Season Ends in 52-16 Loss
Permian scored on their first two possessions and that set the tone for what was to be.  The Panthers took the opening kickoff and marched 66 yards in 14 plays, capped off by Taylor Byrd's quarterback sneak.  He threw for two touchdowns, and ran for 92 yards as well in the first half.  He finished with 165 yards passing and a game-high 133 yards on 19 carries.  Permian maintained a balanced assault - 161 yards rushing and 165 passing. Mojo finished the game with 527 yards of total offense.
STATS & VIDEO   GAME PHOTOS

Lee Wins Tall City Classic, 35-26
Things couldn't have started any better for the Bulldogs, who struck on the first play of scrimmage as Darius Miller took a handoff and ran a sweep around the right side for a 90-yard TD and a 7-0 MHS lead. It wouldn't prove to be enough in the 35-26 Lee victory.  Early in the second quarter, the Bulldogs scored with their defense, as linebacker Tanner Foster intercepted Jason Nash with nobody else around and rumbled 53 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.  Miller, who had a game-high 167 yards on 20 carries, went in from 2 yards out in the third quarter to take a 20-14 lead.  The Rebels answered back on two 1-yard runs which gave Lee a 21-20 lead.

Dawgs Back In Hunt, 23-20
Abilene Cooper provided 13 points in the first quarter, while Midland High added 14 of their own in the second.  Returning from the intermission, the Bulldogs added nine more in the 23-20 decision over the Cougars in Grande.  Midland got into the game in the second quarter on a Chase Plourd's 65-yard touchdown pass to Antwan Goodley.  The Dawgs scored again on a Tavijuan Lewis 1-yard run.  Kicker Clayton Othold gave Midland the 14-13 lead at the half.  The Plourd-to-Goodley combination awarded the Bulldogs another six points, this time from 34 yards out.  In fourth quarter, Othold added another short field goal to give Midland a 23-13 lead.

Blundering Second Half
Twice the Bulldogs drove the ball inside the Odessa High 10-yard line and didn't have a single point to show for it in the 15-14 loss to the Bronchos.  The Bulldogs came out of the locker room with a 14-12 halftime and took the second half kickoff and marched down to the Odessa High 8 where it had first and goal. However, an incompletion, a two-yard loss by Darius Miller and a delay of game penalty pushed the Bulldogs back to a third-and-goal from the OHS 15, where quarterback Chase Plourd was sacked for a 10-yard loss.  OHS's Travis Austin nailed a 37-yarder, which proved to be the game-winning points.  MHS got the ball back one more time with 1:35 left.  The Bulldogs got no further than Odessa High's 45.

Dawgs Meet Eagles
Abilene took the opening kickoff and marched 80 yards in four plays. A fumble at their own 33 set up a 25-yard Abilene field goal.  After Clayton Othold kicked a 29-yard field goal to get Midland on the board, the Eagles turned three straight possessions into scores.  MHS trailed 38-10 at the half and lost 45-17.

Bulldogs Find Groove
Chase Plourd completed 21-of-36 passes for 284 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the 20-0 Homecoming win over Amarillo High. MHS mounted the first serious drive of the game, going 73 yards on five plays, as Plourd completed all four of his passes for 71 yards. Three of those throws went to sophomore Antwan Goodley, the last of which was a 22-yard scoring pass which made it 7-0. The rest of the work was done by the Midland High defense.  The Bulldogs allowed only 57 Amarillo yards on the ground and only 168 yards of total offense.

Dawgs Outlast Plainsmen
Chase Plourd led the Bulldogs 80 yards in six plays, capping the fourth quarter scoring drive with a 20-yard pass to sophomore Trevor Skurlark with 56 seconds remaining to clinch the 24-20 victory over Lubbock Monterey.  He completed 11-of-22 passes and threw for 248 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Skurlark, who had five catches for 109 yards. 

Offense Needed in 13-10 Loss
Despite the strong defensive effort, the Bulldogs fell short against Central, 13-10.  Anthony Castillo hit Michael Connors for a touchdown to give the Bobcats a 7-3 lead early.  Chase Plourd replaced Blake Stewart at quarterback and the Bulldogs were in the end zone on a 5-yard scoring pass from Plourd to Addison Kenney to cut it to 13-10 with 42 seconds remaining in the game. The Bulldogs looked as if they could pull off a comeback when Josh Roberson recovered an onside kick at the Central 48. On the next play, Plourd hit Kenney for a 23-yard gain, but when Kenney was pushed out of bounds, the game was over.

No Thunder From Birds
Midland High's Micah Haynie rushed for 109 yards and one touchdown as the Bulldogs defeathered El Paso Coronado 31-6.  Trey Hill opened the scoring for Bulldogs with a 10-yard interception return for a touchdown. The Midland defense allowed Coronado 203 total yards, but kept the T-birds off the scoreboard until a 1-yard run by Diego Davila with 11 seconds remaining in the game.

Dawgs Get Bit In Home Opener
It seemed both Bulldog offensive and defensive units had problems getting in sync. Two out of three of Blake Stewart's early passes were picked off, which led to Rockwall's first 12 points of the 40-7 home opening loss.  Stewart found improvement in the second half by completing all six of his passes for 119 yards.  Rockwall's Braden Smith completing 17-of-22 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score.  Rockwall built a 33-0 halftime lead, but the Bulldogs did get on the scoreboard on Micah Haynie's 6-yard TD run in the second half.

Dawgs In 3-Team Scrimmage
Midland High, Euless Trinity, and Dallas Carter met for a tri-scrimmage on Friday.  The ball was spotted on the offense's 40 and each team had ten plays to move the ball.  Midland didn't have any problem, handling Carter.  On offense, Midland seemed to struggle a bit.  The Dawgs look to have one of the best defenses in district.

Football Banquet Shines
The annual Midland High Bulldog football banquet showcased the achievements of the 2006 team and their season.  The banquet was held on January 18 and among those honored were Offensive MVP Brandon Batch and Defensive MVP Paul Iaquaniello.
FULL LIST OF RECIPIENTS
 

 
 S T O R I E S   F R O M   2 0 0 6

SANDIES SEND DAWGS HOME EARLY
Midland High never led and suffered from as many self-inflicted wounds as those Amarillo administered in the 31-12 defeat in Tech's Red Raider stadium.  The Bulldogs put together a nine-play, 97-yard scoring drive in the second quarter.  Brandon Batch ran over from 8 yards out to cut the lead to 14-6 at the half.  The Bulldogs would score again when Burns hit Joe Roberson over the middle for a 32-yard scoring pass which cut it to 21-12.  The Dawgs failed to put any other points on the board and had their season end.
STATISTICS

DAWGS ADVANCE AFTER CLOSE CALL
Brandon Batch ran for 133 yards and two touchdowns, including one that was the eventual game winner, as Midland beat Timberview 26-22.  Midland scored a touchdown on their first drive of the second half, thanks to Kyle Pearce's 5-yard run, that narrowed Timberview's lead to 22-19.  The Bulldogs answered with Batch's 1-yard touchdown to take their first lead of the game at 26-22, with 9:23 remaining.

FOURTH QUARTER UNKIND TO DAWGS
Permian rallied from being down two touchdowns to start the fourth quarter and walked away from Grande Stadium with a 31-28 decision.  Midland High took the opening kickoff and drove 86 yards in eight plays to take a 7-0 lead. Permian answered back.  The Bulldogs put together a sustaining drive in the second quarter, going 74 yards on 14 plays as John Burns hit Sebastian DeLaRosa for a 3-yard scoring pass to make it 14-7.  The Panthers once again answered back with the game tied 14-14 at halftime.  The Bulldogs scored two touchdowns to take a 28-14 lead in the third, but the  Panthers put 17 points on the board in the fourth quarter.
GAMES STATS | GAME PHOTOS

BACK-TO-BACK VICTORIES OVER LEE
The Bulldogs jumped on the Rebels in the first half and never looked back for a 38-21 win in the annual crosstown game.  Lee drew first blood when Jason Nash hit Amiuel Carr for an 11-yard touchdown pass for a 7-0 lead. The Bulldogs answered back on their next possession, as Brandon Batch broke a 79 yard run to the Lee 1-yard line. Farris Strambler went over on the next play to tie it 7-7.  Batch got into the end zone again late in the first quarter on a 14-yard run to give the Bulldogs a 14-7 lead.  The Dawgs would extend their lead to 28-7 at the intermission. Batch finished with 200 yards on 27 carries for two touchdowns. The win puts Midland in position to claim one of the two remaining playoff spots.  [MORE]

DAWGS FAIL TO STOP COMEBACK, 31-24
Cooper went 70 yards on six plays when Zach Stewart hit Ricky Stevenson with a 10-yard TD pass to give the Cougars a 31-24 comeback victory.  Stewart threw for 323 yards and ran for a pair of touchdowns, while setting the district single season passing mark with 2,588 yards.  John Burns was 8-of-15 for 47 passing yards and another 147 yards rushing.  Brandon Batch had 152 rushing yards on 23 carries for the Bulldogs.

PUNT RETURN SAVES DAWGS, 35-28
Midland High’s T. J. London returned a punt 53 yards with 3:02 left in the game to lift the Bulldogs to a 35-28 victory over the Bronchos.  John Burns gave Midland High a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when he scored on a 5-yard touchdown run.  Odessa High responded on a 76-yard TD run.  Burns connected on a 7-yard TD pass to Nathan Petraitis in the second quarter.  The Bronchos answered again on a 71-yard touchdown pass.  Midland High pulled back within 28-21 on a 42-yard TD pass from Burns to Sebastian De La Rosa in the third quarter.  With 5:19 left in the game, Burns hit Petraitis for a 26-yard touchdown pass to tie the game 28-28.

BULLDOGS FAIL JINX OF ABILENE HIGH
Spens Lackey’s 244 passing yards, 52 rushing yards and two total touchdowns led Abilene to a 28-19 win over Midland High.  Bulldogs running back Brandon Batch was held to only 63 yards on the ground and was kept out of the end zone.  AHS running back Brandon Williams was able to score two touchdowns.  AHS started its first drive of the game from the MHS 40 after the defense forced a three-and-out and the ensuing punt traveled only 17 yards. The Eagles took advantage and scored on the last of three consecutive Lackey runs, the final one coming from 5 yards out. The Eagles came right back with a 75-yard drive to take a 14-6 halftime lead.  AHS added a touchdown on a 7-yard run by Williams to increase the lead to 21-12 early in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs scored when Joe Roberson caught a TD pass from 32 yards out to pull Midland within two. Williams scored again to put the game out of reach.

SQUEAKING 13-10 WIN WASN'T PRETTY
It came down to a final possession of a defensive struggle with the game tied.  Bulldogs kicker Brandon O'Connor nailed a 36-yard field goal to give Midland High a 13-10 victory over the Sandies in Bivins Stadium in Amarillo.  Midland's game-winning drive started as a result of Sandie Brett Owens' 46-yard field goal attempt falling short with just over two minutes left in the game.

HOMECOMING WOES IN 38-24 LOSS
The Plainsmen jumped out to a 10-0 lead before Brandon Batch could get the Bulldogs on the board in the 38-24 Homecoming loss for Midland High.  Batch added his third touchdown run in the fourth quarter, but Lubbock Monterey answered from two yards out.  Batch led Midland with a game-high 146 rushing yards on 18 carries.  The Bulldogs fall to 2-2.

DAWGS GET REDEMPTION OVER CATS
The Bulldogs scored on each of their first five possessions en route to a 41-10 victory over San Angelo Central. Brandon Batch struck first on a 69-yard touchdown run for the Bulldogs.  Two Brandon O'Connor field goals gave MHS an early 13-0 lead.  John Burns connected with Nathan Petraitis on a 24-yard scoring strike and then found Steven Cobb on a 51-yd touchdown pass to put the Bulldogs up 27-0.  The Bobcats finally got on the board on a 1-yard run by Ryan Steinbrunner narrowing the gap to 27-7 at the half.  MHS added a Kyle Pearce 7-yd TD run and the defense recovered a San Angelo fumble in the end zone.  The Bobcats managed a 24-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.  Burns completed 9-of-17 passes for 127 yards and Batch had his third straight 100-yard rushing game with 105 yards on 10 carries.

EL PASO TRIP BRINGS SURPRISE
No one expected El Paso Coronado to knock off the Bulldogs, least of all MHS in the 39-23 road loss.  It was the T-Birds drawing first blood on a 3-yd touchdown run, but Brandon Batch's 23-yd TD run closed the gap to 7-6.  Batch would return to the end zone two more times in the second quarter on runs of nine and seven yards.  The problem was Coronado added three more scores to take a 27-21 halftime lead.  The T-Birds extended their lead with two more touchdowns in the third quarter.

DAWGS SHINE IN HOME OPENER
Midland High dismantled North Crowley 35-22 in Grande Communications Stadium.  The Bulldogs jumped out to a 21-point first quarter lead and never turned loose of the lead or momentum.  Midland started things off with a fumble recovery in the end zone by Tanner Foster with just 11 seconds off the clock.   Midland's Brandon Batch caught a 63-yard pass from Joe Roberson for the team's second score, and ran in two more touchdowns, finishing with 138-yards rushing and 76-yards receiving.

 
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