In a meeting of lone unbeaten teams in District 2-6A, Odessa Permian and the Mojo Road Show will travel back to Astound Broadband Stadium to defend its record against the Midland High Bulldogs on October 23.
The Panthers (8-0, 2-0) are coming off a 56-0 shutout dismantling of Odessa High, while the Bulldogs (4-3, 1-0) will enter the contest after enjoying a bye week. Midland High beat the Bronchos (47-13) two weeks ago in its only district game of 2026.
With the extra week to prepare for Friday’s clash, the Bulldogs will try to do what no other team on Permian’s schedule could do… take the “W” away from Mojo. A Black Cat victory would guarantee Permian at least a share of the District 2-6A title.
ABOUT THE RIVALRY:
– Historic Edge:
Both programs bring historic West Texas legacies, but Permian has held the definitive upper hand in this series. The Panthers have out-paced the Bulldogs with an all-time record of 54 wins and 13 losses.
– Last Year’s Finale:
While both teams will bring physical intensity, last year’s district finale saw Mojo completely suffocate Midland High at Ratliff Stadium in a convincing 33-14 decision to secure the 2-6A title and post-season trek.
TEAM COMPARISONS:
Permian continues to operate out of a balanced, explosive offensive machine evenly utilizing pass and run equally. Midland High has evolved from being so dependent on the triple option. They are morphing into a precision-driven spread attack that forces defensive secondaries to defend the entire length of the field.
– POINTS: Permian is maintaining a lethal 41.6-point offensive average, while giving up a stingy 16.9 points per game. The Midland offense counters with a 29.9-point average, as the defense holds opponents to 18.4 points a game.
| POINTS BY QUARTER | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| Permian | 10.3 | 14.0 | 8.0 | 9.3 | 41.6 |
| Midland | 8.7 | 10.6 | 4.8 | 5.8 | 29.9 |
– YARDAGE: The Black Cats produce 434 yards of total offense per game, balanced perfectly between 238 yards passing and 196 rushing yards. The Bulldogs have rolled up 331 total yards a game, mixing 190 yards passing with a 141 yards rushing per effort.
OFFENSIVE ASSETS:
The Midland offense operates with a high-tempo, multi-dimensional balanced attack. Dual-threat junior quarterback Holt Howard (5-9, 160) facilitates the system with absolute composure. He is 97-of-161 for 1,328 yards with 12 touchdowns and three interceptions. Howard also leads the Bulldogs in rushing with 450 yards (64.3 yard average) including five scores.
Holt is accompanied in backfield by Evan Taylor. He has recorded 432 rushing yards (61.7 yards a game). Taylor stands as the team’s primary red-zone weapon with a squad-leading eight rushing touchdowns. He’s backed up by David Garcia in the depth rotation. He averages 6.9 yards a carry and has two TDs.
When Holt goes to the air, he looks for dynamic wideout Walker Campbell (6-1, 175). He averages a fierce 76.4 receiving yards per game from 40 receptions. Campbell has 535 receiving yards and has scored three touchdowns. Devin Rodriquez (5-11, 185) serves as an explosive vertical counter, logging 63.7 yards per game with three receiving touchdowns of his own. Other pass-catchers for the Bulldogs include Frank McGehee and Elijah Ramos.
DEFENSIVE ASSETS:
Midland utilizes an aggressive, high-pressure defensive front alignment. Senior defensive lineman Luke Anderson (5-10, 200), linebacker Marshal Woodside (5-10, 190), and linebacker Josiah Chavez (5-9, 190) have all logged heavy individual sacks to disrupt opposing pocket protection schemes.
Anderson has 2.0 sacks, two hurries, and a fumble recovery. Woodside is an absolute monster in the middle and leads the entire unit with 9.7 tackles a game (4.0 TFL) including a forced fumble. Chavez follows with 6.7 tackles a game (2.0 TFL). Ty Roby (5-11, 170) has logged 5.7 tackles a game (5.0 TFL).
The secondary is under the surveillance of MJ Washington (6-1, 180), who has three interceptions, and Cade Rylander (5-10, 170) with two interceptions and a hurry, stand ready to jump intermediate and longer routes. Carson Ham (6-0, 165) has 33 tackles (5.5 tackles a game) and Luke Cauthen (5-11, 160) has registered 24 tackles (4.0 tackles a game). He also has a pick on his resume.
GAME NOTES:
Historically, Midland High wants to hide the ball and run the clock. Giving a different wrinkle, Howard and his wideouts are averaging over 130 combined yards a game. Look for Head Coach Thad Fortune to use a lot of play-action passing routes down the sidelines with several slant patterns.
The Bulldog cornerbacks have accounted for five interceptions. Kayden Vickers will need to stay disciplined on his intermediate RPO looks to keep the ball out of the hands of these two ballhawks.
Midland is 1-2 at home with losses to Pebble Hills (41-38) and Amarillo High (17-14) on Homecoming night. Those losses came in the midst of a 3-game skid to begin the season. Since then the Bulldogs have won their last four. Mojo is on an unblemished 8-game win streak. Kickoff is set for this Friday at 7:00 p.m.
Authors: T Alan, Gem
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