in the contest. Franklin’s Cameron Byrd threw a pair of TDs of 68 and 21 yards to narrow the deficit. Hall scored a rushing touchdown for the Panthers to take a 35-28 lead into intermission.
Permian’s defense forced the Cougars into a one-dimensional offense that was unable to rely on the passing game, which also allowed for the Black-and-White to pin their ears back and pressure the quarterback. Meanwhile, Hall added an 8-yard scamper in the third stanza. Caysen Clinton added a short TD run and Richardson added his fifth touchdown to the tally on a 58-yarder for the 56-28 win to open the playoff run for the Panthers.
Hall turned in a solid performance, passing for 217 yards and rushing for 129. He accounted for five touchdowns. Clinton rushed 15 times for 61 yards, while Brian Mahaffey added 55 from four touches. Corey McCoy collected a pair of interceptions for the defense.
Permian will face Euless Trinity next Saturday in the Area Round playoff at Abilene’s Shotwell Stadium. Kickoff time is slated for 2:00 p.m. The Trojans won 47-21 over Keller tonight.
BY QUARTER | |||||
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
Permian |
28 | 07 | 07 | 14 | 56 |
Franklin | 07 | 21 | 00 | 00 | 28 |
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
PER – Richardson 47 pass from Hall (Terry kick), 9:55
EPF – Miles McWhorter 13 pass Cameron Byrd (Smith kick), 7:27
PER – Richardson 5 run (Terry kick), 5:40
PER – Richardson 11 run (Terry kick), 3:55
PER – Richardson 58 pass from Hall (Terry kick), 1:05
Second Quarter
EPF – McWhorter 68 pass from Byrd (Smith kick), 8:03
EPF – Beau Sparks 11 run (Smith kick), 7:35
PER – Hall 11 run (Terry kick), 1:18
EPF – Dominic Arellano 21 pass from Byrd (Smith kick), 0:10
Third Quarter
PER – Hall 8 run (Terry kick), 3:04
Fourth Quarter
PER – Caysen Clinton 1 run (Terry kick), 11:21
PER – Richardson 68 pass from Hall (Terry kick), 6:15
SPORTZ GAME STATS | ||
PER | EPF | |
First Downs | 14 | 10 |
Total Yards | 542 | 248 |
Rushing | 322 | 42 |
Passing | 220 | 206 |
C-A-I | 5-10-1 | 13-36-2 |
Punt-Avg | 2-54.0 | 5-32.2 |
Fumbles | 2-1 | 1-1 |
Penalties | 10-95 | 9-96 |
All graphics, game summaries, and statistics – Terry Alan.