SandieFootballPlayer72
09-17-2005, 12:54 PM
Mojo magic no more
Sandies flatten Panthers
Leave it to a linebacker built like a fire hydrant to nail down why Amarillo High handled previously unbeaten Odessa Permian 21-7 on Friday night.
"We were playing like we were possessed,'' said AHS junior Dustin Bohannon, a 5-foot-7 fireball who returned a fumble 58 yards for a touchdown. "Everybody just wanted to win this game. The past record is we have won like three of 27. We wanted to be the team to beat the Mojo. We wanted the Mojo to be done. It was awesome.''
Amarillo High made clutch play after clutch play, especially on defense, to win the game between 3-0 teams played before an AHS homecoming crowd of 9,000 in thingy Bivins Stadium.
AHS last defeated Permian in 1999, but this was just the fifth time in 28 games Sandie 31-year coach Larry Dippel has seen the scoreboard in his favor against the team nicknamed Mojo.
"Our defense did a great job,'' Dippel said. "They bailed us out. The defense kept us in the ballgame making plays.
"That's quite a deal. That's quite a deal beating Permian.''
Permian had ripped off 509 yards of offense last week against El Paso Montwood and had produced six touchdowns from more than 35 yards or longer in its opening three games.
The Sandies defense, sparked by senior linebacker Adam Ramos and three turnovers, didn't allow Permian's multi-set offense and rollout passing attack to get untracked.
Permian managed one first down in the first quarter, one run longer than 13 yards in 34 rush attempts, and 223 total yards.
In fact, Permian's only touchdown was scored by its defense when Joe Valdez recovered a fumble in the end zone on a botched reverse.
AHS led 14-0 at halftime and 21-0 entering the final period.
"Even when we were ahead,'' said Bohannon, "we said to ourselves we have to play like we are down.''
Thanks to Amarillo High senior defensive back Marquis Geater the Sandies were ahead pretty much from the get-go.
Geater sparked AHS' three turnover night when he jumped an out pattern on the third play of the game and intercepted a Tate Smith pass at midfield.
Geater's interception was the first of three momentum-changing plays put in the by the Sandie swarming defense that impacted the game.
"They played great defensively tonight and kept us out of our rhythm all night,'' said Permian coach Darrell Allman. "We came back in the second half and kind of got in rhythm running the football. Then we would turn it over and that just killed us.''
AHS denied Permian its best chance to score on offense on a third-and-goal from the 4-yard line. Sandie linebacker Ramos knifed in and stripped the ball free on a Smith handoff exchange.
Michael Brister alertly smothered the ball at the 3-yard line.
"That was lucky,'' said Ramos. "I wasn't trying to strip it out, I just missed the tackle.''
Permian was primed to at least put points on the board in the opening half when it reached the AHS 22-yard line in the final minute.
But an all-out blitz on first down with 35 seconds to play resulted in a Donny Vincent sack and a 17-yard loss.
AHS 21, Permian 7
Records: Amarillo High is 4-0, Odessa Permian 3-1.
Impacts: AHS beats Permian for the fifth time since 1974 over 29 games.
Key Stat: Amarillo High's defense did not allow a point.
Then in the third period, Bohannon pretty socked the wind out of Permian when he scooped up a loose ball - once again knocked loose by Ramos - and ran like he was possessed 58 yards for a 21-0 lead with 7:38 to play in the third period.
"I got lucky the ball bounced right to me and I scooped it,'' Bohannon said. "I saw Maquis Geater coming right beside me and I knew I was home free because he would block all the way down field.''
Offensively, AHS finished with 257 yards and became the first team to have a back rush for more than 100 yards against Permian this year in workhorse Tyler Britten's 122 yards.
Although the Sandies offense lost three fumbles preventing a big night, they produced two big efforts.
After Geater's early interception, Britten scored from 26 yards out giving AHS a 6-0 lead 1:53 into the game.
Then early in the second quarter, junior quarterback Kyler Hill lofted a perfect bomb over the middle that hit speedy Michael Ritchie in stride for a 50 yard touchdown and a 13-0 lead with 7:59 to play in the opening half.
John Cox booted his second of three PAT's for a 14-0 lead.
Hill finished his second career start a solid 8-of-16 for 149 yards and the touchdown.
That was all the scoring offensively for Amarillo High, although it did manage four late first down to run out the clock.
AHS is 4-0 for the first time since 1999.
"Where we are right now,'' Dippel said, "I couldn't be happier.''
http://www.sandiesports.com/views.k2?menuView=0&Sport=5
Sandies flatten Panthers
Leave it to a linebacker built like a fire hydrant to nail down why Amarillo High handled previously unbeaten Odessa Permian 21-7 on Friday night.
"We were playing like we were possessed,'' said AHS junior Dustin Bohannon, a 5-foot-7 fireball who returned a fumble 58 yards for a touchdown. "Everybody just wanted to win this game. The past record is we have won like three of 27. We wanted to be the team to beat the Mojo. We wanted the Mojo to be done. It was awesome.''
Amarillo High made clutch play after clutch play, especially on defense, to win the game between 3-0 teams played before an AHS homecoming crowd of 9,000 in thingy Bivins Stadium.
AHS last defeated Permian in 1999, but this was just the fifth time in 28 games Sandie 31-year coach Larry Dippel has seen the scoreboard in his favor against the team nicknamed Mojo.
"Our defense did a great job,'' Dippel said. "They bailed us out. The defense kept us in the ballgame making plays.
"That's quite a deal. That's quite a deal beating Permian.''
Permian had ripped off 509 yards of offense last week against El Paso Montwood and had produced six touchdowns from more than 35 yards or longer in its opening three games.
The Sandies defense, sparked by senior linebacker Adam Ramos and three turnovers, didn't allow Permian's multi-set offense and rollout passing attack to get untracked.
Permian managed one first down in the first quarter, one run longer than 13 yards in 34 rush attempts, and 223 total yards.
In fact, Permian's only touchdown was scored by its defense when Joe Valdez recovered a fumble in the end zone on a botched reverse.
AHS led 14-0 at halftime and 21-0 entering the final period.
"Even when we were ahead,'' said Bohannon, "we said to ourselves we have to play like we are down.''
Thanks to Amarillo High senior defensive back Marquis Geater the Sandies were ahead pretty much from the get-go.
Geater sparked AHS' three turnover night when he jumped an out pattern on the third play of the game and intercepted a Tate Smith pass at midfield.
Geater's interception was the first of three momentum-changing plays put in the by the Sandie swarming defense that impacted the game.
"They played great defensively tonight and kept us out of our rhythm all night,'' said Permian coach Darrell Allman. "We came back in the second half and kind of got in rhythm running the football. Then we would turn it over and that just killed us.''
AHS denied Permian its best chance to score on offense on a third-and-goal from the 4-yard line. Sandie linebacker Ramos knifed in and stripped the ball free on a Smith handoff exchange.
Michael Brister alertly smothered the ball at the 3-yard line.
"That was lucky,'' said Ramos. "I wasn't trying to strip it out, I just missed the tackle.''
Permian was primed to at least put points on the board in the opening half when it reached the AHS 22-yard line in the final minute.
But an all-out blitz on first down with 35 seconds to play resulted in a Donny Vincent sack and a 17-yard loss.
AHS 21, Permian 7
Records: Amarillo High is 4-0, Odessa Permian 3-1.
Impacts: AHS beats Permian for the fifth time since 1974 over 29 games.
Key Stat: Amarillo High's defense did not allow a point.
Then in the third period, Bohannon pretty socked the wind out of Permian when he scooped up a loose ball - once again knocked loose by Ramos - and ran like he was possessed 58 yards for a 21-0 lead with 7:38 to play in the third period.
"I got lucky the ball bounced right to me and I scooped it,'' Bohannon said. "I saw Maquis Geater coming right beside me and I knew I was home free because he would block all the way down field.''
Offensively, AHS finished with 257 yards and became the first team to have a back rush for more than 100 yards against Permian this year in workhorse Tyler Britten's 122 yards.
Although the Sandies offense lost three fumbles preventing a big night, they produced two big efforts.
After Geater's early interception, Britten scored from 26 yards out giving AHS a 6-0 lead 1:53 into the game.
Then early in the second quarter, junior quarterback Kyler Hill lofted a perfect bomb over the middle that hit speedy Michael Ritchie in stride for a 50 yard touchdown and a 13-0 lead with 7:59 to play in the opening half.
John Cox booted his second of three PAT's for a 14-0 lead.
Hill finished his second career start a solid 8-of-16 for 149 yards and the touchdown.
That was all the scoring offensively for Amarillo High, although it did manage four late first down to run out the clock.
AHS is 4-0 for the first time since 1999.
"Where we are right now,'' Dippel said, "I couldn't be happier.''
http://www.sandiesports.com/views.k2?menuView=0&Sport=5