Last year the Panthers and Falcons met twice. In a high scoring shoot out, Permian came out on top 56-49 in the first meeting and then the Black Cats eliminated Eastlake in the state playoffs by a 41-21 tally. In tonight’s contest, it would be the defense that dictated most of the night.
Permian went on the offensive in the first quarter, driving down the field and inside the redzone. Knocking on the door, the Eastlake defense denied the Panthers on a 4th & Goal from the 1. The Falcons’ first possession would result in a punt to midfield. Mojo would setup junior kicker Iker Munoz for the game’s first points on a 45-yard field goal.
The next Eastlake possession would take all of one play before Cameron Mattingly toe-tapped an interception at the 39-yard line. Six plays later, Jakob Garcia connected with Cayden Hernandez on a 16-yard touchdown strike to extend the tally to 10-0.
The Falcons responded in the second frame. Derick Holguin capped off a 12-play, 75-yard drive with an eight yard TD run to narrow the deficit to three points. A Panther bad snap on a punt, deep in its own end of the field, resulted in a safety to give Permian a 10-9 halftime advantage.
The Mojo defense forced the Falcons to turn the ball over twice in the third stanza – first on a forced fumble on the 6-yard line and then Izeyah McCoy picked off an Eastlake pass at the Permian 12. Munoz added another field goal to the board to close out the quarter with the Black Cats owning a 13-9 edge.
Gavin Black and the Panthers wore the Falcons down in the final period, racking up a pair of touchdowns to seal the victory. Black’s first score capped off a 10-play, 88-yard drive to open the quarter. A 5-play, 51-yard drive answered a failed onside kick attempt late in the game. Eastlake did manage to add a field goal on the prior possession.
Permian produced 462 yards of total offense, while the defense held the Falcons to 298 yards including a pair of interceptions. Black finished the night with 188 yards rushing with two TDs and two fumbles, while Garcia threw for 246 yards and a touchdown. Munoz nailed both field goals of 45 and 41 yards, and made all three of his extra points.
The Panthers will travel to Abilene for a date with the Eagles at Shotwell Stadium on September 12, in another non-district game.
Mental Mistakes:
There were 19 penalties committed by the two teams – Eastlake with 11 and Permian with eight. The Panthers had 10 in the season opener with Plano.
| BY QUARTER | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| Eastlake | 00 | 09 | 00 | 03 | 12 |
| Permian | 10 | 00 | 03 | 14 | 27 |
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
PER – Iker Munoz 45 FG, 4:50
PER – Cayden Hernandez 16 pass from Garcia (Munoz kick), 1:51
Second Quarter
EPE – Derick Holguin 8 run, (Chavez kick), 10:41
EPE – Safety, 2:02
Third Quarter
PER – Munoz 41 FG, 2:32
Fourth Quarter
PER – Gavin Black 4 run (Munoz kick), 8:25
EPE – Sergio Chavez 28 FG, 3:38
PER – Black 20 run (Munoz kick), 1:54
| SPORTZ GAME STATS | ||
| EPE | PER | |
| First Downs | 21 | 22 |
| Total Yards | 298 | 462 |
| Rushing | 131 | 219 |
| Passing | 167 | 243 |
| C-A-I | 12-32-2 | 22-30-0 |
| Fumbles | 2-1 | 3-2 |
| Penalties | 11-80 | 8-90 |
Summary & Stats – Terry Alan
