Just a heads up for any Mojo men (or women) and anyone else that might be interested in this one hour program set to debut tonight on FOX Sports SW tonight at 7. Supposed to cover the entire history of Permian football from 1959 to the present day.

I wasn't previously aware of this series on FOX, but it looks promising with a number of legendary teams and coaches to be profiled.

Links:

Permian Panthers Extended Trailer

Story of Mojo football to air today on Fox Sports Southwest

Clearly cheated...

Thanks much for this information. My wife was a MOJO cheerleader and she will really enjoy this. As to the other posters, yes they aren't winning like they did in the past, but the things that they did to win when they did are being done by programs today. If anyone is a football fan and enjoys the history of TEXAS high school football, you have to respect what the Permian Panthers "MOJO" achieved. Again, OP, thanks for the heads up.

That is basically what Katy does now, is it not?

tk for tu juan said:

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Clearly cheated...

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Funny. During the oil heyday I suspect it wasn't hard at all to assemble a team with a combination of smart sons of oil execs and rough-and-tumble sons of roughnecks. And my general sensation of West Texans is...having grown up in towns like Lawn and Sweetwater and therefore also near Abilene with kin strewn around the North Texas area from Decatur to Claude...they have a nasty habit of being gritty and tough as nails.

Of course the reason the UIL exists was to teach the state capital flagship how to do it right through importation of practices...

Went to a Buzz Bissinger reading here in Austin a couple years ago... Classic book, movie, and TV show.

Mark Fairchild said:

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Just a side note in reference to things that they did. My brother-in-law when he was in the sixth grade and playing football was learning and using Permian's playbook. All the feeder elementary and jr high schools knew what would be expected of them when they reached Permian.

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Exactly right. They were well indoctrinated in the system before reaching Permian and so mainly focused on trying to achieve perfect execution of that system rather than learning what they were supposed to do.

I grew up north of there in Andrews and we used to scrimmage them every year (late 60's and early 70's). I had cousins that played for Permian and one of them is in the TX HS Hall of Fame. I saw a number of their playoff games in 1970 and 1972. Those were some really strong teams.

tk for tu juan said:

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Clearly cheated...

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Yes, Odessa Permian did cheat (as it applies to working year round and making all feeder schools implement their plays) at the time, but now it is the blue print for every HS program in the state. Football is a sport to play and practice year round now and Odessa Permian started it 40 years before everyone else.

Fyi, I was at Permian when Buzz was there trying to learn about Permian and its culture.

czar_iv said:

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tk for tu juan said:

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Clearly cheated...

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Yes, Odessa Permian did cheat (as it applies to working year round and making all feeder schools implement their plays) at the time, but now it is the blue print for every HS program in the state. Football is a sport to play and practice year round now and Odessa Permian started it 40 years before everyone else.

Fyi, I was at Permian when Buzz was there trying to learn about Permian and its culture.

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To my knowledge, they had spring football practice (just like other teams as allowed by UIL rules) and off season workouts lifting weights and running (just like other teams as allowed by UIL rules), I am not sure what your point is about the feeder schools. It's not like those schools were in some kind of independent league with HCs that would want to install and run their own offense and defense. Athletically they were part of the Permian "system", it was understood they would run the same offense and defense as determined the Athletic Director.

Now, I heard tell of some attendance zone lines being moved or blurred to pick up a stud LB or RB back in the day rather than letting them go to OHS.

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I am not sure what your point is about the feeder schools.

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That didn't happen everywhere and still doesn't happen everywhere. For some kids it's a big leap from junior high playbooks to varsity high school playbooks. And in some districts, the junior high and high school attendance zones overlap each other or change from time to time, so they're not all necessarily part of a longterm coherent system from top to bottom.

Legendary in our own minds, but not nationally.

We had a dominant stretch in the SWC, but nationally we really weren't contending for national titles and were regarded as a program who had the fortune of being in a weak conference.

During the 98 conference title season an Ohio State team that was disappointed to be playing us handled us easily.

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Just a side note in reference to things that they did. My brother-in-law when he was in the sixth grade and playing football was learning and using Permian's playbook. All the feeder elementary and jr high schools knew what would be expected of them when they reached Permian.

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I understand it was probably extreme, but other schools do that to this day. My kids 6th grade team runs what the junior high does, who in turn runs, what the high school does.

Now in instances like Permian, I think the same can be said for Katy area little league, I know Tomball at one point when they were much smaller ran the same stuff and to this day all the other teams in the same league are NFL teams, but Tomball is the Red Cats since Tomball High School is the cougars.

ChiliBeans said:

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I am not sure what your point is about the feeder schools.

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That didn't happen everywhere and still doesn't happen everywhere. For some kids it's a big leap from junior high playbooks to varsity high school playbooks. And in some districts, the junior high and high school attendance zones overlap each other or change from time to time, so they're not all necessarily part of a longterm coherent system from top to bottom.

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Yeah I don't disagree with your statement. The comment I was responding to was prefaced with Permian "cheating" and mentioned "making the feeder schools run the same plays". Not following the cheating aspect of that approach.

At Permian (back in the golden days) their offense was pretty simplistic, no harder to learn than anyone else's really so having the feeder schools run it was not a stretch. Lots of "student body right" and "student body left" power sweeps, traps, etc. Not a lot of passing.

Aggiebrewer said:

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HumbleAg said:

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Aggie said:

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Suprised Permian still gets as much attention as they do.
It's been a long time since they were consistently relevant.

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True enough but still a legendary program regardless of their more recent history.

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Same could be said of ags

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Bull***** Permian actually won championships and were the best in their class.

Permian overrated.. Dillon Panthers or East Dillon Lions would run over them at breakneck speed.

Austin Reagan bested Mojo in '68 and '70. West Tx schools tended to dominate during that time frame.

Cool!

Thanks for sharing!

The thing about it was they ran to "perfection". The common comment about Permian was, "They are so small". They were not oversized with extreme talent, but they ran as a well oiled machine. Another facet, the adjustments that they would make at half time. You might be leading in the third quarter, but they found a way to beat you at the end buzzer. It really was to borrow their phrase, "MOJO MAGIC"! And this coming from way out in West Texas, not a metroplex. Besides the team, the city of Odessa on the East side supported them to the extreme. The crowds of rabid Mojo fans that attended their games is an example of that attitude. As any Permian Panther, my wife included, those were "golden years".

Its on now

I didn't know Mike Conaway was a BMOC. Guess it makes sense he's still a big guy around town.

You can't love Texas High School football and not enjoy the stories of the programs that changed the course. I grew up in Midland, watched the first televised State Championship game broadcasted live by KOSA Odessa, from Bobcat Stadium in San Angelo. Permian beat SA Lee 11-6, with Billie Dale and Glen Hassell leading the team. Gene Mayfield had taken a new school to the championship in 4 years. My alma mater Lee High School in Midland started the same year, 1961. Permian, San Angelo at Abilene Cooper doninated the "Little SW Conference" but the AD in Midland, Tugboat Jones, who had coached at Highland Park hired Jim Acree to take the Lee program (0-10) at the end of the '69 season. Acree won the 4-A State Championship at Corsicana in 1963, and after a stint at Texas Tech brought his star from Corsicana Donnie Denbow to Lee. Acree went 2-8, 5-5, then 8-2 in 1972, losing a controversial battle with Permian 14-13 in Midland on Halloween night.

Our program was built on the mantra to beat Permian. Acree lost half of his first team because of his savage work ethic. But that first team, as Diamond Jim said won the two most important games of the year, homecoming against Odessa High, and the city rivalry against Midland High. We worked the off season from 6AM till dark, every day. We ran plays in the girls gym, ran B team track, and watched game films at home after practice, because we were told "Permian does it".

After the '72 loss to Permian, they completed the season 15-0. The closest game after ours was a 28 point difference. Midland Lee was ranked #6 in the State in the final AP poll with a 8-2 record.

Acreee finally caught up with Permian 2 years later, beating them 34-7.

After Acree was run off from Lee, Gil Bartosh moved from Permian to Lee, then Spike Dykes and John Parchmen lead Lee to the eventually 3 straight State Championships in '99, '00 & '01.

greg.w.h said:

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tk for tu juan said:

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Clearly cheated...

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Funny. During the oil heyday I suspect it wasn't hard at all to assemble a team with a combination of smart sons of oil execs and rough-and-tumble sons of roughnecks. And my general sensation of West Texans is...having grown up in towns like Lawn and Sweetwater and therefore also near Abilene with kin strewn around the North Texas area from Decatur to Claude...they have a nasty habit of being gritty and tough as nails.

Of course the reason the UIL exists was to teach the state capital flagship how to do it right through importation of practices...

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The executives lived in Midland.

I saw that last night. I knew three guys who played and graduated in '66. Two are now dead and one was shown on the program. The one still living was my business partner for several years and is the biggest SOB in three states.

Mark Fairchild said:

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The thing about it was they ran to "perfection". The common comment about Permian was, "They are so small". They were not oversized with extreme talent, but they ran as a well oiled machine. Another facet, the adjustments that they would make at half time. You might be leading in the third quarter, but they found a way to beat you at the end buzzer. It really was to borrow their phrase, "MOJO MAGIC"! And this coming from way out in West Texas, not a metroplex. Besides the team, the city of Odessa on the East side supported them to the extreme. The crowds of rabid Mojo fans that attended their games is an example of that attitude. As any Permian Panther, my wife included, those were "golden years".

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Yessir, I know all about those undersized players beating bigger, more athletic teams. I had 3 cousins that played for Permian in the 70s. Living in Andrews, we had a subscription to the Odessa American and I read all the Sports section everyday. I would read all the articles leading up to their playoff games and based on the size and stats of the other teams you would think, how in the Hell does Permian have a chance against that? Example - I remember in 1970 Permian played Dallas South Oak Cliff in the semi-finals at Jones Stadium in Lubbock. I read before the game that SOC had 14 players that ran the 100 yard dash in 9.9 or faster, including their QB Donnie "Quick Draw" McGraw. They had some pretty gawdy offensive stats for that day. But I also ready where they had not had any heavy hitting in practice in six weeks and I said to myself, "Ha! Just wait until they get a load of these tough West Texas boys!". So we went to the game to see my cousin play. This was my first exposure to a black urban HS and it was pretty entertaining. Before the game, the SOC band was putting on a show, the fans were dancing and singing in the stands (along with some of the players). The fans were chanting very loudly "We don't want no Mojo!".

When the game started you could see the athleticism from SOC all over the field. They were running the Houston Veer offense and man they were big and fast! Really put some pressure on the edge players. But the Permian defense knocked the snot out of them and caused several fumbles. The Mojo offense was plain vanilla and just marched methodically up and down the field. Final score was something like Permian 37 SOC 17.

Of course the next week, Permian lost in the finals 21-14 to another highly athletic school in Austin Reagan. I saw that game played in San Angelo. It was Reagan's 3rd title in 4 years, a stretch where they went 51-3. That 1970 Reagan team was considered to be one of the all-time best in Texas, just a shade behind the 1973 Tyler John Tyler team (with Earl Campbell and his brothers). Permian gave them all they could handle but the more athletic team won in the end (and they were every bit as disciplined as Permian!).


Some of the above is probably in the documentary but I haven't watched it yet. Waiting for me on the DVR.

I was just implying that Odessa Permian was ahead of their time.

After busting my head against Permian, their "feeder schools" Bonham, Nimitz and Hood in 9th grade, JV then two years varsity for the "72 & '73 season, I have the utmost respect for the school, and the program. Permian was not just good in Football, they had an outstanding band, and were highly competitive in every sport, male & female.

Permian was the first successful program after the 50's powerhouse schools fueled by the oilfield. Odessa High, Amarillo High, Abilene High and Wichita Falls dominated the 4A division, but schools like Wink, Crane and Grand-Falls were hell on wells in the smaller school division. Permian's program was dominant because they installed their systems in 7th grade. Their fans were the most loyal that I have ever seen, back in the '70's till mid '90's.

Ector High School was closed in 1970, I believe. Most black students went to OHS, but Permian seemed to land the likes of Daryl Hunt in '72-74 (All-American at OU, then All-Pro with the Oilers). Later they had Ronnie Gentry, Lloyd Hill and Roy Williams. But Permian didn't win because of their talent, they won because of their discipline, toughness and will. I remember one of their running backs in the late '80's named Shawn Crow that over his two year career as a running back only fumbled one time, and I believe he recovered it. Their execution was flawless.

The mega-schools began chipping away at Permian's dominance in the late '80's. Plano was the first, and now we see powerhouse programs in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio-Austin. I don't think you will see 'ole Mojo make it back anytime soon, nor Midland Lee. I think it's a combination of things, enrollment and ethnic make up, but mainly the desire is not there with the kids or the communities. I left the Midland-Odessa area in 1980, but spend a lot of time there in the oilfields. Wish it would change.. their was nothing like 15,000 people crammed into Ratliff or the old Memorial Stadium to watch the Panthers and us ******* Rebels go at it!

I put on my autographed helmet and ran 18 sweep with my 15 year old last night. Fun times. Still remember the offense from then. Since we ran it from the 4th grade on it was so simple and so much fun.
Cannot believe that I still remembered!
That 65 team was loaded with the dads I knew growing up. Fun fact: Mr. Dennard had a son who was the burger king "king" back in the day. RIP Richard.

I just finished watching it. Excellent job putting that together.

Was nice to see 3 of my cousins on there - Joe Bob, Eddy and Jim Bob Bizzell.

I played against Joe Bob. We played a little city football together in '78. Will never forget Joe Bob starting for the sips as a true freshman against ou, and him nailing Joe Washington in an open field tackle. He was the best 138 lb football player of all time! He might have gotten to 145!

We had a kid on our Lee team Randy Reddell, who was a spirited back up and wore #10. He was nick named Joe Bob Reddell. Our season was pointed towards the Permian game. Off of the '72 team, David Shipman came to A&M and QB'd Emory Bellard's last wishbone attack. He was a man amongst the boys in '72.