Permian failed to break the ‘Metroplex Hex’ for the sixth time in the past decade. A far cry from the dominate powerhouse Mojo teams of days gone by, the last time the Black Cats made it to the third round of the state playoffs was back in 2014. Euless Trinity knocked Permian out in the following regional round.
Tonight’s 53-point loss is the largest playoff defeat in the football program’s history, dating back to 1959. The previous ‘record’ of 43 points came in 2019 against Arlington Martin (71-28) in the same Area Round of the state playoffs.
In this evening’s contest, both offenses started off sluggish. The Permian Black Cats opened the game on offense but fumbled on the fourth play from scrimmage. The North Crowley Panthers experienced its own difficulties and turned the ball over on downs on their first possession. After a Mojo three-and-out, the visiting Panthers produced a 7-play, 60-yard scoring drive to lead 7-0 after 12 minutes of play.
The Black Cats narrowed the deficit to 7-3 after compiling a 14-play, 75-yard sustaining drive. Crowley added two rushing touchdowns the remainder of the period to enjoy a 21-3 halftime advantage. It would be the closest Permian would get as the bottom fell out in the third quarter.
The Panthers exploded with four touchdowns in the third stanza to have Permian trailing 49-3. Another Mojo miscue contributed to the latter score. The Black Cats dug deep into their bag of tricks to score the lone Permian touchdown. Issac Herrera hooked up with Gage Murphy on a 48-yard halfback pass to close out the quarter. North Crowley added a pair of fourth quarter TD runs to cap the scoring at 63-10.
Permian’s Juzstyce Lara was held to 76 yards rushing on the night, while the team was penalized 12 times for 165 yards. The 2023 season ends with PHS finishing with a 7-5 record.
| BY QUARTER | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| N Crowley |
07 | 14 | 28 | 14 | 63 |
| O Permian | 00 | 03 | 07 | 00 | 10 |
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
NC – West 27 pass from Jimerson (Pope kick), 5:31
Second Quarter
OP – Franco 21 FG, 8:34
NC – Jimerson 16 run (Pope kick), 7:30
NC – Jimerson 2 run (Pope kick), 2:07
Third Quarter
NC – Searl 18 run (Pope kick), 9:50
NC – West 35 pass from Jimerson (Pope kick), 6:00
NC – Ferguson 27 pass from Jimerson (Pope kick), 5:20
NC – Ferguson 2 pass from Jimerson (Pope kick), 2:05
OP – Murphy 48 from Herrera (Franco kick), 0:22
Fourth Quarter
NC – Gibson 47 run (Pope kick), 11:43
NC – Ingram 23 run (Diaz kick), 2:05
| SPORTZ GAME STATS | ||
| NC | OP | |
| First Downs | 26 | 12 |
| Total Yards | 481 | 249 |
| Rushing | 273 | 153 |
| Passing | 208 | 96 |
| C-A-I | 12-20-0 | 10-14-0 |
| Fumbles | 1-1 | 3-2 |
| Penalties | 4-42 | 12-165 |
Summary and stats – Terry Alan.
