Friday’s District 2-6A finale will feature Permian hosting Midland High at Ratliff Stadium. The Panthers have secured at least a share of the district crown, while the Bulldogs have joined Odessa High in the district cellar.
Permian (4-0, 8-1) is now one game away from claiming sole possession of the district title. The Black Cats are coming off of a 38-25 victory over Frenship, which is the fourth win out of four district games. While the Panthers were co-champions in 2022, the last time they went undefeated in district and won the outright district championship title was in 2008. Permian finished that season with a 12-1 mark, and that lone loss came in the Regional Round of the state playoffs.
Meanwhile, Midland High (1-3, 2-7) just lost to Midland Lee 33-21 in their crosstown rivalry game. As if that loss wasn’t enough, the Bulldogs were mathematically eliminated from post-season play after San Angelo Central beat Odessa High in a close 35-32 shootout. The Purple Pups would like nothing more than to pull an upset this Friday to end their season on a positive note.
THE HISTORY:
In Permian’s inaugural season of 1959, the Panthers defeated Midland High 19-14 and the path to greatness was established. The Black Cats currently hold an all-time record of 53 wins and 13 losses in head-to-head competition with the Bulldogs. Unfortunately, last year’s 21-18 loss to our neighbors to the east disrupted a seven-game win streak. Midland High narrowly won the game in 2016 by a score of 49-48.
TEAM COMPARISONS:
Permian has tried to offer a balanced offense all season. Early in the year, the offense leaned more on the ground game. That would evolve as the season progressed, and eventually the passing game would be favored. The proverbial coming full circle has had the Panthers running a balanced attack with the return of the running game taking center stage.
Midland High has had a run-heavy offense all year. In this past week’s game against Legacy, the Bulldogs actually produced a balanced offensive game plan. It was the first time this season that there were just as many passing plays as there were rushing.
POINTS: Permian is maintaining a 35-point average per game. The defense is giving up a district best average of 24 points. The Midland High offense averages slightly less at 30 points a game. Their defense gives up 34 a game. The Bulldogs actually mirror the Panthers in scoring quarter by quarter. Similar to Permian, MHS enjoys greater offensive success in the second and fourth quarters.
YARDAGE: Permian has been producing 429 yards a game in total offense, that breaks down to 257 yards passing and 172 rushing yards. Midland High has maintained an average of 292 yards of total offense per game (55 passing and 237 rushing).
COMMON OPPONENTS:
The Panthers and Bulldogs have already played all of the other district teams. The Black Cats won all four of their games, while Midland High lost three of its four.
– P beat Frenship, 38-25. M lost 42-31.
– P beat San Angelo Central, 35-27. M lost 34-27.
– P beat Midland Lee, 51-48. M lost 33-21.
– P beat Odessa High, 49-7. M won 45-21.
OFFENSIVE ASSETS:
Midland High has two quarterbacks that Permian may face. Sophomore Holt Howard (5-8, 150) is a dual threat QB that has shown a lot of promise and possesses decent foot speed. Howard has been under center the past two weeks, playing in the absence of senior quarterback Tristan Love (5-10, 160). Love has been trying to recover from a foot/ankle injury. Being his last opportunity to return to game action, he may also take snaps on Friday.
The Bulldog backfield is led by seniors Jordan McGowan and Wyatt King. Working out of the slot, McGowan is a ball carrier / pass receiver that can do damage if allowed to get into open space. He has 459 yards from 37 carries and five touchdowns. King is more of a traditional running back. He has 76 carries for 468 yards with two touchdowns.
The other ball carriers for the Purple Pups include sophomore Evan Taylor and senior Izaiah Miller. Taylor has 400 yards from 62 carries and seven touchdowns, while Miller has 51 carries for 358 yards with five TD’s. The Bulldogs have utilized McGowan, Elijah Ramos, and Elijah Cordova as part of their passing game. McGowan has caught 25 passes for 310 yards with two receiving TD’s. Ramos has 48 receiving yards from four catches, while Cordova has 37 yards from four pass receptions.
DEFENSIVE ASSETS:
In the trenches for the Bulldogs is sack leaders Felix Ceballos and Gilbert Delgado. Cole Turner and Jayden Reyna are mainstays at disrupting opponent passes. The top performing linebackers are Robert Hardin, Lucas Ramirez, and sophomore Marshall Woodside. Hardin has recorded 69 tackles, Ramirez has 65, and Woodside has 35.
Jayden Guzman and Jojo Lievens lead the Midland High defensive backfield in tackles. Both have a tendency to creep along the line of scrimmage. The featured ball hawk is junior Carson Ham (5-11, 160). He has seven interceptions and 59 tackles this season. Ham is backed up by Colton Adams and Devin Rodriguez. They have each been responsible for a pair of interceptions.
Edgar Ramos has been fairly consistent kicking the ball, and has a field goal range of about 45-48 yards. He had a 44-yarder against Legacy with room to spare.
CLOSING GAME NOTES:
DEFENSE – The Mojo defense will be dealing with an offense it is very familiar with… the veer triple option, an offensive set seen many of time on the Permian practice field. The Panthers used to run the triple option. Alternately, the Bulldog defensive interior can be gashed frequently with strategic counters and traps. It’s no secret – the Midland High defense has struggled all season to stop the run.
OFFENSE – Junior Kayden Vickers will likely be taking over quarterbacking duties for the Black Cats. Immediate positives are: he’s got a powerful and accurate arm, and he has good field awareness. Vickers is inheriting a worthy corp of receivers, and yes, he’ll have Gavin Black in the backfield. Across the field, Midland High may have a dilemma of which one of their quarterbacks has the best chance of finding flaws in the Mojo D… Good luck with that!
SPORTS MEDIA PICKS:
> Matt Stepp (Texas Football) – Permian 38, Midland High 25
> Randy Rosetta (Hub City Prep) – Permian 41, Midland High 14
> Chris Hadorn (MRT) – Permian 38, Midland High 28
> Jensen Young (KOSA7) – Permian 35, Midland High 21
> Trey Francis (KMID2) – Permian 31, Midland High 14
> Dalton Arredondo (KMID2) – Permian 35, Midland High 7
> Ethan Becker (KWES9) – Permian 31, Midland High 21
> Cory McIntyre (KWES9) – Permian 38, Midland High 21
> Terry Alan (MojoLand) – Permian by 18
= Consensus Pick (9-0) – Permian 36, Midland High 19
DISTRICT 2-6A WEEK 5 (11/6-7):
San Angelo Central (7-3, 3-2) 52 vs Frenship (4-6, 2-3) 16
Permian (8-1, 4-0) vs. Midland High (3-6, 1-3)
Midland Lee (4-5, 3-1) vs Odessa High (1-8, 0-4)
THE STATE PLAYOFFS:
Permian will be the top seed overall no matter the game results this week. The Panthers will play in the Class 6A Division I bracket and host El Paso Eastlake in the Bi-District Round of the state playoffs. The Black Cats played the Falcons the second game of the season and won 27-12 in a non-district game.
Time to check the tires on the trailer and get that ‘Victory Bell’ out! Can you hear that ‘Hawaii 5-0’ echoing down the halls as the PHS Band practices our playoff theme song?
