Panthers face toughest test yet in Evanston

Posted 9/20/18

After a couple weeks of false starts and what-could-have-beens, the Powell High School football team broke into the win column last week, upsetting then-undefeated and third-ranked Douglas 7-6 on the …

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Panthers face toughest test yet in Evanston

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After a couple weeks of false starts and what-could-have-beens, the Powell High School football team broke into the win column last week, upsetting then-undefeated and third-ranked Douglas 7-6 on the Bearcats’ home turf.

And by all accounts, the win column is a place the Panthers would like to stay for awhile.

“The team is excited and hungry, and I think ready to go,” said Powell head coach Aaron Papich. “The biggest thing that we have to do is trust in the process when it comes to effort and attitude. We have such huge upside, and I feel like we’re starting to feel a little of where our potential is. But we can’t be satisfied — we have to continue and push.”

That quest isn’t likely to get any easier, however, as the rest of the Panthers’ schedule reads like a who’s-who of the top-ranked 3A programs in the state. First up is an away game against third-ranked Evanston, sporting a perfect 3-0 record and ranked in the Top 5 for the first time since the program dropped down to 3A prior to the 2017 season. The Red Devils have the leading rusher in the state in Tyus Cornia, and Papich expects his defense to have its hands full.

“Evanston has a really good running back, and they do a lot of things extremely well,” he said. “They run a lot of draw plays along with power plays, so they’re pretty versatile. They just have some really skilled guys, so they’re going to be a really good team to play.”

Evanston head coach Pat Fackrell said the Red Devils are playing with a lot of confidence, calling it a team of young men “who truly enjoy playing the game of football.”

“They’re taking advantage of each day that we have in practice,” he said. “We’re right now staying grounded in the fact that we’ve got a lot of things to improve on. It’s a long season, and we have a lot of work ahead of us.”

Cornia’s success in toting the rock this season is aided in no small part by Evanston’s offensive line, a group that takes pride in their work, Fackrell said.

“It starts with Brendan Thompson, who’s our general there at center,” the Evanston coach said. “We have two solid senior tackles in Bridger Barker and Ethan Moir; they’re doing a great job for us. We’re able to put other kids in right now, and that’s been a benefit in keeping kids healthy.”

As for Cornia, whose 689 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns are tops in the state, Fackrell said the senior’s gaudy numbers are no fluke.

“Tyus [Cornia] has great vision, and he’s powerful,” Fackrell said. “If something’s not there, he’ll run through somebody. Our fullbacks really make holes, they’re very physical kids. We take pride in playing that style of football, playing downhill and controlling the time of possession.”

The Red Devils rely on a pair of senior linebackers in Pablo Escalante and Riley Griggs to set the tone on defense.

“They [Escalante and Griggs] are great leaders and have played a lot of football for us, so it’s nice to have that experience back to us,” Fackrell said. “We’ve got a veteran secondary, and a defensive line that we’ve been able to move kids in and out and try to stay healthy.”

For the Panthers and their sixth-ranked offense, Papich is expecting solid performances from the usual suspects, including quarterback Ethan Asher, all-purpose back Kaelan Groves and running backs Brody Karhu and Kadden Abraham, as well as tight end/defensive end Carson Heinen. But there will be important battles on the line on both sides of the ball, and Papich said the play from the big guys up front will be key.

“Some of our linemen — Matt Seckman, Macen Thomas and Ryan Good — those are key guys who we need to do their jobs at a high level,” he said. “Everyone has a job, and their job is to do it to the very best of their ability, otherwise they compromise the goal of our team.”

Evanston’s Cornia is on pace for a 1,500-yard season, a fact that hasn’t escaped Papich and his defensive unit, currently ranked fourth in the state, allowing 207 yards a game.

“It’s going to be critical that we keep that running back in front of us,” he said. “It’s critical that we play with our hands and leverage the offensive linemen. We have to stay in our gaps and not allow him [Cornia] any running lanes. For us to do that, we have to trust each other and trust our system.”

Last season was the first meeting between the two teams since 1986, the year before Evanston made the jump to 4A. The Red Devils won last year’s game 14-7, and Fackrell said he expects it to be another tough contest.

“Traditionally, Powell is just a great football community,” he said. “They’ve played in some big games. We know that we have our hands full, and we know they’ll be playing with a lot of confidence coming off a big win at Douglas. They did some really good things in that game, and our kids are going to have to be focused and locked in. We’re going to have to play our best football, because [Powell] is a very good team.”

Friday’s game marks the conference opener for both teams — the first step in the march toward the playoffs.

“The season really starts now with conference play, so we gotta definitely bring intensity and really just work on continuing with our team culture, making sure we’re putting the most important things first,” Papich said. “Nothing should change right now with what we’re doing — we just need to do it harder, faster and with a lot of intensity. And I’m so impressed with the leadership that our guys are starting to develop, it’s awesome.”

Powell High School, Panther Football

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