This won’t be the first time this season that Permian and El Paso Pebble Hills have lined up against each other.
This meeting, however, is much more important.
The Panthers and Spartans each drove halfway for a preseason scrimmage in Van Horn on Aug. 19.
Permian did a nice job on the final Friday before the regular season, scoring nine times as the offensive line began to gel and quarterback Rodney Hall quickly got himself back up to game speed.
That was then … this is now.
When the Panthers get off the bus at the Socorro ISD Student Activities Center, it will be a much more polished Pebble Hills’ squad that they’ll see on the home sideline.
A well-rested one, too.
Led by quarterback Gale Ochoa, the Spartans last played on Oct. 27 when they defeated El Paso Eastlake, 38-14, to win the District 1-6A title and clinch the home playoff game.
It was their fourth straight victory and they are just three points from running the district slate, losing to El Paso Americas, 23-21, on Sept. 30.
Ocoha is 89-of-145 passing for 1,440 yards and 15 touchdowns this season and has rushed 96 times for 45 yards and seven scores.
“They are a bit more of a spread team,” Permian defensive coordinator Vance Washington said. “They have a lot of good football players.”
There are plenty of similarities between the teams.
Hall is 93-of-160 passing for 1,167 yards and 11 touchdowns, with 583 yards rushing on 77 carries and five scores.
Pebble Hills is averaging 214 yards rushing per game, with 28 touchdowns via the run.
The Panthers have been grounded recently as the offensive line dominated during District 2-6A play, the team averaging nearly 250 yards rushing per game, with running back Juzstyce Lara the workhorse during that stretch.
Permian has scored 31 rushing touchdowns.
The Spartans have outscored opponents 390-163 and have allowed more than 22 points just once this season, a 38-35 victory against El Paso Montwood on Oct. 14.
Permian is nearly as stingy, allowing 217 points, with that total inflated during a three-week stretch against Midland Legacy (33 points), Wolfforth Frenship (41) and San Angelo Central (31).
The Panthers allowed just 112 points in their other seven games, good for 16.0 per contest.
Just a little bit better, on average.
He who blinks first, loses.
>> WON’T NEED A PROGRAM: During the regular season, the players patrol the field in a bit of anonymity, with numbers and not names on their backs.
That changes this week as the Panthers will be easily identified by the name bar across the top of their jerseys.
It’s a tradition that started decades ago that continues to today, a bit of incentive for the players during the grind of games from August through the first Friday in November.
>> ALL TIME: Heading into the matchup with the Spartans, the Panthers have had some success against teams from El Paso.
In the previous 76 meetings, Permian is 70-5-1 against schools from the Sun City.
The Panthers have faced El Paso Coronado the most (26 times) and are 25-0-1 against the Thunderbirds.
>> Follow Lee Scheide on Twitter at @OALeeScheide
PERMIAN AT EL PASO PEBBLE HILLS
>> What: Class 6A Division I Bi-District Playoffs
>> When: 5 p.m. Friday
>> Where: Socorro ISD Student Activities Complex, El Paso
>> Last Season: Permian 26, El Paso Pebble Hills 15
>> Records: Permian 9-1; El Paso Pebble Hills 9-1
>> Radio: KMCM (FM-96.9)
>> Live Updates: Follow on Twitter at @OALeeScheide.
PERMIAN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
RODNEY HALL
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 170
Class: Senior
Position: QB
Last Week: Hall was 10-of-14 passing for 93 yards and rushed nines times for 132 yards and a touchdown in a 31-15 victory against Midland High.
This season: Has completed 93 of 16 passes for 1,167 yards and 11 touchdowns, while rushing 77 times for 583 yards and five scores.
