Texas high school football is more than just a game — it’s a way of life. Dave Campbell's Texas Football is spotlighting a different program from across the Lone Star State, diving into their history, traditions, and legends. From powerhouse programs to hidden gems, Texas High School Football Spotlight is your deep dive into what makes each team unique. Whether it’s unforgettable seasons, iconic players, or fierce rivalries, this series celebrates the schools, communities, and stories that define Texas high school football.

Today's Spotlight: Odessa Permian Panthers

The Rundown

Texans have always been obsessed with high school football. But the greater United States did not know about Texas’s obsession with high school football until Philadelphia Inquirer journalist Buzz Bissinger spent the 1988 season with the Odessa Permian Panthers and wrote the remarkable “Friday Night Lights.” His work, capturing the pride and pressure of football in Texas, launched a blockbuster movie and a hit TV show. It also transformed Odessa Permian from a high school to a cultural touchstone.

By The Numbers

Class – 6A
Enrollment – 4,126
Location – Ector County, 20 miles southwest of Midland

Trophy Case

State Championships – 6 (1965, 1972, 1980, 1984 (Co-champions), 1989, 1991)
State Championship Appearances – 11 (1965, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1991, 1995)
District Championships – 30 (most recent: 2025)
Playoff Appearances – 42 (most recent: 2025)

Glory Days

The 1988 squad was immortalized in the book, but the 1989 Odessa Permian Panthers, just one year later, were the best squad in school history. Odessa Permian went a perfect 16-0, allowed just 6.06 points per game, and was named National Champions by ESPN. Seven of the team’s 10 regular-season games ended in shutouts. In Weeks 5-8, they beat opponents by a combined score of 201-0. 

The MOJO machine was oiled by the running back tandem of Chris Comer (1,589 yards, 22 TD) and Arvey Villa (1,250 yards). But the Panthers were just as lethal through the air with QB Stoney Case (2,029 yards, 29 TD) and WR Lloyd Hill (79 catches, 1,519 yards, 15 TD).

The GOAT

There are two different ways to answer this question: who is the most famous alumnus, and who was the best high school player?

WR Roy Williams went on to have the most successful post-high school career of any Odessa Permian player. The 6-foot-4-inch star earned All-State honors in both football and track in 1998 and 1999, tallying 100 catches, 2,364 yards, and 30 touchdowns in three varsity seasons. Williams is the University of Texas’s career-record holder in receiving yards (3,866), touchdown catches (36), and 100-yard games (16). He was inducted into the Texas Hall of Honor in 2013. Williams was the seventh overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft and a Pro Bowl selection for the Detroit Lions in 2006 with 1,310 yards.  

But as far as the high school career is concerned, WR/DB Joe Bob Bizzell from 1970-72 is the best to ever do it. In “Friday Night Lights,” author Buzz Bissinger described Bizzell as “the Golden Boy of golden boys, the one against whom all others were measured.” It wasn’t just that Bizzell is the only player to ever earn four All-State selections (he earned Offensive and Defensive honors as a senior). It was that the 5-foot-8-inch, 145-pound Bizzell embodied the overachieving archetype of the Permian football player. Bizzell was inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame in 2012.

The Architect

The Permian Panthers’ program is bigger than any one coach. Five different head coaches have won a state championship. We’re naming John Wilkins as the program architect for being the only head coach to win multiple titles in 1980 and 1984. Wilkins compiled a 148-16 record from 1973-1984, winning 55 games by shutout. In “Friday Night Lights,” author Buzz Bissinger wrote that Wilkins was nicknamed A.G. for "Almost God." With that name came high expectations.

“His pursuit to win a state championship became a ruthless obsession, say those who worked for him, for he knew that anything less would not be enough,” Bissinger wrote. “It wasn’t uncommon for players to see him throwing up before a game because not only did he want to win, he had to win.”

Gary Gaines is the most well-known coach for leading the Panthers from 1986-89, the time period covered in the Friday Night Lights book and movie. Gaines, described by former player Don Billingsley as a “quiet leader,” had a 46-7-1 record over four years before joining Texas Tech University as an assistant coach. Gaines passed away after a battle with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2022. 

Battle Lines

Few TXHSFB rivalries are as timeless, storied, and heated as Odessa Permian versus Midland Lee. The schools were opened just a few years apart (Permian in 1959, Midland Lee in 1961) after the West Texas Oil Boom of the 1940s. In “Friday Night Lights,” author Buzz Bissinger reported that Midland had become a corporate center in the oil boom, while Odessa became a hub for service workers. This created a class divide, an us-versus-them mentality, which found a proxy war in high school football.

“It seemed natural that they needed each other, as all good sister cities should,” Bissinger said. “But instead they had spent most of their histories trying to prove just the opposite.” 

Permian leads the all-time series 40-24-1. Last year, the Panthers beat the Rebels 51-48 on a walk-off field goal by Iker Munoz after compiling 578 yards of total offense.

Home Turf

Since 1982, Odessa Permian has played home games at Ratliff Stadium, dubbed “The Epicenter of Texas High School Football.” The stadium also hosts UT-Permian Basin. With a standing-room-only capacity of 19,500, Ratliff Stadium is the fifth-largest capacity in Division II football. In October 2001, USA Today named Ratliff Stadium one of the top 10 Texas High School Football stadiums in the US.

The Year That Was

The 2025 Panthers went 11-2, their first double-digit-win season since 2015 and their deepest playoff run since 2014. District 2-6A Overall MVP Jakob Garcia broke the school record with 41 career touchdown passes, while RB Gavin Black rushed for 1,597 yards and 18 touchdowns. On defense, senior LB Caleb Jamison was the unanimous District 2-6A Defensive MVP with 118 tackles, eight tackles for loss, six forced fumbles, and four sacks.

Looking Ahead

Permian returns 13 starters from their best team in over a decade. The Panthers, historically a run-heavy offense that punches you in the mouth over and over, has a stout offensive line headlined by 6-foot-4-inch, 310-pound Maximiliano Sotelo and Alexx Dominguez. QB Kayden Vickers must replace a record-setting QB, but he showed promise with 963 passing yards and 9 touchdowns as a junior.

Xs and Os

Offense – Multiple
Defense – Odd

On the Rise

The cupboard is far from bare at Permian, which boasts the reigning District Offensive and Defensive Newcomers of the Year. WR Aaron Navarette broke out in 2025 with 1,088 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, while S Malachi Mendoza totaled 68 tackles, seven pass breakups, and two interceptions.