Abilene High never led in a 41-29 loss to Odessa Permian on Friday at Shotwell Stadium. But the Eagles also never went away despite falling behind by two scores on five occasions — the first at 14-0 just seconds into the second quarter.

After the game, it was the latter fact that had AHS coach Mike Fullen feeling pretty good about his team as it prepares for an open date next week and the start of District 2-5A Division I play in Week 5.

Despite holding a lead from the 6:17 mark of the first quarter onward and extending a 24-13 halftime advantage to 34-20 on a touchdown with just under 10 minutes to play, the Panthers couldn’t put the Eagles away until the game’s final minutes, when Kayden Vickers hit Zephaniah Deleon behind the Warbirds defense for a 13-yard touchdown pass on a critical third-and-10 play.

Before that, AHS had used a safety and a 53-yard scoring pass from Tristan Beal to John Rangel to pull within five points (34-29), putting late-game pressure on a Permian squad that hasn’t felt much during a 3-0 start.