It’s Round Three – the Regional Round of the Class 6A Div I state playoffs. Permian will spend the week of Thanksgiving preparing for state-ranked Allen, as the Panthers will meet the Eagles at Shotwell Stadium on Friday, November 28. Kickoff is slated for 6:00 p.m. Mojo Time.
The contest will feature two legendary programs from the state of Texas. Permian has won six state championship titles, while Allen has claimed five. The Panthers have collected 30 district titles. The Eagles have claimed 27. And finally, the Black Cats have an impressive playoff record of 96-33-6. While making less post-season appearances, the Birds have managed to log a decent 79-31-0 playoff record.
Permian (11-1, 5-0) is the district champion and only remaining representative from District 2-6A. The Panthers thumped El Paso Eastlake 59-7 in the opening Bi-District playoff. This past week, Mojo defeated Mansfield Lake Ridge 30-28 in the Area Round. It was a victory some in the D/FW Metroplex thought wouldn’t happen… but it did.
Representatives of District 6-6A, Allen (12-0, 8-0) entered the state playoffs ranked #2 in Class 6A. The Eagles escaped the opening round with a 22-15 decision over Lewisville. In the Area Round, they disposed of Richardson Lake Highlands 41-7. Prognosticators have had Allen penciled in since preseason to get to the Final Four of the playoffs.
THE HISTORY:
The two teams have met three times, with the Eagles winning two of those. In 1998, the Panthers defeated Allen 36-9 in a non-district game. The Eagles won 28-7 the following year, also in a non-district setting. The third meeting between the pair, and the lone post-season encounter, was in 2008. Entering the game as heavy underdogs, Permian lost 28-22 in the Class 5A Div I Regional Round of the state playoffs. But, the contest ended in controversy.
With just under three minutes to play and down by six, the Panthers faced a 4th-and-3 near midfield. With Mojo marching, quarterback Trevor Adams completed a short pass to Ryan Rumbaugh at the Allen 45-yard line. Forward progress was improperly spotted for the line of gain and the ball turned over on downs. From there, the Eagles ran out the clock to end the game. Four other questionable calls, two that resulted in points, were made that day. This Friday will be the fourth meeting and the first since that afternoon in Texas Stadium.
TEAM COMPARISONS:
Permian has tried to offer a balanced attack all season. Early in the year, the offense favored the ground game. As the season has progressed, the passing game has emerged as a powerful asset to utilize. Defensively, the Mojo D will need to continue to assert itself and probably more so than this past week.
Allen boasts it is in possession of at least a dozen D1 prospects in their starting line-up. The Eagles operate out of a quick tempo, no huddle attack and have a stable passing game. They’ll likely lean on the pass more than the ground game. That’s not to say Allen will not run the ball. They have had success chewing up yards, especially the past two weeks of the playoffs. While having a stout defense, there are areas that can be exploited outside the hash marks. The Eagles like to pounce early to deflate and take opponents out of the game.
– POINTS: Permian is maintaining a 36-point average per game, while Allen averages 49 points a game. The Mojo defense has allowed 22 points a game, while the Eagle defense has held opponents to nine points a game. Four games were shutout wins.
– YARDAGE: The Panthers have been producing 437 yards a game in total offense, that breaks down to 265 yards passing and 172 rushing yards. The Eagles maintain an average of 462 yards of total offense per game (278 passing and 184 rushing).
OFFENSIVE ASSETS:
Allen is a senior laden team with repeat varsity experience. Quarterback Jeremiah Daoud (6-3, 200) is a Florida Atlantic commit that has thrown for 2,322 yards this year. He has completed 163 out of 231 passes (70%), and that includes 24 touchdowns and three interceptions. Daoud also has rushed for 278 yards from 32 carries for an additional five TD’s. He’s a lanky left-handed passer that sits in the pocket and waits for an open receiver. It’s not uncommon for him to roll left. He also likes to throw swing passes to the left.
Jakob Garcia has completed 149 of his 230 passes (65%) for 2,170 yards with 15 touchdowns and three interceptions. He also has 65 carries for 232 rushing yards. Kayden Vickers has completed 42 of his 55 passes (76%) for 915 yards with nine TD’s and only one interception.
The Eagles are not short of targets for Daoud to consider. The primary receivers are: Caleb Smith (5-10, 170), sophomore Josyah Johnson (5-9, 170), and Carter Harris (6-4, 190). Smith is an Arizona commit that has some wheels and a regular downfield option, so he doesn’t need to be left uncovered. He has 65 catches for 800 yards with seven TD’s. Johnson has fair speed with 628 yards from 49 receptions and eight TD’s. Harris is a North Dakota commit and has recorded 900 yards from 28 catches with nine TD’s. He likes that early push off on his receptions.
Aaron Navarrete has 59 receptions for 1,058 and nine touchdowns, while Cason Nabarrette has 906 receiving yards from 44 catches with eight TD’s. Cayden Hernandez has 40 receptions for 606 yards and four TD’s.
Allen has a ground game, but bear in mind it’s not the bulk of their offense. Junior running back Lyndon Spriggs (5-7, 165) is an agile runner with fair speed. He’s patient and does a decent job of following his blocks. Spriggs has 700 yards rushing from 112 carries with 12 touchdowns. He also has 17 catches for 145 yards. Jaden Hambric (5-10, 190) is the change of pace back and has logged 93 carries for 429 yards and 10 TD’s.
Gavin Black has stomped his way to 1,469 rushing yards from 220 carries, including scoring 18 touchdowns.
The Eagles have plenty of beef on the offensive line – Colorado State commit Jacob McRae (6-5, 280), Marist commit Ethan Villarreal (6-2, 265), Texas Tech commit junior Jayin Talib (6-2, 260), junior James Masters (6-3, 265), and Henry Hastings. Jaden Davis (6-3, 220) is only a freshman tight end and fills in on some of the underneath routes with 13 catches for 101 yards.
The Panthers have their own “beef” that have been protecting Jakob Garcia and Kayden Vickers in the pocket and plowing pathways for Black. They are: Josh Henderson, Micah Moran, Alexx Dominguez, Max Sotelo, and Jesse Reyes. D1? Nah, they just take names on the line… as a team.
DEFENSIVE ASSETS:
The Allen defensive front has four down linemen that like to do a lot of twists on the line. The Permian offensive line will need to stay disciplined and know this movement will be common. The Eagles’ line consists of: Devin Palmer (6-2, 280), UTEP commit Josh Shaw (6-3, 220), Caleb Johnson (6-0, 260), and Tim Drake (6-2, 225). Beckham Parker (5-9, 220) is sometimes used as a bandit on the line and for stunts up the middle. Shaw has several pressures from the edge and has good speed for his size.
The Eagles have two athletic linebackers in Japrel Wafer (6-0, 215) and Major Miller (6-0, 210). Wafer is a UTEP commit with decent speed to the ball. As with the receiving corp, Allen has more than a handful of defensive backs. Lebron Bauer (5-11, 170) leads the flock with four interceptions and two blocked punts. Sophomore Dominic Butler (6-0, 180) has good speed and operates on the weak side. Oregon State commit Kai Wheaton (5-11, 170) frequently lines up on the strong side. It’s not uncommon for the Eagles to attempt to block punts and kicks.
SPECIAL TEAMS:
Take your pick, the Eagles have three kickers – one for kickoffs, one for extra points and field goals, and one for punting. Preston Hurless is their left footed place kicker that’s 4-for-6 in field goals, with a range of 35 to 37 yards. He’s been consistent on extra points. Ethan Nava handles punting duties with a range of about 40 yards. On the receiving end, Hambric takes care of the kick returns, while Smith can be dangerous on punt returns.
Permian junior Iker Munoz handles the Mojo punting and place kicking duties. Munoz has made 13 of his 17 field goals, including a 54-yarder. He’s 52 of 55 on extra point attempts.
GAME NOTES:
Now that Permian has exorcised the second round ‘Metroplex Hex’, it’s time to move forward and tap into some ol’ school. Statistically on paper, Allen has a clear advantage on both sides of the ball. That means Permian will have to be smarter, to think and play outside the box, while staying disciplined. *Discipline includes eliminating needless penalties.
What the doctor prescribes offensively is a good dose of smash-mouth Black Cat ground game and ball control. Permian has not one, but two outstanding quarterbacks in its arsenal. It’s time to use them… both… at the same time. It’s also time to bring the kitchen sink and be more creative. Remember the days of Tate Smith hooking up with Melvis Pride or Bront Bird? And when more depth was needed, dish out some Robert Murry or Shaquay Gant. Time to turn it up a notch.
Defensively, the Panthers will need to continually disrupt the pocket (and Daoud), particularly bringing pressure from our left side… his blind side. Wouldn’t hurt to sometimes post a bandit off tackle on the right side (where he like to throw that check down swing pass).
The Mojo D needs to be the ‘Mojo D’ for four quarters. Coffie Powell, Luis Zapiain, and Elijah Marquez need to bring the heat and dominate the line of scrimmage. Look for Caleb Jamison or Donovan Corralez to force a fumble in the game. Speaking of turnovers, I predict Cameron Mattingly, Izeyah McCoy, or Natanael Cardoza will get at least one interception. *The QB has only thrown three picks all season.
SPORTS MEDIA PICKS:
Dallas/Ft Worth sportswriters are forecasting the game will be a total lopsided affair for Allen. No surprise there. Matt Diggs (DFW Inside High School Sports) boasts the Eagles will win handily by a score of 52-7. Matt Stepp from Texas Football magazine is a little less malicious with his prediction of Allen winning 41-17. Local sports reporters Trey Francis and Dalton Arredondo (KMID 2) see Friday’s game being a closer contest.
I’ve spent the past three days compiling statistics and watching full game videos of Allen on NFHS, Victory+, and YouTube. My view goes beyond the hype and D1 offers as I see things a little different than the state’s sports guru crew. *Make sure you remember where you read this – Mojo Wins 34-31. My man Cory McIntyre from NewsWest 9 Sports is picking the Panthers as well, and he’s riding with Permian 35, Allen 32.
“Yall really believe that – that Permian can stay on the same field with all of those D1 players?” Anyone read 1 Samuel 17 lately? You got to Believe to Achieve. Hype may play well, but it doesn’t put points on the board or win ball games. It’s what you do on the field.. as a team, 100% for 48 minutes.
It’s not what YOU do. It’s what WE do. MOJO!
The game will be streamed live on Victory+
