Panthers’ second-half surge falls just short

The Powell High School football team scored 20 unanswered points, but came away with only a moral victory Friday night in Riverton.

The Panthers shut out the Wolverines in the second half, but a turnover-laden first half was too much to overcome as PHS lost 29-27 in their first road game of the season.

Powell head coach Chanler Buck said a lackluster start put the Panthers in an early hole.

“I was pretty bitter that first half just because the mistakes that we made were pretty simple. It was not like they were out-scheming us by any means,” Buck said. “It was things that we had corrected the first couple of weeks that came back around and got us. Missed tackles and turning the ball over, and that was it.”

The Panthers (2-1) struggled to find a first-half rhythm away from Panther Stadium, where they played their first three games of the season (including a week 0 loss to Miles City).

“We were playing a little bit slow and I don’t know if it’s first road trip or if it’s just this particular opponent,” Buck said. “Seemed like once kids started getting that competitive edge as the game went on … the better team was in white jerseys in the second half.”

T.J. Abraham topped 100 rushing yards for the third straight game and scored two fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns during Powell’s comeback attempt.

Buck said the non-conference loss proved the Panthers have the ability to adjust during games and erase large deficits.

“The kids being able to bear down with 24 minutes left in the second half, to be able to fight back and give them an opportunity to win a game like that, I was very pleased,” Buck said. “It was bitter, but it was sweet to see.”

Senior Kaden Moore caught a 13-yard touchdown and made a third-quarter interception in another strong two-way game.

“He’s found his way onto both sides of the ball now,” Buck said. “He wanted to become a football player this year and he’s impressed a lot of coaches and a lot of people that are out there watching. Kaden’s going to be a big help down the road.”

Junior quarterback Mason Olsen threw a 70-yard touchdown to Paige Gann on his first pass attempt, but was intercepted three times in the first half, including two during Riverton’s 22-point second quarter.

Buck stood by his first-year signal caller, who almost completed his first fourth-quarter comeback. Buck said Olsen alone wasn’t to blame for the loss, and cited Powell’s defensive shortcomings — poor reads and missed tackles — as other contributing factors.

“The mistakes were all the way around,” Buck said.

Olsen wasn’t sacked, but the Wolverines kept Powell’s quarterback under pressure for much of the game.

“They had a pretty good D-line that was bringing pretty good pressure,” Buck said. “They were bringing six and seven guys at times, and we did OK picking them up, but he’s still a little bit of a green quarterback back there.”

While the three picks put Riverton in position to build a 22-point halftime lead, Olsen reversed course and was a big part of Powell’s return to form in the second half.

Olsen threw for 53 yards and a touchdown and ran for 44 yards during Powell’s 20-point run.

“He shook it loose and was able to get done what we know he’s capable of doing,” Buck said. “He sat back there with composure, made great reads, threw great balls. He was a threat on the ground too, we ran some speed option with him. He’s a very valuable player.”

Olsen threw completions to seven Panther receivers on his way to a season-high 162 passing yards.

“Every game he’s going to become a bigger and bigger asset,” Buck said of Olsen.

Abraham’s 100-yard day didn’t come easy. The junior needed 26 attempts (3.9 yards per carry) and was held to 2 yards or less on 11 of his carries. He scored touchdowns of 5 and 3 yards — Powell’s final two scores — in the fourth quarter.

The Panthers were gashed for 204 passing yards and 77 rushing yards in the first half, but allowed a total of just 45 yards to the Wolverines in the second half.

Riverton quarterback Brayden Draper had his way with Powell’s defense early on as he led the Wolverines on four touchdown drives, including passing TDs of 73 and 69 yards in the second quarter.

Buck said solving Drapes was the biggest difference between the halves.

“Containing him got better. We lost contain on him up front there a couple different times early in the game, but once we started trusting our speed and the things we schemed to do, we were able to execute pretty well in the second half,” Buck said.

Junior Zach Easum had two sacks for the Panthers and senior Teagan Cordes had a fumble recovery.

Abraham led Powell with 7.5 tackles.

Powell’s penultimate home game is at 7 p.m. Friday against Green River, the first Western Conference foe on the schedule.

The Wolves lost to Torrington 31-21 in week 3 to fall to 1-2. They were shut out 21-0 by Riverton in their season opener and picked up a win against Rawlins, 33-20, in week 2.

“We’ll continue to polish up the things we know we need to get done. And continue to build on our offensive and defensive arsenal,” Buck said. “We see kids continuing to become better and better football players, especially these younger kids.”