Arlington Lamar rallies late after squandering 21-point lead to edge Odessa Permian
Arlington Lamar and Odessa Permian have now played 187 combined playoff games since the last century, but the Vikings will live to play No. 188 next week after rallying for a 49-35 Class 6A Division I area win over the Panthers at Wildcat Stadium on Friday afternoon.
“What you had tonight was two historically driven programs battling it out in the second round of the playoffs, and I couldn’t be more proud of my guys right now,” said Lamar coach Laban DeLay, whose Vikings scored the final 21 points of the game.
“We made some adjustments in the fourth quarter and our kids executed those. We put Permian in a position where they had to pass, and that’s not what they want to do.”
Lamar (11-1), which has been to area round just once in the last 10 years, will face the winner of Saturday’s Lewisville/Duncanville matchup at a time and place to be determined.
The Vikings found themselves trailing for the first time in the game (35-28) with 11:48 remaining after the Panthers’ Christian Tschauner capped off three Panthers (8-4) scoring drives with a 97-yard interception return.
But a 39-yard James Douglas kickoff return set up the Vikings for a quick 53-yard drive that Caleb Phillips finished off to tie the game at 35-35 with a 6-yard run.
Lamar, which had given up an early 21-0 advantage, then took the lead back with a seven-play, 88-yard drive that included long strikes to Isaiah Neyor and Cam Brady before Trevon West put the Vikings ahead 42-35 with a 29-yard catch and run.
Jordan Polk stopped Permian’s attempt to tie the score again with an interception, then Phillips needed just one play to race 58 yards to secure the 14-point win.
The Vikings took an early lead, scoring on three of their first four possessions. Neyor cashed in with a 22-yard catch at the end of Lamar’s first possession of the game. Jack Dawson then escaped up the middle for a 30-yard scoring run and Neyor caught his second TD pass to make it 21-0 before Permian ever got on track.
Permian got the first of five scoring plays just before the half, then added three more scores in the third quarter to make a game of it.
The game was over when: Phillips broke free up the middle for a 58-yard scamper with the Vikings protecting just a 42-35 lead in a back-and-forth game.
Play of the game: With Lamar driving early in the fourth quarter in a tie game, Permian linebacker Christian Tschauner picked off a Jack Dawson pass at the 3-yard line and raced 97 yards down the sideline to give the Panthers their first lead.
Offensive player of the game: Dawson accounted for 377 yards of offense, passing for 331 yards and four touchdowns while running for 46 yards and another score.
Unsung hero of the game: Permian’s Justin Hammond scored three times with 109 rushing yards and seven catches for 77 yards.
This story was originally published November 23, 2018 at 7:39 PM.