Amarillo Tascosa took control from the start against the Permian football team and never let go to hand the Panthers their first loss of the 2021 season.
Permian lost, 40-21, to the Rebels Friday at Ratliff Stadium, marking the second straight year Tascosa defeated Permian in nondistrict play.
Permian head coach Jeff Ellison said his team found itself in tough spots early, something he puts on himself.
“We continually hurt ourselves and have not figured out how to correct those mistakes, I take this fully on myself,” Ellison said. “We’re still creating the same mistakes and not getting it done, and that’s gonna be on me.”
Tascosa had the upper hand early, as Keevin Ledoux blocked a punt to give the Rebels a short field to work with in the first quarter’s opening minutes.
Although Permian held Tascosa to a four and out, the Panthers still found themselves behind after Tayden Barnes recovered a fumble and took it in from 3 yards out to give the Rebels a 6-0 lead.
Tascosa quarterback BT Daniel proceeded to power the ball forward with some strong runs throughout the second quarter.
He kept his legs churning throughout the period and those runs included a 1-yard quarterback sneak to extend the Tascosa lead.
Joshua Splawn converted the two-point conversion to give the Rebels a 14-0 advantage in the second quarter.
Permian quarterback Rodney Hall left the Panthers with four completions for 48 yards at halftime.
Tascosa running back Major Everhart showed off his versatility by running for 23 yards and catching a 36-yard pass.
The Rebels had outgained Permian 135-83 in the first half and the Panthers were penalized seven times to lose 70 yards.
Tascosa looked the extend its lead with a 75-yard run from Everhart to start the second half, but a taunting penalty brought the play back to the Permian 40.
The Rebels needed one play to set up running back L’Travion Brown for a 35-yard rushing score to put Tascosa up 21-0 with 11:40 left in the third quarter.
Permian found itself in wild sequence to start cutting the deficit after Devon Pierce recovered a fumble in the end zone, making the score 21-7.
Daniel ended up completing his longest pass of the game up to that point, finding Barnes open down the left sideline where he weaved through tackles for a 58-yard touchdown to put Tascosa up 27-7.
The teams would then trade scores the rest of the way.
Ellison said he feels his team could learn a lot from its first loss.
“You got to learn from everything, too often you don’t learn a lot of things from a win because you’re excited about it,” he said. “You got to learn from this, you got to learn from every situation.”
Hall led all passers, completing 10 of 18 pass attempts for 146 yards and a score through the air.
Daniel led the Rebels with 128 yards passing and 66 yards on the ground to go with two scores.
Permian would find the end zone again before the third quarter ended, but the visitors quickly scored another rushing touchdown in the fourth to go up 33-14.
The Panthers got on the board again when quarterback Rodney Hall found receiver Jaquan Richardson in the back left corner of the end zone from 15 yards out, but the Rebels went on a methodical drive and capped it off with a 2-yard run to seal the 40-21 victory.
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Amarillo Tascosa 40, Permian 21
Amarillo Tascosa….. 6…. 8 13 13 — 40
Permian……………….. 0…. 0 14 7 — 21
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
Amarillo Tascosa: Tayden Barnes 3 fumble return (run failed) 5:14. Key play: Barnes picked up a fumble three yards away from the end zone and capitalized on it.
Second Quarter
Amarillo Tascosa: BT Daniel 1 run (Major Everhart run) 4:36. Drive: 7 plays 68 yards, 3:02. Key play: BT Daniel completed a 36-yard pass to Major Everhart to move down field.
Third Quarter
Amarillo Tascosa: L’Travion Brown 35 run (Michael Ayalew kick) 11:40. Drive: 2 plays 75 yards, 0:19. Key play: A 40-yard run from Major Everhart set up Tascosa with a short field.
Permian: Devon Pierce 1 run (Tate Terry kick) 7:12. Drive: 9 plays 82 yards, 4:24. Key play: Rodney Hall connected with Jaquan Richardson for a 39-yard pass to set up at the Tascosa 20 yard line.
Amarillo Tascosa: Tayden Barnes 58 pass from BT Daniel (kick failed) 7:11. Drive: 2 plays 75 yards, 0:39. Key play: A 17-yard run from L’Travion Brown moved the Tascosa offense up before Daniel connected with Barnes.
Permian: Zach Wheeler 1 run (Tate Terry) 1:57. Drive: 11 plays 75 yards, 4:36. Key play: Rodney Hall connected with his receivers to keep the drive alive and move the ball down field.
Fourth Quarter
Amarillo Tascosa: Joshua Splawn (run failed) 11:14. Drive: 8 plays 60 yards, 2:46. Key play: BT Daniel found Major Everhart for a 34-yard pass connection before running the ball up for 16 yards in the third quarter.
Permian: Jaquan Richardson 15 pass from Rodney Hall (Tate Terry kick) 7:43. Drive: 9 plays 62 yards, 3:23. Key play: Hall converted a fourth down attempt to keep the drive alive with a 13-yard run.
Amarillo Tascosa: Treshun Wilson 2 run (Michael Ayalew kick) 2:37. Drive: 10 plays 36 yards, 5:04. Key play: Tascosa ran the ball methodically to take time off the clock and score the game sealing touchdown.
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TEAM STATISTICS
Amarillo Tascosa Permian
First Downs…………………… 18……………….. 17
Total Yards…………………. 412……………… 246
Rushes-Yards………… 43-284…………. 36-100
Passing……………………… 128……………… 146
Comp-Att-Int……………….. 3-5…………… 10-18
Fumbles-Lost………………. 0-0………………. 1-1
Punts-Avg………………….. 2-29………….. 5-24.8
Penalties-Yards…………. 5-39…………….. 7-70
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Amarillo Tascosa: Major Everhart 6-76, L’Travion Brown 6-74, BT Daniel 12-66, Joshua Splawn 6-20, Tayden Barnes 2-16, Treshun Wilson 6-14, Jayden Whiteside 3-12, Brandt Berryman 2-6.
Permian: Tristan Johnson 7-35, Rodney Hall 19-24, Zach Wheeler 5-21, Brian Mahaffey 2-16, Juzstyce Lara 2-3, Devon Pierce 1-1.
Passing
Amarillo Tascosa: BT Daniel 3-5—128.
Permian: Rodney Hall 10-18—146.
Receiving
Amarillo Tascosa: Major Everhart 2-70, Tayden Barnes 1-58.
Permian: Jaquan Richardson 5-117, Deonte Bass 2-14, Tristan Johnson 1-7, Devon Pierce 1-7, Brian Mahaffey 1-1.
