{gallery}09_10_09/football{/gallery} Powell sophomore Josh Cragoe eludes the grasp of a Riverton tackler while returning a punt deep into Wolverine territory. The Panthers' special teams play, which included a kick return for a score, drew praise from the coaching staff after the contest and helped lift the team to a 19-6 win last Friday.Tribune photo by Randal HorobikHarshman's return sets tone in 19-6 Panther victory over rivertonSenior BIlly Harshman returned the second half kickoff 95 yards for a go-ahead score and the Panthers' defensive unit took care of things from there as Powell returned from Riverton with a 19-6 victory on Friday night. “We switched to a cross return to begin the second half and my line did a stunning job of blocking for me,” said Harshman, who was hardly in threat of being touched on his scoring return. “I had to make one cut, I think. They gave me a lot of space.”

The Panthers' special teams were something special for much of the night. In addition to Harshman's scoring return to open the second half, the Powell rusher narrowly missed taking one to the house in the first half, settling for a 65-yard return instead. Sophomore Josh Cragoe also unleashed a big first-half punt return that ended just 20 yards shy of paydirt.

“We feel special teams are an equal part of the game,” said Powell head coach Jim Stringer. “We might not spend as much practice time on them as on offense or defense, but we emphasize execution in that facet of the game just as much. The momentum we got from that kick return was big. It really set the tone for the entire second half.”

Harshman's kick return broke open what had been a 6-6 deadlock at intermission. It also sparked a defensive effort that saw the Panthers hold Riverton to just 33 second-half yards while registering five quarterback sacks after the break.

“The kids did their jobs well in the second half,” said Stringer. “Part of that came from having better field position than we had in the first half.”

Powell definitely got the better of the field position battle after halftime. The Panthers forced Riverton to start three of their five second-half drives inside their own 20. A fourth drive began at Riverton's 32.

The Wolverines mounted only one scoring threat in the final two quarters. After starting at the Panther 37, Riverton was pushed backward to midfield, only to be saved by a roughing the kicker call whistled against Powell.

Given new life, Riverton approached to the Panther 18 before back-to-back quarterback sacks took the team out of field goal range and forced a punt. Three plays later, Panther sophomore Keithen Schwahn hooked up with junior wide-out Kyle Sullivan for a 33-yard touchdown strike with 11:06 to play.

The Wolverines never ran a play outside their own 25 yard line until their final possession as the Panthers' defense protected the lead.

Powell's dominating finish came after a messy first half in which the team surrendered several scoring chances to Riverton. The Panthers were guilty of three turnovers before halftime, including a fumble at their own 41 that began the Wolverines' only scoring drive of the night.

Riverton also blocked a 35-yard field goal attempt by the Panthers in the first half and two of Powell's three extra-point opportunities in the game.

“We can't keep making this many mistakes per game,” noted Stringer. “You'll never overcome everything and play perfect, but again we had six or eight plays that were sort of self-destruct moments. Those are the sorts of things we need to reduce.”

Ironically, in the midst of their own possession difficulties, it was a Riverton mistake that enabled the Panthers to pull level at halftime. After recording their second interception of the game, the Wolverines returned the favor as senior Devin Jordan stepped in front of a Riverton pass to give Powell the ball 24 yards from paydirt.

Seven plays later, Fabio Soto bowled across the goal line for a three-yard touchdown run for Powell's first points of the season.

Harshman finished as Powell's leading rusher, carrying the ball 12 times for 70 yards. Schwahn connected on five of his 13 passing attempts for 80 yards as Powell amassed 165 total yards in the contest.

Defensively, Joe Lujan finished with 21.5 points, including eight tackles. Reed Hackworth added 19 defensive points, including 16 tackles. As a team, the Panthers held Riverton to just 85 yards in the contest.

Wheatland fell 34-14 to Sidney, Neb., in the opening week of high school football season.