Only four 3A teams played official games against each other in Wyoming this past weekend, and the Powell Panthers got off on the right foot against the Riverton Wolverines — finishing with a 42-24 victory on the road Friday.

POWELL 42, RIVERTON 24

The season could not have begun any better for the Panthers (1-0) on Friday, starting out with the ball against the Wolverines (0-1).

After a touchback the Panthers got to work, with a quick drive being capped off by a 43-yard touchdown run by Cody Seifert to put Powell up 7-0.

Powell appeared to be heading for a route after a bad punt on Riverton’s first possession gave Powell the ball inside the opposing 30 yard line, but a penalty stalled the drive and the Panthers punted the ball inside the 5.

Riverton was backed up, but a screen on third down got the Wolverines out of trouble and sparked a long drive.

“We were playing so fast downhill that when they ran screens it caught us in bad scenarios,” coach Chase Kistler said. “They would execute the screen very well.”

That was capped off by a touchdown pass late in the first quarter to tie the score and the Panthers needed an answer to reclaim the lead.

A reverse on the kickoff set Powell up nicely near midfield, and Jhett Schwahn gave Powell the lead back on a 42-yard run two plays later to make it 14-7 after the first.

That lead grew when Schwahn found Dawson Griffin on a deep 44-yard pass to extend the lead to 21-7.

Powell grew the lead further late in the quarter, when Zane Graft caught a short touchdown pass from Schwahn to make it 28-7.

“Offensively I felt like we executed really well,” Kistler said. “There were not really any blown assignments, there’s some technique stuff we need to fix … I was very impressed with how we executed offensively.”

Riverton got another drive going just before the half, and found a field goal to cut the lead to 28-10.

In the third quarter the Panthers got the ball back early, and ate up a lot of the clock before Seifert scored his second touchdown of the game on a 5-yard scamper to make it 35-10.

Riverton found its way into the end zone again early in the fourth quarter, scoring on a pass that made it 35-17 with 11 minutes left.

The Wolverines had a surprise for the Panthers, opting to go for an onside kick — with the ball bouncing off a Panther blocker and recovered by the hosts to make things interesting late.

“We didn’t have a hands team ready yet,” Kistler said. “The lineman did the right thing, he just didn’t catch the ball.”

A big play followed to set the Wolverines deep in Panther territory, and was eventually capped off by a fourth down pass that found its way over the defense to cut the lead to 35-24.

“Our pass coverage has gotta find some confidence,” Kistler said. “We have the athletes to get the job done but we just need to build confidence to get the plays done.”

A second onside kick ensued, but Powell inserted a hands team to recover the ball that set up a short field for the Panthers.

That short field led to a quick drive, and a short Keona Wisniewski run capped off the scoring to give Powell the 42-24 season opening victory.

A new coach alongside strong athletes made for a more difficult matchup with the Wolverines as Kistler was uncertain what the opponent would bring.

“Riverton has always had athletes,” Kistler said. “They run a lot of different formations and sets that we couldn’t prepare for. It’s a tough game plan when they don’t run the same offensive formation two times in a row.”

Powell was led through the air by Schwahn who finished 11-18 for 156 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception just before halftime.

Seifert led the way on the ground, finishing with 120 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns.

Trey Stenerson topped the receiving corps with five receptions for 74 yards, Trevon Abraham recorded a team-high 11 tackles alongside two solo and Alex Jordan led the way with three pass breakups on defense.

HOME OPENER

Powell will open with a week one game at home against Worland at Panther Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m.

The Panthers will look to avenge a loss on the road last year to the Warriors, where Powell was surprised in a 28-7 defeat.

“We definitely want to play a lot better than we did last year,” Kistler said. “Last year we had guys hurt and they had a lot of speed that they took advantage of. I’m looking for us to play well in the first home game and look like we did playing in Riverton. We have to execute on offense and get more confident on defense.”

Powell opened the season at No. 4 in the WyoPreps Coaches and Media preseason poll, receiving one second place vote, one third place vote, 15 fourth place votes and two fifth place votes.

Powell is behind Star Valley at No. 1, Cody at No. 2, Douglas at No. 3 and ahead of Buffalo at No. 5.

POWELL 42, RIVERTON 24

Total tackles then solo tackles in ()

Passing — Jhett Schwahn 11-18, 156 yards, two touchdowns, one interception

Rushing — Cody Seifert 14-120, two touchdowns; Jhett Schwahn 5-40, one touchdown; Keona Wisniewski 4-38, one touchdown; McKale Foley 4-23; Trevon Abraham 2-10

Receiving — Trey Stenerson 5-74; Dawson Griffin 1-44, one touchdown; Trevon Abraham 1-14; Keona Wisniewski 1-10; Caden Nelson, 1-10; Zane Graft 1-4, one touchdown

Tackles — Trevon Abraham 11 (2); Evan Whitlock 8 (5); Jhett Schwahn 6 (4); Keona Wisniewski 5 (4); Cody Seifert 5 (3); McKale Foley 4 (2); Alex Jordan 4 (3); Wyatt Blackmore 4 (3); Colin Wilson 3 (1); Dusty Carter 2 (1); Zane Graft 2 (1); Seston Shoopman 2 (1); Hoyt Wells 1

Tackles for loss — Trevon Abraham 1, Wyatt Blackmore 1

Pass breakups — Alex Jordan 3, Trevon Abraham 1, Caden Nelson 1