A scoreless first quarter ended in second quarter blowout. The Panthers put on a masterclass in complementary football, leveraging a relentless ground game, an aggressive defense, and special teams dominance to dismantle the Bronchos.
Penalties were again a thorn in the Black Cats side. A 27-yard touchdown strike to Aaron Navarrete was negated by yellow laundry on Mojo’s first play of the game. Permian committed three penalties in the opening stanza, 12 in total (eight offensive / four defensive) for the night. As a result, the game began as a field position duel.
Permian would settle down and blow it open in the second quarter. The Panthers broke the ice with a 15-yard touchdown run by Cayden Taylor. Soon after, the defense pinned the OHS deep in their own territory. Following a quick three-and-out, Permian’s Malachi Mendoza fielded a Broncho punt and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown, shifting all momentum.
Odessa High struggled heavily with ball security, throwing an interception and then fumbling on the next possession. Permian capitalized instantly when quarterback Kayden Vickers launched a beautiful 44-yard touchdown pass to Zephaniah DeLeon.
Right before halftime, Navarrete caught a 14-yard touchdown strike from Vickers, and Nata Cordoza put the exclamation point on the half by jumping a route for a stunning 61-yard interception and pick-6. At the break, Permian held a commanding 35-0 lead.
Permian didn’t lift their foot off the gas in the third quarter. On their opening drive, Mendoza capped off a quick series with a 29-yard touchdown reception. From there, running back Mark Herrera took complete control of the game. He found a seam on the next drive to punch in a 25-yard touchdown run, and followed it up on the next possession by exploding through the line for a spectacular 62-yard touchdown run to finish the scoring at 56-0.
With the contest clearly at hand, several of the Mojo starters were forced to watch the final 12 minutes from the sidelines. There’s a lot of depth to the 2026 Panther roster – in athletic ability and grade classification.
The Panthers produced 401 yards of total offense, while the Bronchos finished the night with 142. Vickers finished 9-of-16 for 156 yards and three TDs. Herrera racked up a pair of touchdowns runs, while Mendoza added a receiving TD and punt return score. Mendoza, Aiden Medina, and Cordoza each had an interception and Bryson Gonzales recovered an OHS fumble.
Permian (8-0, 2-0) will head back to Astound Broadband Stadium for a District 2-6A clash with Midland High (4-3, 1-0) on October 23 at 7:00 p.m. The Panthers and Bulldogs are the two remaining unbeaten teams in district. Our weekly preview will post on Monday.
Authors: T Alan, Gem
| BY QUARTER | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| Odessa | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 |
| Permian | 00 | 35 | 21 | 00 | 56 |
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
no scoring
Second Quarter
PER – Taylor 15 run (Munoz kick), 10:53
PER – Mendoza 36 punt return (Munoz kick), 8:09
PER – DeLeon 44 pass from Vickers (Munoz kick), 6:01
PER – Navarrete 14 pass from Vickers (Munoz kick), 3:31
PER – Cordoza 61 INT return (Munoz kick), 0:24
Third Quarter
PER – Mendoza 29 pass from Vickers (Munoz kick), 11:27
PER – Herrera 25 run (Munoz kick), 5:41
PER – Herrera 62 run (Lopez kick), 1:09
Fourth Quarter
no scoring
| SPORTZ GAME STATS | ||
| OHS | PER | |
| First Downs | 8 | 14 |
| Total Yards | 142 | 401 |
| Rushing | 24 | 245 |
| Passing | 118 | 156 |
| C-A-I | 7-25-3 | 9-16-2 |
| Fumbles | 1-1 | 1-0 |
| Penalties | 7-61 | 12-105 |
Sportz Stats compiled by Terry Alan
