Permian will travel to Astound Broadband Stadium for a date with Midland Lee in the high-stakes, District 2-6A opener on October 9. Gloves come off in this MojoLand editorial post.
While the weekly MojoLand exclusive previews are objective in nature and packed with raw data, Terry’s Two Cents allows the pulling back of the curtain and focus on pure intuition, historical rivalry parallels, and personal view from 30 years of West Texas football.
Going into the 2026 edition of the rivalry, the all-time record between Permian and Midland Lee stands at 40-24-1 in favor of the Panthers. The Rebels (4-2) are looking to protect their home turf on Friday night, while hoping to hand the Black Cats (6-0) their first loss of the season.
Foremost, Permian cannot commit a bunch of “Stupid Penalties”. The Black Cats need to show up, play their regular game, and stay in their element… and not get sucked into the game’s hype. It’s called “Staying Disciplined”. Do what you do best, and let the Rebels be the ones that make the mistakes and lose focus.
Defensively, Mojo must execute strict gap discipline. If Permian’s front seven plays with the same physical dominance they showed most of the non-district slate of games, they will force JP Reyes into 3rd-and-long passing downs. Keeping the heat on the quarterback will prevent long plays from developing.
On the other hand, Lee’s secondary and perimeter defense have shown vulnerabilities. If Kayden Vickers can establish early vertical connections down the seams with Aaron Navarrete and Dae Dae McDowell, Mojo’s balanced attack can quickly isolate and wear down the secondary. As deep as our depth chart is with talented running backs, Permian ought to be able to keep the Rebel linebackers busy in the meanwhile.
I would like to thank the following sports media panel for participating in the weekly game predictions – Texas Football magazine, Texas HS Football Report, Hub City Preps, MTZ Media, Midland Reporter-Telegram, and the television stations of Big2 (KMID/KPEJ) and NewsWest9 (KWES).
Based on expected score lines from our panel of sports media personalities, predictions of the Rebels tacking 35+ points on the ‘Mojo D’ just ain’t gonna happen. Well, not if the Permian defense plays at the level I know they are capable of playing. The Black Cat secondary can’t be sleeping or they’ll get torched. They need to play outfielders and keep everything in front of them.
Look at the consensus numbers at the bottom of this page. Most of our media panel is predicting a wild, high-scoring shootout in the 40’s. With all due respect to my colleagues, they are completely misreading the DNA of this Permian team. Shootouts happen when you play soft, undisciplined football. Shootouts happen when you get sucked into trying to match opponents blow for blow.
The Panthers aren’t going to Midland to trade punches. The Black Cats are heading East to dictate the terms. While the panel might be impressed with Reyes’ flashy stats against out-of-state JV-tier defenses, they are forgetting what happens when that Rebel offense meets the physical reality of the ‘Mojo D’. Expect the Black-and-White to choke out the interior run early, play elite deep-outfield coverage, and systematically suffocate the life out of the hype.
Permian scores two touchdowns by air and two by ground, and add a field goal to boot. Lee finds the endzone twice in the first half, and once in the third quarter. MOJO 31, LEE 21.
Permian vs Lee Preview posted earlier this week – HERE.
Author: Terry Alan
SPORTS MEDIA PANEL PICKS:
> Tony Blalock (TXHSFB) – Permian 42, Lee 28
> Christopher Hadorn (MRT) – Permian 42, Lee 38
> Adrian Martinez (MTZ Media) – Permian 42, Lee 38
> Trey Francis (KMID2) – Permian 48, Lee 41
< Dalton Arredondo (KMID2) – Lee 42, Permian 34
> Ethan Becker (KWES9) – Permian 45, Lee 42
> Grabiel Silva (KWES9) – Permian 38, Lee 35
> Gem (MojoLand) – Permian 35, Lee 20
> Terry Alan (MojoLand) – Permian 31, Lee 21
= Consensus (8-1) – Permian 40, Midland Lee 34
*Matt Stepp (Texas Football magazine) had a prior engagement, but will be joining our panel next week.
