For the second time this season Permian will host El Paso Eastlake at Ratliff Stadium. This time it’s for the Bi-District Round of the Class 6A Division I playoffs. The meeting will be held on November 14 at 7:00 p.m.
In the Texas High School football, the opening first round of the playoffs is the Bi-District Round (where we are now). After Bi-District, the subsequent stages are: the Area Round, Regional Round, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and finally the State Championship game. The progression is a standard single-elimination tournament format. The winner advances in the playoff bracket, while the loser reflects on the achievements of their season.
Permian (9-1, 5-0) completed the first goal, the District 2-6A title, with the 33-14 decision over Midland High this past Friday night. The Panthers will now begin the second season… goal #2 and the next step on the road to a state title.
Eastlake (5-5, 3-3) clinched the fourth seed of District 1-6A, after defeating El Paso Coronado 55-44 in their district finale. The Falcons are 0-3 in their road game appearances this season.
THE HISTORY:
Permian leads overall head-to-head series 3-0.
Eastlake High School opened in 2010. Until last year, the two teams had never met. Friday will be the fourth time they will meet in two years. In a non-district contest in 2024, Permian won in a 56-49 shootout. The two met again for Bi-District with Mojo knocking Eastlake out of the playoffs with a 41-21 win. The pair played in Week 2 of this year with Permian claiming a 27-12 win.
[RECAP] After Iker Munoz kicked a 45-yard field goal and Cayden Hernandez hauled in a 16-yard TD pass, the Panthers would take a slim 10-9 lead into halftime. The Black Cats would build onto that lead with another field goal in the third quarter. A pair of Gavin Black touchdown runs in the fourth quarter would propel Mojo to the 27-12 victory.
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 was favored. The Panthers have come full circle the past few weeks, with the return of the running game taking a more emphasized presence.
It’s no big secret – other than the Lee game, Permian tends to have a quiet first quarter before igniting a scoring frenzy in the second quarter. The second half has a way of repeating that performance, with the Panthers finishing strong in the fourth stanza.
The Falcons have been successful producing a closely balanced offensive game plan. To counter the shortcomings in their defense, Eastlake likes to run quick-tempo sets out of the spread when they have the ball.
It’s not uncommon for Eastlake to play in high scoring games. They have in all but two of their games this season. And, they’d like nothing more than to get into a shootout environment this Friday. While the Panthers have their power quarters, the Falcons typically come out firing to open the game. The first period is their best, with the third quarter producing the least amount of points.
– POINTS: Permian is maintaining a 35-point average per game. The Mojo defense has been giving up a region best average of 23 points. The Eastlake offense averages 41 points a game. Meanwhile, their defense gives up a whopping 38 a game.
– YARDAGE: Permian has been producing 436 yards a game in total offense, that breaks down to 264 yards passing and 172 rushing yards. Eastlake has maintained an average of 449 yards of total offense per game (230 passing and 219 rushing).
OFFENSIVE ASSETS:
Eastlake has a dual threat quarterback in junior Julian Williams. He is the nucleus of the offense and the spark that makes the Falcons offense go. With a good arm and the ability to extend plays, Williams (6-2, 160) has completed 127 of 223 pass attempts (57%) for 2,190 yards. He has thrown 23 TD’s with six interceptions. Complementing his passing, Williams has decent foot speed and has 665 rushing yards from 124 carries with seven touchdowns.
Joining Williams in the backfield is senior Derick Holguin (5-8, 195) and junior Zeke Herrera (6-0, 215). Holguin has 95 carries for 581 yards (6.1 yds a carry) with eight touchdowns. He is notorious of creeping into the flat for screen passes from Williams. Also spending timeshare in the backfield, Herrera is a quiet but powerful back. He has 90 carries for 519 yards (5.8 yds a carry) and six TD’s.
Williams has a full complement of receivers in his arsenal, with Junior Trotman leading the corp. He is a well-rounded athlete and is sometimes utilized in jet sweeps. Trotman (5-11, 175) has 35 receptions for 635 yards with seven TD’s. Ethan Rivera (5-8, 140) is a smaller receiver, but has good hands. He has 20 receptions for 401 yards and six TD’s. Trotman and Rivera are intricate parts of the kick return game, as well.
Jordan Reveles (6-3, 190) is someone that has been mistakenly overlooked by opponent defenses. He is a dangerous lanky receiver with the keen ability of finding open space downfield. Reveles only has 22 receptions for 381 yards and four TD’s this season, but each reception proved essential to a drive. Another agile pass catcher is Jayden Sharpe (5-9, 150). He has 25 receptions for 369 yards with four TD’s.
DEFENSIVE ASSETS:
The Falcons try to run a smothering 3-4 defense, but size has tended to be a hindrance in several match ups. The defensive front features sack leader Maximus Ramos, Andrews Flanagan, and Ezekiel Cisneros. Ramos has 54 tackles and 10 hurries. Flanagan is the more assertive and has logged 52 tackles (several tackles for loss) and seven hurries. Not to be overshadowed, Cisneros has 48 tackles and 13 hurries.
The Falcon defensive interior has a pair of feisty linebackers. Fernando Morales (5-9, 170) has recorded 94 tackles (includes several tackles for loss). Bryan Martinez (5-10, 175) has 72 tackles on his resume. Another linebacker that caught my attention from the last couple of games was Damian Villalobos (5-11, 225). He has logged 27 tackles and eight hurries. A notable defensive back for Eastlake is David Estrada. He has 93 tackles and has two interceptions.
The special teams spotlights a unit that averages 41 yards a punt and an average 21.3 yards a punt return. Adversely, the Falcons have a decent coverage team for punts. Nicholas Irigoyen is a solid kicker and can make field goals in the 45-yard range. Estrada doubles as the punter and has a range of about 40 yards.
GAME NOTES:
Empty backfield sets are not uncommon from Eastlake. QB Williams does a good job surveying from the pocket, and the Mojo defense will need to stay in their rush lanes when covering him. He will test the defense early, and his containment will be crucial. Aside from the Legacy game, Williams could be the biggest threat the Mojo D has faced this time around.
A repeated occurrence I noticed in several Eastlake games is that the defense struggled stopping bubble screens with the wide receivers. They also tend to overreact to play action.
In the game earlier this year, Cameron Mattingly and Izeyah McCoy ball-hawked Eastlake to the tune of two interceptions. I foresee one of them doing it again on Friday. “Defense wins championships”.
SPORTS MEDIA PICKS:
> Matt Stepp (Texas Football) – Permian 38, Eastlake 14
> Randy Rosetta (HubCity Prep) – Permian 41, Eastlake 14
> Chris Hadorn (MRT) – Permian 38, El Paso Eastlake 17
> Felix Chavez (El Paso Times) – Permian 38, Eastlake 24
> Cory McIntyre (KWES9) – Permian 30, EP Eastlake 21
> Ethan Becker (KWES9) – Permian 27, EP Eastlake 12
> Jakob Brandenburg (KOSA7) – Permian 34, Eastlake 14
> Jensen Young (KOSA7) – Permian 28, EP Eastlake 21
> Wyatt Nun (KOSA7) – Permian 21, Eastlake 13
> Trey Francis (KMID2) – Permian 35, EP Eastlake 20
> Dalton Arredondo (KMID2) – Permian 37, Eastlake 21
> Terry Alan (MojoLand) – Permian wins by 14
= Consensus Pick (12-0) – Permian 33, Eastlake 17
