The Frenship Tiger Football team (7-2, 3-1) added another W to the win column Friday night playing host to the historic program of the Odessa Permian Panthers. Mojo came into People’s Bank Stadium on Senior Night tied for first in District 2-6A with Midland Lee but left with their first district loss of the season.
The Tigers jumped out to an early lead after a 28-yard rushing score by Donovan Smith on third down. Tiger kicker Cage Jones tacked on three more points on a 25-yard field goal in the first quarter giving the Tigers a 10-0 advantage. Odessa Permian got on the board in the second with a 33-yard field goal, but the Tigers answered almost immediately. Following a batted pass, one of only three in the game for Permian, Logan Douglas intercepted the errant ball and returned it to the 1-yard line. Donovan Smith walked it in from a yard out and gave the Tigers a 14-point advantage.
Prior to halftime, while rolling out of the pocket, Donovan Smith found Jordan Maden breaking away downfield and delivered a strike to him on the run. Maden took care of the rest and the Tigers’ final touchdown of the day was a 44-yarder. Frenship did not score in the second half and leaned on their impressive defense to stymie the Permian rushing attack. In the third quarter, the one-dimensional Panthers found a 6:13 drive end in only a field goal making the score 24-6 with too little time remaining to mount a comeback.
Ultimately, the Tigers drove again to the Permian side of the field, but senior receiver Drew Hocutt lined up in the victory formation and took a couple of snaps to seal the victory over the Panthers. Smith finished the night 14/28 for 178 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. He also led the Tigers in rushing with 83 yards and 2 touchdowns on 16 attempts, the longest of which went for a touchdown. Junior running back William Bayouth rumbled for 69 yards on 17 carries and added another 32 receiving on 3 catches. Evan Barboza also notched an impressive 6-yard run taking a direct snap on a punt and plowing forward for a first down.
Maden led Tiger receivers with 4 receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown but also rushed for 45 yards on 4 carries. Cooper Scott finished with 44 yards on 4 snags, and Drew Hocutt hauled in 3 catches for 27 yards. The Tiger defense was impressive holding down a serious Panther rushing attack. Junior linebackers Tristin Laughlin and Jake Gilbert combined for 8 tackles and 20 assists on the evening. Safety Colton Anderson had 5 tackles and 7 assists of his own as well as a tackle for loss. In addition to the interception, Logan Douglas notched 2 tackles, 3 assists, 1 sack, and 2 tackles for loss.
The Tigers will return to action in their final game of the regular season Thursday, November 7 at 7:00 pm. They’ll face the Amarillo Tascosa Rebels at Dick Bivins Stadium in Amarillo. The Tigers are playing for playoff seeding, and a win over Tascosa will secure home-field advantage in the Bi-District Round of the UIL State Football Playoffs.
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