Previously: No. 10 — Harlingen vs. San Benito / No. 9 — El Campo vs. Bay City / No. 8 — Cuero vs. Yoakum / No. 7 — Stephenville vs. Brownwood / No. 6 — Abilene vs. Abilene Cooper / No. 5 — Ennis vs. Waxahachie

It’s not the longest running rivalry in Texas, but it may be the most well known game in the state – Odessa Permian and Midland Lee have been playing since 1961, and just about every football fan across the country has heard of the teams at least a time or two.



For those outside of Texas, the rivalry is represented by H.G. Bissinger’s book Friday Night Lights, which follows the 1988 Permian team. And while the game may not draw north of 20,000 fans as it once did, it remains a monumental matchup for two schools that have been playing since Lee opened its doors in 1961.

“It was a huge game when I was in high school back in the 1970’s,” Permian coach Blake Feldt said. “It was one of the bigger games not only in West Texas but throughout the entire state. It’s still one of the bigger games out here, and there’s no doubt about it. It’s a huge rivalry.”

Both Feldt and Lee coach Blake Hartman vividly remembered their first experience in the game – for Feldt, it was in the stands as an elementary school student. Hartman saw his first game between the two schools when he was in college in 1993.

“One of my buddies I was playing football with told me I needed to go home with him during our open week to watch this game,” Hartman said. “I remember sitting in the end-zone with 20,000 fans in the stadium and for four quarters, one side of the stadium was chanting RE-BELS and the other side was chanting MO-JO.

“I was in awe as a college student. As a football dude, I was hooked.”

Hartman coached in the game for the first time last season, and quickly realized just how long standing some of the traditions surrounding the programs are. On the morning of the annual game, the Lee band comes to the head coach’s house to play the fight song on the front lawn at 7 a.m. Permian always has some pretty rowdy pep rallies, but the one before the Lee game is known to going above and beyond.

And when it comes to apparel, the Lee faithful don’t wear black because of its tie to Permian. Similarly, Feldt said you won’t see any maroon among Panther fans in Odessa.

“We don’t wear black at Midland Lee,” Hartman said. “That doesn’t happen very often. People say black is a neutral color – not at Midland Lee. That’s how big it is. It’s a different week.”

The two teams met in the season finale last year, which gave the fan bases plenty of time to prepare for the matchup. That will be the case again this season, and Hartman and the Rebels will be looking to take a step forward in his second year as the team’s head coach after falling 55-28 to the Panthers last year.

Permian has controlled the rivalry for the majority of the series and has gone 9-2 since 2006. Controlling the game is something Feldt and the Panthers take a lot of pride in, especially because of how important it really is to each school.

“Certainly we do,” Feldt said. “Of course on top of it being such a big rivalry game, the biggest reason is because it’s a big district game.”

While Lee has struggled to push past Permian over the last few years, Hartman knows what a win in the game means for the town of Midland and is focused on swinging the momentum over the next few years.

“It’s a highly talked about game,” Hartman said. “People are already telling me, ‘Coach, we gotta beat Permian.’ Of course, I’m worried about our other district games first. But people mark it on their calendars and they come back to watch that game.”

Quick hits for Midland Lee vs. Odessa Permian: 

How many years has it been played?: 56 years (Since 1961)

Overall record: 36-22-1 Permian

Distance between schools (in exact miles): 17.2 miles

State titles won and/or appeared in for each team: Odessa Permian won the 1965 Class 4A title over San Antonio Lee, lost the 1968 4A title to Austin Reagan, lost the 1970 4A title to Austin Reagan, won the 1972 4A title over Baytown Sterling, lost the 1975 4A title to Port Neches-Groves, won the 1980 5A title over Port Arthur Jefferson, 1984 co-champs in 5A with Beaumont French, lost the 1985 5A title to Houston Yates, won the 1989 5A title over Aldine, won the 1991 5A DII title over San Antonio Marshall, lost the 1995 5A DI title to Converse Judson. Midland Lee lost the 1983 Class 5A title to Converse Judson, won the 1998 Class 5A DII title over SA MacArthur, won the 1999 Class 5A DI title over Aldine Eisenhower, won the 2000 Class 5A DI title over Austin Westlake.

Average attendance: combined average of both stadiums’ capacities: Grande Communications Stadium has a capacity of 15,000 and Ratliff Stadium holds just over 17,000. The game used to draw well over 20,000 fans, but attendance now typically hovers closer to 10,000.

How much animosity is there, really? Is it a fun rivalry, or does it always get chippy and cross the line? There is quite a lot of animosity between not only the two schools, but also the two towns. The schools opened within two years of each other and have been playing each other, traditionally at a high level, ever since. But even with as heated as the rivalry is, the programs do have a lot of respect for each other.

Does the game have a nickname? What’s the story behind it? No nickname, but it doesn’t really need one. Permian-Lee is as identifiable of a matchup as they come.

WHY do the schools dislike each other? What’s the town history? Permian opened in 1959 and Lee opened in 1961, bringing some new blood to quickly growing West Texas oil towns in Odessa and Midland. The teams had a lot of success and rapidly grew into state powerhouses, igniting what would turn into one of the most heated rivalries in Texas.

How has the rivalry changed over the years? When the game was at its peak, more than 20,000 fans would attend the game, sometimes waiting in line overnight to get their hands on tickets. The game doesn’t draw near that big of a crowd anymore, and the rivalry doesn’t always have huge playoff implications anymore either. But it’s still a massive matchup for the two programs, and each town takes a lot of pride in the game.

Any famous alumni? Coaches? Permian: Toby Stevenson (silver medal pole vaulting at 2004 Olympics), Daryl Hunt (Oklahoma, Oilers), Roy Williams (Texas, Lions, Cowboys), Bront Bird (Texas Tech, NFL), Stoney Case (New Mexico, NFL), Britt Hager (Texas, NFL), coach John Wilkins, coach Gil Bartosh, coach Gary Gaines. Lee: Cedric Benson (Texas, Bears), Junior Miller (Nebraska, Falcons), Rex Tucker (Texas A&M, Bears), Ryan Tucker (TCU, Rams, Browns), Eric Winston (Miami, current Cincinnati Bengal), Tyrone Thurman (Texas Tech, arena football), Jake Young (Nebraska), coach Allen Wilson, coach Spike Dykes, coach John Parchman.

How’d the first-ever game go? What is known about that one? In the first game between the two teams, Permian dominated in a 48-14 win. The Panthers went on to win 22 of the first 30 games between the two schools.

Greatest game ever? 1988 is what will come to mind for most fans outside of Midland and Odessa, mainly because the 22-21 Lee victory is highlighted in Friday Night Lights and it almost kept Permian out of the playoffs. But in 1984, Permian edged by Lee 15-14 in the state quarterfinals before going on to win the Class 5A state championship.