Forcing early turnovers helped the Powell Panthers jump ahead of the Evanston Red Devils early and often at Panther Stadium on Friday on the way to a 36-14 victory, finishing undefeated in regular season home games and taking another step toward the postseason.

POWELL 36, EVANSTON 14

Kicking off to start didn’t slow down the Panthers (6-1 overall, 2-1 3A West), who used pressure to help force an early turnover from the Red Devils (3-4 overall, 1-2 3A West) on their first possession.

Just a minute into the game, McKale Foley came up with an interception and returned it 19 yards deep into Evanston territory.

“Against Star Valley we couldn’t set that tone and that cycled down in the first half, but this time we set the tone and maintained it. It’s not just setting the tone but it’s maintaining it and our guys did a heck of a job,” junior linebacker Trevon Abraham said.

One minute later Cody Seifert found his way to pay dirt on a 3-yard touchdown run to give Powell the early 7-0 lead.

After forcing Evanston to punt, the Panthers got the ball and started on the move again, quickly getting into the red zone.

The drive was once again capped off by Seifert on a 1-yard touchdown run to give Powell a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

“We came out quickly unlike we did last week,” coach Chase Kistler said. “We made some plays on defense that gave us some short fields on offense and our offense was kind of rolling pretty fast in that first quarter.”

The next action came in the second quarter, when Keona Wisniewski appeared to score a touchdown on a reception but a holding penalty brought the score back early in the second.

Powell was unable to find the end zone on that drive, but got the ball back quickly.

Wisniewski grabbed an interception, giving the Panthers the ball inside the 10-yard line.

Penalties and losses had Powell backed up to the 12, but a pass from Jhett Schwahn to the corner of the end zone found Trey Stenerson and extended the lead to 21-0.

Then Evanston found its way onto the board, after a big screen play got the Red Devils into Powell territory and it was finished off on a 12-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-7 late in the half.

Evanston left just enough time on the clock for Powell to get one more chance before the break.

A quick drive by the Panthers spanned 68 yards in a minute and was capped off by a 35-yard touchdown pass from Schwahn to Evan Whitlock with exactly one second remaining on the clock.

“It gives us that little sense of security stretching that lead just before half,” Kistler said. “It was a big play for him.”

Everything didn’t go perfectly however, as the extra point was blocked and Powell took a 27-7 lead into the locker room.

Out of the break the Panthers moved the ball but were stalled at midfield, getting stopped on a short fourth down play and giving the Red Devils the ball in good field position.

A big throw on the following play put Evanston in scoring position, and the Red Devils eventually scored on a 19-yard touchdown to cut the lead down to 27-14.

Powell’s next drive started to take time off the clock, moving the ball upfield while burning five minutes.

Powell was unable to find the end zone, but a 27-yard field goal by Schwahn found its way over the crossbar to make it 30-14.

The Panther defense and special teams continued to step up on the next possession to keep Evanston at bay, when Zane Graft blocked a punt that was recovered by Abraham.

“McKale’s and Keona’s interceptions right off the bat, that momentum change is hard to get back from (for them),” Abraham said. “Zane’s blocked punt was huge to keep the momentum with us.”

That was just part of Abraham’s big night, as he finished with 14 tackles including nine solo for the Panther defense.

“Keona is No. 1 in the state in defensive points, they double teamed him all night, without everyone doing their job I don’t have the game I did. Thank goodness for my team and shout out to them for playing their butts off,” Abraham said.

Powell moved the ball down near the end zone, but stalled at the 1-yard line.

Instead of attempting to go for it on fourth down, the Panthers decided to take three points on a short field goal and make it a three possession game at 33-14 at the start of the fourth quarter.

“We couldn’t complete the drives. We would drive the ball down to the red zone and couldn’t punch it in for whatever reason. We just took the three and didn’t want to take points off the board — we could go for it on fourth and short, chances are we would get it but I don’t see the sense when we’ve got the lead,” Kistler said.

Powell added one more field goal late from 31 yards to finish the contest with a 36-14 victory.

Powell was without Seifert for a majority of the second half alongside Doug Bettger, who Kistler opted to have sit out and not risk further injury beyond what they had suffered in the game.

Powell was also without starting wide receiver and corner Alex Jordan who did not play due to an injury suffered prior to the contest.

“We didn’t see a sense in playing those guys with bumps and bruises when we had the lead,” Kistler said. “We just need to get healthy and get some rest. We know it’s part of the game and it’s something we have to deal with.”

Schwahn finished 13-20 for 210 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers. Case Bradish led Powell on the ground with 62 yards on 10 carries while Seifert had 32 yards on nine carries for two touchdowns.

Whitlock led Powell with four receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown, while Abraham led the Panther defense with 30 defensive points (coaches score players for tackles, sacks, turnovers, etc.).

PLAYOFF BERTH POSSIBLE

The Panthers will head on the road to finish the season, starting with a game in Jackson (3-4 overall, 1-2 3A West) at 5 p.m. on Friday.

Despite not having a winning record, Kistler knows Powell will have its hands full with Jackson, which boasts the top passing offense in 3A at 314 yards a game.

“We know they throw the ball about 90% of the time, we are going to have to be better in our secondary. We are going to have to get some pressure on him to get rid of the ball quicker and it’s going to be a different kind of game for us,” Kistler said.

If Powell wins it will lock up a spot in the playoffs, and will have a chance to secure the No. 2 seed next week against rival Cody (6-1 overall, 2-1 3A West) with the two teams tied after both squads lost to Star Valley.

POWELL 36, EVANSTON 14

Total tackles then solo tackles in ()

Passing — Jhett Schwahn 13-20 210 yards, 2 touchdowns; Keona Wisniewski 1-1 20 yards

Rushing — Case Bradish 10-62; Cody Seifert 9-32, 2 touchdowns; Trevon Abraham 2-10; Keona Wisniewski 3-1; McKale Foley 1-1

Receiving — Evan Whitlock 4-95, 1 touchdown; Trey Stenerson 4-52, 1 touchdown; Zane Graft 2-46; Trevon Abraham 1-21; Keona Wisniewski 2-10; Cody Seifert 1-6

Tackles — Trevon Abraham 14 (9); Keona Wisniewski 7 (1); Wyatt Blackmore 6; Jhett Schwahn 5 (4); Seston Shoopman 4; McKale Foley 4; Dusty Carter 4 (1); Zane Graft 2 (1); Doug Bettger 2; Case Bradish 2 (2); Trey Stenerson 1; Dawson Griffin 1 (1); Colin Wilson 1, Ethan Melton 1 (1)

Tackles for loss — Jhett Schwahn 1, Trevon Abraham 1, Dusty Carter 1

Sack — Trevon Abraham 1

Pass breakups — Keona Wisniewski 1, Jhett Schwahn 1, McKale Foley 1, Case Bradish 1

Forced fumbles — Evan Whitlock 1

Fumble recoveries — Trevon Abraham 1

Interceptions — Keona Wisniewski 1, McKale Foley 1

Blocked kicks — Zane Graft 1