Permian’s efforts were marred with mistakes in the first quarter. The Panthers fumbled on their very first possession deep in the backfield. After being forced into a 3-and-out, Midland caught a break and recovered a second Mojo fumble on the following punt, which led to the only score of the opening stanza. That same Bulldog scoring drive was heavily aided by two critical Black Cat penalties before Evan Taylor cranked open a 48-yard touchdown run.
Instead of panicking, the Panthers completely cleaned things up and let Air Vickers dominate the boundaries in the second frame. Kayden Vickers operated with surgical precision, finishing the night 15-of-19 for 254 yards and two TDs through the air. Zephaniah Deleon became recipient of a 15-yard TD pass to open the Mojo scoring and tie the game at 7-7.
The interior ground warfare was anchored by Cayden Taylor, who systematically wore down the Midland defensive alignment with a multi-touchdown downhill bruising display in the second quarter. Taylor tacked three touchdowns on the board, scoring two of those before halftime – first on a 19-yard scamper to push the lead to 14-7 and then on a 2-yard TD run to make it 21-10.
Aaron Navarrete hauled in a spectacular 35-yard rainbow touchdown pass down the seam in the third quarter to permanently break the Bulldogs’ spirits. Taylor added his third touchdown run from three yards out to push the tally to 35-17.
When the Bulldogs attempted to strike back late in the fourth quarter, Malachi Mendoza intercepted Holt Howard deep in the end zone to seal the Bulldogs’ fate. Vickers scored the final points on a short run, crossing the goal line for the 42-17 decision.
Permian produced a massive 514 yards of total offense to hold absolute authority over the district heading into the regular-season finale in two weeks. The Black Cat defense held the Bulldogs to 262 yards of total offense. Taylor ended the night with 178 yards from 19 rushes, while Navarrete had 83 yards from five catches. The Panthers committed 11 penalties, which continues to be an issue this season.
With the victory, Permian remains unbeaten for the season at 9-0 (3-0 in District 2-6A). The Panthers will enjoy taking a week off before returning to the confines of Ratliff Stadium for district finale, hosting San Angelo Central on the night before Black Cat Halloween. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. on October 30… a night to Burn the Angry Orange.
Authors: T Alan, Gem
| BY QUARTER | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| Permian | 00 | 21 | 14 | 07 | 42 |
| Midland | 07 | 03 | 07 | 00 | 17 |
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
MID – E Taylor 48 run (Marino kick), 1:50
Second Quarter
PER – DeLeon 15 pass from Vickers (Munoz kick), 10:15
PER – C Taylor 19 run (Munoz kick), 5:48
MID – Marino 30 FG, 2:39
PER – C Taylor 2 run (Munoz kick), 0:33
Third Quarter
PER – Navarrete 35 pass from Vickers (Munoz kick), 9:44
MID – Campbell 33 pass from Howard (Marino kick), 6:21
PER – C Taylor 3 run (Munoz kick), 3:56
Fourth Quarter
PER – Vickers 1 run (Munoz kick), 2:39
| SPORTZ GAME STATS | ||
| PER | MID | |
| First Downs | 20 | 13 |
| Total Yards | 514 | 262 |
| Rushing | 260 | 196 |
| Passing | 254 | 66 |
| C-A-I | 15-19-0 | 7-17-1 |
| Fumbles | 4-2 | 1-0 |
| Penalties | 11-117 | 2-15 |
SportzStats compiled by T Alan
