Weather did not slow down the Powell Panthers on Friday as they continued to roll in the early season, raining more than 40 points on their opponent for the fifth consecutive game and defeating Green River in front of the homecoming crowd 44-3.

Senior quarterback Jhett Schwahn led Powell with five touchdowns, 243 yards of total offense, an interception and field goal.

POWELL 44, GREEN RIVER 3

Overcast skies throughout the day threatened to continuously pour rain on the homecoming crowd, but that did not slow down the Panthers (5-0 overall, 1-0 3A West) in their conference opener against the Wolves (1-4 overall, 0-1 3A West).

“Coming into the night with all the rain and the weather we weren’t sure how the turnout would be and the stands were packed,” Schwahn said.

After a three-and-out by the visitors the Panthers got the ball and started driving, but stout opposition early stopped Powell in the red zone.

That led to a 25-yard field goal attempt from Schwahn, who converted to make it 3-0 with 7:40 left in the first quarter.

An interception by Schwahn on the next drive gave Powell the ball back in Green River’s territory — which led to a 1-yard touchdown run by Schwahn to extend the lead to 10-0.

Late in the quarter Schwahn connected with Trey Stenerson on a long pass, but Stenerson was stripped after a 55-yard gain and the Wolves took the ball back.

In the second, Schwahn found Stenerson once again — this time from 10 yards out in the back corner of the end zone to extend the lead to 16-0 after a missed PAT.

After a turnover on downs, Powell got another touchdown before the half when Trevon Abraham scored on a 9-yard touchdown run to make it 23-0.

Green River found its offense late in the half, putting together a drive alongside a couple of pass interference penalties by the Panthers to get within scoring range seconds before the break.

A 23-yard field goal got the Wolves on the board to make it 23-3 at the break.

During the halftime festivities the rain picked up more, continuing throughout the second half.

“Every week there’s a new challenge. This week it was the weather and homecoming all wrapped up into one,” coach Chase Kistler said. “We gotta keep facing adversity and get through it. That’s what weather is, you don’t want to make a huge deal out of it but when it is wet like this you want to be methodical and take care of the ball and that’s what we did.”

Schwahn got his second rushing touchdown of the day on a 1-yard run, increasing the lead to 30-3 with 5:58 left in the third quarter.

Abraham got his second touchdown of the night on a screen pass, as he was led by a convoy of Panthers for 43 yards to give Powell a 37-3 lead.

Abraham appeared to get his third touchdown of the night on another run that covered 57 yards, but a block in the back at the 1-yard line negated the touchdown and kept the score at 37-3.

Powell once again got down inside the 5-yard line, and Schwahn eventually found the end zone again behind his offensive line for his third rushing touchdown from 2 yards out to make it 44-3 early in the fourth. 

“They (the offensive line) are just as smart as they are strong and are super close-knit guys,” Schwahn said. “They love to be with each other. They are amazing, there are games where I come home and I don’t even feel like I played a game.”

The Panthers were able to see the night out the rest of the way, and walk away with a 44-3 homecoming victory.

Schwahn finished 9-21 for 212 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception through the air alongside 6 rushes for 31 yards and three touchdowns.

Abraham led the way on the ground and through the air, rushing six times for 93 yards and a touchdown while catching four passes for 94 yards and a touchdown.

Keona Wisniewski led the way for Powell on defense, finishing with 19 tackles, seven of them solo — while the Panthers recorded eight sacks and held the Wolves to 81 yards of total offense, all of them on the ground.

Powell finished with 223 yards on the ground while also supplying 212 through the air for a balanced attack despite the rainy weather.

“Tonight was the run, but the pass was there too. We had our opportunities but it went off our fingertips,” Kistler said. “In this kind of weather when you can resort back to the run and you feel confident and comfortable that you can get the job done it’s a nice thing to have in your back pocket.”

DIFFICULT TEST

Powell now heads out on the road after the two week homestand, heading down to Afton to take on the defending state champion Star Valley Braves (4-1 overall, 1-0 3A West) this weekend in a top three matchup at 5 p.m. on Friday.

“We need to have the practices like we had up until homecoming week,” Kistler said. “We are gonna prepare just like we do for every team.”

Star Valley currently sits as the No. 2-ranked team in the WyoPreps Coaches and Media Poll while the Panthers sit at No. 3.

POWELL 44, GREEN RIVER 3

Total tackles then solo tackles in ()

Passing — Jhett Schwahn 9-21, 212 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception

Rushing — Trevon Abraham 6-93, 1 touchdown; Cody Seifert 16-58; Jhett Schwahn 6-31, 3 touchdowns; Case Bradish 4-27; McKale Foley 1-14

Receiving — Trevon Abraham 4-94, 1 touchdown; Trey Stenerson 3-64, 1 touchdown; Alex Jordan 1-34, Cody Seifert 1-20

Tackles — Keona Wisniewski 19 (7), Wyatt Blackmore 7 (2), Zane Graft 6 (3), McKale Foley 6 (3), Trevon Abraham 6 (4), Seston Shoopman 4, Cody Seifert 4 (2), Dexter Opps 2, Jhett Schwahn 2 (1), Doug Bettger 2 (1), Dusty Carter 2, Dawson Griffin 2 (1), Evan Whitlock 1, Trey Stenerson 1 (1), Case Bradish 1, Colin Wilson 1, Landon Smallwood 1, Rowan Diaz 1 (1)

Tackles for loss — Keona Wisniewski 4, Wyatt Blackmore 3, Zane Graft 2, Seston Shoopman 2, Trevon Abraham 1, Doug Bettger 1, Dusty Carter 1

Sacks — Wyatt Blackmore 2, Zane Graft 2, Keona Wisniewski 1, Seston Shoopman 1, Doug Bettger 1, Dusty Carter 1

Pass breakups — Jhett Schwahn 1, Alex Jordan 1, Trey Stenerson 1, Case Bradish 1

Interceptions — Jhett Schwahn 1