A week ago against Lander, a pair of missed extra points were the difference in a loss for the Powell High School football team.

Extra points again proved the difference this week for the Panthers against No. 3 Douglas, though the outcome was decidedly different. With the score tied 6-6 following a Powell touchdown late in the third quarter, freshman kicker Hawkin Sweeney hit the biggest point-after of his young career, giving the Panthers a 7-6 win over the previously unbeaten Bearcats in Douglas.

“I think our guys responded really well to that environment,” said Aaron Papich, who picked up his first win as the Panthers’ head coach. “It feels really good to come out of there with the win.”

The first half was a defensive battle, with neither team able to get anything going offensively.

“We couldn’t quite get our offense rolling,” said Panther senior Kaelan Groves. “Our defense held solid. What really helped us against Douglas was we limited our turnovers. As long as we kept the score 0-0, we knew we could pull away at a certain point.”

Douglas was able to break the stalemate late in the first half, when quarterback AJ Yeaman hit Kanyon Cecil for a 7-yard touchdown. Christian Coffman’s point after attempt hit the upright, however. That miscue would come back to haunt the home team, which held a 6-0 halftime lead.

“We let the guys know that we were doing just fine at halftime,” Papich said. “For some reason, the second half is when our guys really perform. The scoreboard is never really a factor for us — whether we’re ahead or down, we just try to focus on what we can control and trust the process.”

After a quiet first half, the Panthers got things rolling on offense, aided in no small part by the return of center Seth Horton.

“Having Seth back was big, just from the standpoint of being a leader on that line,” Papich said. “He communicates well with those guys, and they feel good having him in that position. Our guys were really working together as one.”

“I thought we really melded well as a team and worked together,” said Groves. “I saw some of the best discipline with our line and with our execution that we hadn’t seen all season.”

With the third quarter winding down, the Panthers put together their best drive of the night, culminating in a game-tying, 9-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ethan Asher to Dalton Woodward. For the extra point, Papich chose to go with the freshman Sweeney, who calmly converted it. That gave Powell the lead and, eventually, the win.

“We actually have a lot of options for kickers with Ashton Brewer, Hawkin [Sweeney] and Garrett Stutzman,” Papich said. “We went with Hawkin, and he’s doing a good job. Special teams is a third of the game, so being able to execute on that level is big, and has kind of been the difference-maker for the last couple of games.”

Offensive turnovers — which plagued the Panthers in the first half against Lander — weren’t an issue Friday against the Bearcats, something Papich said the team had been working to address all week.

“We really tried to tighten things up all week, just trying to get everyone on the same page,” he said. “I think that’s really helped. We’re becoming more confident each week, and really starting to settle down a little bit. It feels good.”

The Panthers’ ball-hawking defense had a busy night, with two interceptions by Groves and a fumble recovery by defensive end Carson Heinen. The defensive line, led by Heinen, kept the pressure on the entire game, creating havoc at the line of scrimmage and in the backfield, holding the Bearcats to just 140 total yards for the game.

“All around, our defense was doing a really good job,” Heinen said. “Everyone was just filling their gaps, knew where they needed to be. It was probably our best game overall defensively, everybody just did their job, did what they needed to do.”

Papich said his squad had some big plays on defense.

“Carson [Heinen] really did a good job on our defensive line; he was getting a lot of penetration,” Papich said. “He was resetting the line of scrimmage by driving off the ball. That really limited some of their plays; they couldn’t pull any of their guards or anything because he was disrupting that pathway. There was a lot of teamwork with everyone rallying around the ball.”

Groves’ two picks stopped promising drives by Douglas.

“Kaelan’s two takeaways [were] huge,” Papich said. “Our defense really came through.”

Powell finished the game with 224 total yards. Quarterback Asher had another solid game under center, hitting on 12 of 26 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown.

“He [Asher] is just a solid competitor, he really loves competition, and that’s the biggest thing about him,” Papich said. “And Dalton [Woodward] just keeps coming through when we need him, defensively and offensively. Both of those guys are real key to the success of our team.”

Kadden Abraham led the Panthers on the ground with 68 yards rushing. Brody Karhu added 34 yards and Groves chipped in eight.

It was a jubilant bus ride home, according to Papich, and since it was his first win as well in many respects, one he won’t soon forget.

“Those guys were having so much fun on the ride home, and it’s great seeing them really believing in themselves and executing to where their potential is,” he said. “And it’s actually much higher — I feel these guys can continue to grow and perform. We still have a lot of work to do, but it’s always good to come away with a win in Douglas.”

The Panthers head to Evanston Friday to take on the undefeated Red Devils, winners of a 35-28 shootout against Lander last Friday. Evanston’s Tyus Cornia has gone over the 200-yard rushing mark in back-to-back games, and Papich said his defense will need to be at the top of its game.

“We really need to stick to our keys and our fundamentals, that’s big,” he said. “Just continuing to trust what we do. We’re not going to really change anything. The concepts we have we might tweak here and there, but rallying to the ball is going to be big. From snap to whistle, we go all out. If we can do that, I think we’ll have a good chance at being successful.”

Heinen agreed.

“You can always expect Evanston to be a tough team,” he said. “They’re gonna punch you in the mouth right off the get-go, so you have to be ready to respond.”