Live Updates: Permian vs. Lubbock Monterey

FINAL -- PERMIAN 41, LUBBOCK MONTEREY 21

4TH QUARTER

-- 2:04 -- Facing a 4th-and-inches, Tommey Morris bulls his way over for his third touchdowon of the game to answer the score by Lubbock Monterey. Permian kept the ball on the ground for eight straight plays to drive 49 yards and score.

-- 5:32 -- Lubbock Monterey tries an onside kick, but the Plainsmen touch it before it gets to the 50, so Permian takes over at the Plainsmen 49.

-- 5:33 -- On 3rd-and-1 from the 3, Teague bulls his way through the right side of the line for a Lubbock Monterey touchdown to keep the deficit at two scores.

-- 7:11 -- Facing a 4th-and-inches at the Permian 16, Gerard Clay bangs through the middle for a Monterey first down at the Permian 12.

-- 10:00 -- Permian holds Monterey on third down, but a personal foul gives the Plainsmen a first down on the Permian 35.

3RD QUARTER

-- End of quarter -- Teague carries for 2 yards to midfield after a pair of first-down runs by Teague and Thomas Walker, respectively.

-- 57.6 -- DeAnthony Fay breaks two tackles, drags a Plainsmen defender to the goal line and reaches out for a touchdown to extend Permian's lead on the next play.

-- 1:16 -- Facing a 4th-and-2 at the Lubbock Monterey 27, Pipes hits Talon Smith on a 14-yard slant for the first down at the Plainsmen 13.

-- 2:15 -- Bad blood continues between Permian and Lubbock Monterey. Following a 6-yard carry by Fay, Plainsmen defensive lineman Brandon Martinez gets ejected.

-- 2:49 -- Three straight runs after Neboh returns the kick to the 17 put Permian in first-and-10 on its own 45.

-- 4:06 -- After Pyron's personal foul puts Monterey on the Permian 15, Holleman catches an 8-yard bubble screen, and then Thomas Walker piles over for a 7-yard touchdown run.

-- 4:42 -- Following a scuffle after a 6-yard carry by Teague, Permian safety Colby Pyron gets ejected from the game.

-- 5:35 -- Teague breaks free over the left side for a 33-yard gain to the Permian 48.

-- 6:34 -- Permian ate up clock with an 11-play, 67-yard drive that Pipes caps by tossing an 8-yard touchdown pass to Talon Smith in the left corner of the end zone.

-- 11:15 -- After a holding penalty forces Permian into a 1st-and-20, Pipes picks up 10 yards on first down, then completes an 11-yard pass to Tommey Morris for the first down to keep the drive moving.

HALFTIME -- PERMIAN 21, LUBBOCK MONTEREY 7

2ND QUARTER

-- 14.8 -- Trying to toss the ball over 6-foot corner Thomas Munoz, Teague tosses up the ball, and Munoz picks it off in the end zone to end the Plainsmen drive.

-- 36.8 -- Starting their drive at their own 35, the Plainsmen get a 30-yard option run from quarterback Sam Teague, but on the second play of the drive Tra Fay breaks through to sack Teague for a 3-yard loss.

-- 1:06 -- Permian's drive doesn't take long. On first-and-10, Neboh sprints up the seam, gets wide open and catches the ball all alone, then runs away for a 63-yard touchdown pass. Martin nails the extra point.

-- 1:11 -- From the Permian 43, Armendarez shanks a punt, and the Panthers take over at their own 37.

-- 3:01 -- Some success through the air has softened Permian's run defense. Two long runs by Arrius Holleman and Thomas Walker give Monterey a first-and-10 at the Permian 42.

-- 5:02 -- Facing a 3rd-and-18 -- Permian got hit with a false start and an illegal substitution -- Pipes looks deep for Gordon Palmer, but Palmer can't hang on falling in the end zone, and Taylor Martin misses a 41-yard field goal wide left.

-- 5:30 -- Facing a 3rd-and-10, Pipes hits Gordon Palmer for an 18-yard slant and the first down, but a sideline warning penalty against the Panthers loses 5 yards. For Permian, first-and-10 on the Monterey 16.

-- 8:26 -- After an incomplete pass ends the Monterey drive, the Plainsmen elect to try a 46-yard field goal with Philip Armendarez, but a low kick ends up wide left.

-- 9:50 -- Lubbock Monterey continues to hit through the air to Holleman. On the second play of the drive, Teague goes deep to Holleman, who hauls it in with Richard Murry draped all over him for a 45-yard gain.

-- 11:07 -- Tommey Morris finishes off the drive by taking a handoff from Pipes and bursting through the left side of the line, behind a block by Austin O'Connell, for a 3-yard touchdown. Pipes hits Talon Smith for the two-point conversion to put Permian back ahead.

1ST QUARTER
-- End of quarter -- After an 8-yard pickup by Pipes on an option, Permian faces 2nd-and-2 at the Monterey 4 heading into the second quarter.

-- 1:28 -- A 14-yard carry by DeAnthony Fay ends with a facemask, and Permian moves up to the Lubbock Monterey 39.

-- 2:19 -- After Matt Bills sacks Steven Pipes on second down, a deep play down the left sideline falls incomplete, but Lubbock Monterey absolutely obliterates Colby Pyron after he gets the punt away, earning 15-yards and more drive time for Permian.

-- 3:48 -- Looks like Lubbock Monterey brought a few trick plays. Starting quarterback Sam Teague throws backwards to receiver Tyler Pearson -- a former quarterback -- who finds Arrius Holleman all alone down the field for a 36-yard touchdown to give the Plainsmen the lead.

-- 5:34 -- AFter Pipes completes another pass to Neboh for a first down at the Monterey 2, Tommey Morris slams over from the 1 on second down to put Permian ahead 6-0, but Taylor Martin misses the extra point.

-- 7:39 -- After a bomb on the first play is caught by Talon Smith a step out of bounds, Permian faces a 3rd-and-7, but Permian quarterback Steven Pipes finds Felix Neboh for 13, then finds Tommey Morris two plays later for 22 to the Monterey 29.

-- 9:42 -- Lambert Riley and Denzell Rodgers stuff Plainsmen halfback Ashton Cerka on 3rd-and-2, and the Plainsmen are forced to punt. Permian takes over on its own 30.

-- 11:54 -- A calamity of errors for both teams on the kickoff. Permian kicker Taylor Martin slipped as he kicked it, resulting in a squib kick, but Lubbock Monterey returner Justin Crimmins bobbles it, nearly fumbling before falling on it at the 22.

COIN TOSS

Lubbock Monterey wins the toss and elects to receive.

PREGAME

Seems like it's been too long.

But OA photographer Kevin Buehler and your friendly neighborhood Permian beat writer are finally back in the press box at Ratliff Stadium for Permian's home opener against Lubbock Monterey.

The Panthers (1-1, 1-0 District 2-5A) are coming off of a 28-6 victory over San Angelo Central last week. Lubbock Monterey (1-1, 0-1) took a 28-14 loss at the hands of Rebels quarterback Dalton Brooks and the rest of Amarillo Tascosa's roster.

Three Quick Slants...

1. No idea whether or not the rain is going to hold off, but the radar right now looks clear. So far the Panthers haven't had a game under the lights of Friday night, although Permian did warm up under the lights at San Angelo Stadium last week before the game had to be postponed until Saturday due to lightning. Rain was pouring on Odessa at around 4 p.m., but the rain has passed now, and although it's a little muggy out here at Ratliff, the clouds don't look all that threatening.

2. Unlike the roster upheaval of last week, which included four new starters in the defensive front seven, Permian's starting lineup should be relatively stable this week. Like both previous weeks, though, inside linebacker Lambert Riley will stay on the field the entire time, but expect the rest of the front seven to continue rotating.

3. Injury report is the same as previous weeks. Keenan Mosby, the tight end, is out for today's game as he recovers from a broken collarbone, Zac Dennis has a bulging disc in his back he has to fight through, and tackle Julio Rangel is recovering from a spinal injury suffered last Monday.

Kevin and Joel's Meal of the Week: Mi Piaci

For the first time this season, OA photographer Kevin Buehler and I get to sample some Odessa fare. Like we'll be doing the rest of this year, Kevin and I are putting our Meal of the Week locations up to fan vote, and this week the fans casting ballots on the OA website chose Mi Piaci, located near the corner of Grandview and University.

You voted. We ate.

For a first-time Odessa pick, the fans did a pretty solid job. Mi Piaci wasn't a place that I'd eaten before, leaving both Kevin and I trying out a basically new restaurant for both of us. Almost felt like a road trip.

Kicking things off with the bread, Mi Piaci does a solid job slathering the outside of the bread in butter, garlic and other spices. But unfortunately, we were looking for a little bit more. Not that the bread was bad, but once you got past the first bite, the inside of the bread was a little bland. At an Italian restaurant, I almost expect the flavor to permeate throughout the entire bread. Slightly disappointing, but Kevin still had two pieces.

But the side salad made up for the slight problem with the bread. Normally, it's a little hard to get a tomato-based vinaigrette at a restaurant -- I have never had a salad dressing like it at an Italian restaurant -- but Mi Piaci came through. Taking it from Kevin, a self-proclaimed Italian cuisine aficionado, the sauce wasn't too thick, and it reminded him of Niki's, an Italian restaurant in North Richland Hills. For my part, I was definitely impressed. Didn't even really pay attention to the contents of the salad, the dressing was so good.

And then, on to the main course. For my part, I made a choice that made it awfully hard for Mi Piaci to fully knock me off my feet. My mother, who lives in Wisconsin, makes an incredible chicken cacciatore, and I couldn't help but order it. For their part, Mi Piaci mostly came through. The portion size was incredible, and there was plenty of pasta. It wasn't al dente, which meant that the pasta was soft, solid, rather than hard. On the other hand, the chicken came close, but it didn't quite make it up to the A+ level that my mom makes. I know, that's impossible. But biting into chicken cacciatore should release an explosion of sauce into your mouth, and the middle of the chicken was still a little bit dry. On the whole, though, the chicken cacciatore was definitely worth going back to Mi Piaci for some more.

Kevin ordered the chicken parmesan -- which had an equally prodigious portion size -- and was definitely impressed with the fact that there were little pieces of garlic in the sauce for his pasta. The chicken was thick and hearty, although he couldn't quite bring himself to whole-heartedly endorse the breading covering the chicken. Like my meal, Mi Piaci definitely came close -- and was worth the meal -- but didn't quite hit exemplary status.

Those portions were huge, though.

And by the time I got done eating, I wasn't sure I had room for dessert.

Kevin's Dessert of the Week

At an Italian restaurant, darkly lit, with Dean Martin playing over the speakers, ordering dessert was pretty easy. Called to mind a scene from the Godfather.

"Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."

Both OA photographer and dessert aficionado Kevin Buehler and I ordered the cannoli, which came out engulfed in cream, so much so that there was cream on the top, on the bottom, absolutely drenching the cannoli.

I was definitely pretty full. I made it through two bites, then sliced through the cannoli and handed the rest to Kevin, who loved the cannoli.

And it's not easy to impress Kevin with Italian cuisine.

Final Analysis

Mi Piaci was a pretty solid Italian restaurant, and it's cuisine offers some classic Italian fare -- like the chicken cacciatore -- that can be pretty hard to find.

But it didn't come quite up to the bar set by Mi Tierra and Zentner's Daughter in previous weeks.

Kevin and I don't know where we're eating next week in Amarillo.

That's up to you guys.