Senior running back Juzstyce Lara had himself a solid week, rushing for 165 yards and three scores to lead the Permian Panthers to a 41-20 win over the Cooper Cougars on Friday night at Abilene Shotwell Stadium.
Permian jumped out to a 20-7 lead in front of a home crowd. It started with a two-yard rushing touchdown by Lara to go up 6-0 with about eight minutes on the clock in the first. After the Cougars mishandled the kickoff return, the Panthers recovered at the 11-yard line of Cooper. Sophomore quarterback Jakob Garcia then completed an 11-yard pass with Carter Harris for a score, and after a Jacob Franco extra point it was a 13-0 lead for the Panthers. Cooper got on the board with about four minutes left on a Jose Jara touchdown catch making it a 13-6 game after driving down the first 69 yards. With a minute left, Lara responded with a 61 yard rushing touchdown, and the extra point made it 20-6.
Permian had a bad snap on a punt attempt early in the second quarter, which gave the Cougars the ball on the Panther four-yard-line. Cooper scored with 11 minutes left in the second quarter on a Christian Rico touchdown run of 10 yards, and Daniel Cavazos made the extra point to make it a one touchdown game. Cooper tried for a field goal at the five minute mark, but missed. With about two minutes left in the half, Riley Summerford showed off some dynamic defense with a pick six returned for a nine-yard score. Franco nailed the extra point. Just before the half ended, Permian recovered a fumble and took a knee, and it was a 27-13 game after two quarters.
At the beginning of the third quarter, Kevion Wilson recovered a Cooper fumble at the 23-yard line, putting the Panthers in position to strike again. Lara ran the ball in with 10 minutes left, and a Franco extra point made it 34-13 in favor of the Panthers.
With about seven minutes left in the third quarter, Zavian Alexander had a pick-six of his own for Cooper, where he went all the way for 61 yards. The extra point was good and Cooper was within two touchdowns. With two minutes left in the quarter, Preston Grizzell stepped up for the Panthers with a big sack at the Permian 13-yard line. This led to the Cooper squad turning the ball over on downs deep in Panther territory. Gavin Black quickly responded with a huge run that got the Panthers to the Cooper 20-yard-line with two minutes on the clock in the third quarter. However, Cooper recovered a Permian fumble, thwarting a big chance for Permian to pull away.
Permian took over at their own 43-yard line after a Cooper punt with eight minutes left in the game. On this drive, Garcia completed a huge 45-yard touchdown pass to Gage Murphy, and the extra point sealed the win at 41-20.
The running game was the key to the offense for Permian, with 31 carries and 238 yards as a team. Cooper went with the pass mostly, amassing 249 yards compared to 106 for Permian. The Panthers had a staunch run defense, allowing only 51 yards on 29 carries.
Lara had the hat trick for touchdowns and also ran 20 times for 159 yards on the day. Garcia was 8-for-11 for 106 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Noah Adams hauled in a pair of catches for 29 yards, and Harris and Murphy each caught touchdown passes from Garcia to round out the top offensive performances for Permian. Summerford was in top form on defense, with an interception and a fumble recovered.
Permian looks to make it two in a row, hosting Odessa in a game dubbed “The Rumble at Ratliff” on Oct. 6 with a 7 p.m. kickoff at Ratliff Stadium.
Remaining games for Permian:
Friday, Oct. 6, 7 p.m. vs. Odessa
Friday, Oct. 13, 7 p.m. at Midland Legacy
Friday, Oct. 20, 7 p.m. vs. Frenship
Friday, Oct. 27, 7 p.m. vs. San Angelo Central
Friday, Nov. 3, 7 p.m. at Midland