Football: Panthers respond after taking shots

The Permian Panther defense took a couple of shots from Abilene High at the start of Friday’s game and then turned the tables on the Eagles.

Abilene High opened the game with touchdowns on its first two possessions. The Eagles gained 124 total yards, recorded eight first downs and converted on four of five third downs.

On Abilene High’s last eight possessions, Permian gave up 124 total yards — 80 on one drive — and nine first downs. The Panthers also stopped the Eagles on five of seven third-down attempts.

Abilene High quarterback Spens Lackey was 8-of-9 for 75 yards and a TD on the first two series, but he was just 6-of-17 for 91 yards the rest of the way.

“I think there were two main factors point early in the game,” Permian coach Darren Allman said. “No. 1, they were making some great plays. They had a receiver make one of the best catches we’ve ever seen. Our coverage was good. He just made an unbelievable catch. That kept a drive going.

“I think the fact that we were giving it back to them and giving them more opportunities, those two factors had something to do with it. I think our kids felt a sense of urgency at that point.”

The turnaround started when Permian drove 80 yards for its first score. The Panthers pulled even on the next series after Eugene Neboh returned an interception to the Abilene High 3-yard line.

“We just got our confidence up and started executing a lot better,” Neboh said. “We started focusing more.”

Allman called the pick the turning point in the game.

“We didn’t give up momentum the rest of the game after that,” he said. “It got our offense going a little bit — we scored on the next play — and our offense and defense have fed off each other. As soon as our offense gets rolling, our defense does, too, and vice versa.”

>> TOO MANY WEAPONS: Abilene High did a good job of containing Permian quarterback Taylor Byrd on the ground, limiting the senior to 17 yards on 15 carries.

That just opened things up for other facets of Permian’s attack. Byrd passed for 216 yards and a touchdown, while Jamison Berryhill rushed for 99 yards and a score.

“They were doing a lot of blitzing and hugging their linebackers up into gaps and running them through,” Allman said. “Any time you do that, you’re taking a chance. You’re giving something up in pass coverage to do that, and you’re also taking a chance on a running play. If we can break through the line of scrimmage, it turns into a big play. That’s what was happening with Jamison.”

Offensive lineman Ira Wallace said it was just a matter of Permian players keeping their composure after falling behind for the first time all season.

“We had to keep our heads up because we know what our offense is capable of,” Wallace said. “We’ve scored almost 40 points a game, and down 14-0 wasn’t too much for our high-powered offense.”

>> NON-CONTACT MONDAY: Permian began preparations for this week’s game against crosstown rival Odessa High by practicing in shorts and helmets, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t plenty of work getting done, Allman said.

“We’ve done this the last couple of years,” he said. “We’re at a point now where we can use Monday to do a lot of teaching. We still run around and practice. We try to do everything we’d do in a normal practice, but do more teaching and less contact stuff.

“The fundamentals are still important and a lot of them we can work without pads on. We don’t have to come out on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and tackle and do all that. At this time of year, we feel like we’re beyond that a little bit.”

Allman said the move also allows the players more time to recover at what he hopes is just the midway point of the season.

“We’ve tried all along to plan for a long season, and that’s really what our intent is,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of things to teach, and we can spend more time doing that. But if we’re going to expect to play 16 games, then we have to plan on playing 16 games and be smart about what to do.”

>> DEFENSIVE LEADERS: Defensive end Ross Forrest and safety Andrew Amoyaw each recorded seven solo tackles to lead Permian against Abilene High.

Forrest had three sacks and three tackles for loss, while Neboh finished with six tackles. Defensive backs Anthony McDowell and Jerry Dugan and linebacker Alex Lujan all had five tackles.

Dugan and Lujan each had one tackle for loss, and Lujan also had a sack.

>> UPON FURTHER REVIEW: It turns out that Permian did not have its season-low offensive output against Abilene High, but just barely.

A review of the game statistics showed that Permian finished with 325 total yards, just ahead of the 324 yards in the District 3-5A opener against Midland Lee.

Permian did finish with a season-low 109 rushing yards against Abilene High.

PERMIAN PLAYER OF THE WEEK

ROSS FORREST

>> Height: 6-foot-3.

>> Weight: 203 pounds.

>> Class: Senior.

>> Position: Defensive end.

>> Highlights: Forrest made a team-high eight tackles in Permian’s victory over Abilene High. He had three sacks, three tackles for loss and knocked down a pass.

THE BASICS

ODESSA HIGH AT PERMIAN

>> When: 7:30 p.m. Friday.

>> Where: Ratliff Stadium, N. Grandview Ave. and Yukon Road.

>> Records: Odessa High 3-5, 1-2; Permian 8-0, 3-0.

>> Last year: Permian 46, Odessa High 14.

>> Radio: KMCM-FM (96.9); KHKX-FM (99.1)