{gallery}09_28_10/football{/gallery}Josh Cragoe drags a Jackson defender during 3A West football action Friday night. The fourth-ranked Panthers rolled to a 56-0 victory. Courtesy photo/Brad Boner, Jackson Hole News & Guide PHS blasts Jackson 56-0 to begin conference play Any questions regarding how the fourth-ranked Powell Panthers would react following their first loss of the season were answered early on Friday night as Powell produced a 56-0 shutout of Jackson to begin 3A West conference play. “We played a good game from top to bottom,” said Powell head football coach Jim Stringer. “I thought our offensive and defensive lines showed improved play. We fired off the ball well and those guys are starting to figure out their responsibilities and function as a unit. It's nice to see.”

Junior quarterback Keithen Schwahn connected for a pair of first-half touchdown passes. Schwahn hooked up with Olie Olson from about 10 yards out to begin the scoring, then added a second-quarter strike to Kyle Sullivan. Powell added a Randy Andrews recovery of a blocked punt in the end zone to carry a 20-0 lead into intermission.

By all rights, it was a margin that could have been wider. Powell turned the ball over three times in the red zone in the first half. The team also had a Josh Cragoe punt return for a touchdown negated by penalty prior to the midgame intermission.

“That really was our biggest downfall,” Stringer said of the first-half miscues. “We moved the ball very well and put ourselves in a position to score, but it was marred by those three red zone turnovers.”

In the second half, the Panthers had no such issues. Powell scored on virtually all of its possessions, including a pair of fourth-quarter scores by the Panthers' reserve units. Schwahn and Tyler England connected for a pair of second-half touchdowns, covering 10 and 39 yards on the two plays. Cragoe added a 44-yard touchdown run that came seconds after a similar Panther run for an apparently touchdown had been pulled off the scoreboard due to a penalty.

Vince Sleep scored from three yards out and Dewey Schwahn took a quarterback dive 24 yards through the middle of a besieged Jackson defense for the night's final score.

“We weren't trying to do anything fancy,” said Stringer. “Most of the night we were focused on our base packages and trying to make sure we have our execution down in those packages. For the most part, the kids did an excellent job of executing.”

Official statistics from the game had not been compiled as of Monday morning, however Stringer noted a preliminary count showed Powell with more than 550 yards of offense in the contest.

The victory lifts Powell to a 3-1 record this season. More important, it provides the Panthers with a 1-0 start to 3A West conference play.

“That's huge,” said Stringer. “You hate to say that every game is a must-win game, but the truth is that these remaining games on the schedule are extremely important. It's definitely nice to start off with a win because if you stay on top it makes it nice for the playoffs.”