BY TONY VENEGAS | Odessa American
ODESSA — The up-tempo Los Fresnos offense was held to just 63 yards and three turnovers by the Odessa Permian defense as the Falcons lost 56-0 during their final non-district game Friday night at Ratliff Stadium.
Early on, it appeared Los Fresnos caught a break, thanks to its defense. With Permian driving and with nearly seven minutes off the clock, the defense forced a fumble that Isaiah Muniz recovered inside the Falcons’ 25 on the opening drive of the game. However, the offense was unable to take advantage, going three-and-out, and was forced to punt.
Permian took control on its next drive, going 60 yards in eight plays, capped off by a Peyton Powell 21-yard touchdown pass to Justin Hammond late in the first quarter.
Permian took the ball back two plays later as Rakeem Adeyemi picked off a Los Fresnos pass at the Falcons’ 29. Powell cashed in the turnover with a 3-yard touchdown run five plays later to make it 14-0 with 10:18 left in the first half.
The defense gave the offense some more life late in the half. After giving Permian the field on a short punt, Los Fresnos shut down Powell on fourth-and-1. However, the Los Fresnos offense only managed one first down during the first half and had to punt the ball back to the Panthers.
Permian took its last two drives of the half for scores — one on a 5-yard run by Ed Williams and another a 35-yard pass from Powell to Mason Sellers on fourth-and-15 with just more than one minute left in the half.
Williams finished with 137 yards on 22 carries and one score, and Powell finished with 265 total yards and three scores (two passing, one rushing). As a team, Permian finished with 316 yards rushing.
After Los Fresnos punted again on the first drive of the second half, Permian took the ball on another long, nine-play drive that was capped with a 3-yard score by Williams. Williams added his third touchdown of the game on a 17-yard run with 2:45 left in the third quarter on his final carry of the night.
Permian safety Chase Stell set up the final two scores of the game thanks to interceptions — one that set up a 1-yard score by Adam Martinez and another a 35-yard interception return for a score during the final seconds of the third quarter.
Los Fresnos only crossed midfield once during the fourth quarter, with a 12-play, 44-yard drive that stalled out on the Permian 31 with 6:28 left in the game.