PERMIAN FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: Crosstown rivalry renews respect

Source: Odessa American, TexasSept.mini storage 18--Was there any love lost at Ratliff Stadium on Friday night? Probably not.But for the football players at Permian and Odessa High, which locked horns for the 55th time last week, there might have been some respect gained on both sides.After the Bronchos' 31-28 victory, courtesy of a Bryan Altamirano field goal with 10.8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, seniors from both sides gave props to the other."They always come out fighting. We can't ever expect nothing less than a hard fight from OHS," said Permian receiver Matt Molinar, who finished with four catches for 115 yards and a touchdown. "Much respect from me to OHS."Odessa High's C.J. Eddison, who rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns, shared much the same sentiment after a game in which there were three ties and five lead changes. Neither team led by more than eight points at any point in the game, and Permian came within 10 yards of scoring a game-winning touchdown on a last-second pass from Trey Potter to Molinar."They have nothing to put their heads down about," Eddison said of the Panthers. "Those guys work, they fight, they want it just as bad as any of us. Those guys are ballplayers. They worked their tails off for this, and hopefully they have a good future ahead of them."--NO PITY FROM ABILENE: The Panthers' loss to the Bronchos dropped them to 0-3 for the first time since 1959, their inaugural season. No Permian team has started 0-4, but that's a real possibility for this season's squad under first-year head coach Blake Feldt.This week the Panthers host Abilene High, which has won at least a share of the district title each of the last three years. And although the Eagles graduated some talented offensive players last spring and started this season with a pair of 30-point losses to Lewisville Hebron and Duncanville, they proved last week that they're still no slouch.Abilene High opened District 2-5A play with a 54-14 drubbing of Amarillo Tascosa. New quarterback Derek Scott threw five touchdown passes against the Rebels, and a defense led by University of Texas pledge Jake McMillon forced three turnovers."They aren't as good as they've been, but so what," Feldt said. "They're good. They've got good players, and they play hard."--QUARTERBACK UPDATE: Heath Wood started Permian's first two games at quarterback before suffering a right shoulder injury against Wolfforth Frenship, which resulted in sophomore Trey Potter making his first career start against Odessa High last week.Feldt said Wood, who was available for the game against the Bronchos, has continued to progress and could be ready to return for this week's game. But the Panthers could stick with Potter, who alternated snaps with Wood during Monday's practice."It just depends on how the week goes," Feldt said. "I'm not sure."--PASSING FANCY: Regardless of who's throwing the ball Friday night, the Panthers hope their passing game continues to progress. It's still trying to catch up to a rushing attack that's accounted for 653 yards and five touchdowns through three games.Wood was 6-of-20 for 102 yards in a season-opening loss against El Paso Montwood, throwing one touchdown pass and two interceptions, and he and Potter were a combined 3-of-10 for 108 yards and a TD against Frenship. Potter was 0-of-6 in the first half against Odessa High but 4-of-4 for 101 yards in the second half, and Mikorban Fields threw a 26-yard TD pass to Matt Molinar on a halfback pass late in the first half."I did feel like the momentum started to change in our passing game," said Permian receiver Jack Fawcett, a sophomore with two catches for 14 yards this year. "First half it was Trey's first-ever varsity start, so I think he just was maybe a bit nervous. But, man, second half when he came out and we started completing passes, I'm pretty sure the receivers and him all gained confideself storagece and were ready for the ball at all times."--ON GUARD: Jordan Medrano was Permian's returning starter at center, but he spent most of the first two games this season as a spectator. Medrano sprained his left knee during spring practice and took longer than hoped to recover, so the Panthers started the season with Jack Feldt -- the head coach's son -- making the snaps.Now Medrano is back in action -- he played sparingly against Frenship and started against Odessa High -- and he's playing a new position. He's now a right guard along with fellow senior Cody Martinez, and the two split time against the Bronchos."When we were busting out of the banner (before the game), I got the butterflies all over again," Medrano said of being back on the field. "I haven't had that since last year in my very first varsity game. That's how it felt again. It felt like that very first one."Medrano is essentially starting over in terms of his role on the team. He said he's trying to earn a permanent starting role again, because he and Martinez have had an ongoing competition in practice.Either way, Medrano has taken his position change well."For me it's a little bit more fun, because I don't have to worry about snapping the ball," he said. "I just get to hit people."--UNLUCKY BREAK: Permian can point to several key plays as being difference-makers in the loss against Odessa High. The Panthers missed a field goal early in the game, were 0-for-7 on third downs and gave up touchdowns on two fourth-down plays for the Bronchos.Especially critical was a roughing-the-passer penalty against Heath Adams on the opening possession of the third quarter. Quarterback Ryan Martinez had thrown an incomplete pass on third-and-10 from the Bronchos' 48-yard line, and Odessa High capitalized on the penalty -- and an unsportsmanlike conduct call on the following play -- to score a touchdown shortly thereafter.Adams said after the game that the back-to-back penalties were "real unlucky" -- Permian was flagged only once in the first half -- and that was especially true of the one called against him. Permian head coach Blake Feldt said the game film revealed that Martinez merely tripped over Adams after the quarterback was bumped by one of his own offensive lineman."He didn't touch him," Feldt said of Adams, a junior defensive lineman. "He runs by the quarterback and had gotten back behind him, and the tackle, the offensive tackle, hits the quarterback and the quarterback trips over Heath's legs. The tackle turned around and pointed at Heath, and the referee didn't see it."--HOLD IT RIGHT THERE: Sam Wilkins hasn't gotten to play much this season, so he tries to make the most of his opportunities. He did just that against Odessa High, and he also turned a blown play into an exciting one.Wilkins, the grandson of legendary Permian head coach John Wilkins, is a reserve cornerback and the Panthers' holder on placekicks. He mishandled the snap after Permian's second touchdown against Odessa High, which gave the Panthers the lead late in the first half, but made up for it with a heads-up recovery.Realizing there wasn't enough time to put the ball down cleanly for kicker Barron Becker, Wilkins hopped up, turned around and bolted for the end zone on what almost looked like a designed fake. He ran to his right, caught a couple blocks and dove for the pylon, securing a two-point conversion that gave Permian a 15-7 lead at the time."I saw the guy coming around the edge and I saw it was going to get blocked, so I just figured I needed to make something happen," Wilkins said. "I had a good time. It was a fun to make a play."Contact Adam Zuvanich on twitter @OAzuvanich, on Facebook at OA Adam Zuvanich or call 432-333-7649.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Odessa American (Odessa, Texas) Visit the Odessa American (Odessa, Texas) at .oaoa.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉