An ice cold second half froze out the Powell Panther football team, after a blown 20-0 halftime lead saw the Panthers crash out of the quarterfinals for the fourth straight season when the Riverton Wolverines stormed back to a 36-35 double overtime win.

RIVERTON 36, POWELL 35 (2OT)

In a rematch from a 7-0 loss the first game of the season, the No. 3 seeded Panthers (6-4) were looking for revenge against the No. 2 seeded Wolverines (8-2), this time on the road.

The Powell defense stood strong on the first drive, but a fake punt near midfield continued Riverton’s initial drive for a few more plays, until Powell stopped the hosts and took over.

Both teams exchanged punts, with Riverton’s second not going far and giving Powell possession at the opposing 38 yard line.

The Panthers then moved the ball down the field the rest of the first quarter, and thought they had a touchdown on a pass to Alex Jordan that was called back via penalty.

The drive eventually capped off at the horn with a 3-yard touchdown run by Cody Seifert to make it 7-0.

Powell continued to stop the Riverton offense, and got a boost for its next scoring drive on a big punt return by Evan Whitlock.

Whitlock eventually converted a big third down on that ensuing drive with just under six minutes left, and the drive was capped off after McKale Foley broke through for a 25-yard touchdown run.

The ensuing extra point was tipped at the line after it was moved back due to a false start, and Powell led 13-0 with 4:56 left in the first half.

Riverton started to move the ball on the next drive, getting past midfield before Foley stepped into a passing lane and intercepted a pass, returning it 56 yards down the Panther sideline to the end zone to extend the advantage to 20-0 with 1:32 remaining.

The Wolverines once again moved the ball down the field just before halftime, getting inside the Powell 30 yard line before Foley stepped up once again and intercepted the ball at the 9 yard line to keep Riverton off the board.

“The first half is definitely how we needed to play all four quarters,” coach Chase Kistler said. “They got some yards on us, but for the most part I thought we were out playing them the first half completely. I was happy at halftime.”

Getting the ball in the second half the Panthers were unable to get a drive going, and Riverton started to threaten once again.

A converted fourth down play and another key third down put the Wolverines deep in Powell territory, but the Panthers stood tall and stopped the hosts on a fourth down play with 5:39 remaining to get the ball back.

Faced with their own third down, the Panthers turned to quarterback Keona Wisniewski to convert, and he did, but a hold negated the conversion. Then disaster struck.

The Wolverines defense read the next play, a screen, with a defender intercepting Wisniewski’s pass and running it back for a pick-six to make it 20-7 with 3:46 left in the third.

Powell was stopped on a short third down on its next drive, and a punt followed to give Riverton the ball back.

The Wolverines started moving the ball again, converting a key third down to end the third quarter and putting them in striking range.

A 35-yard touchdown pass by Riverton started the fourth quarter, but a missed PAT kept the contest at 20-13.

“For whatever reason we were just kind of stagnant on offense in that third quarter,” Kistler said. “It wasn’t until our back was against the wall again in the fourth quarter that we kind of played with that intensity we had in the first half.”

Needing a big play, Seifert took a handoff on the first play of the next drive and took it 52 yards into Riverton territory.

Unfortunately for Powell, Seifert fumbled two plays later and Riverton recovered at its own 19 with 11 minutes left.

“It all matters in a playoff game when every yard, every score makes a difference,” Kistler said. “We had more turnovers than they had and it just adds up in a game like that. You could feel the momentum shifting and we just couldn’t get any footing.”

Riverton took advantage of the turnover, marching down the field and getting into Powell territory aided by a long run and penalty to get within striking distance.

A 4-yard touchdown run capped off the more than six minute drive to tie the game with 4:49 left.

Powell was stopped on its following possession, and the Wolverines got the ball back with a chance to win.

A pass interference helped Riverton on its drive, and a personal foul helped give Riverton the chance to win on a short 26 yard field goal with three seconds left.

“The pass interference was hard because I even watched it on film and I can’t see any contact. Two guys with the ball in the air, that was a jump ball, not a lot of contact,” Kistler said.

The field goal was pushed left, and the teams went to overtime tied.

In overtime each team gets an opportunity with the ball, starting from the 10 yard line with four downs to score.

Riverton got the ball first, scoring on a touchdown run and adding a 2-point conversion to make it 28-20.

Powell answered with a touchdown run from Seifert, but a false start pushed the ball back on the 2-point try.

A reverse to Jordan just found the corner of the end zone and Powell tied it.

In the second overtime Powell got the ball first, scoring on a Trevon Abraham touchdown before adding an extra point to make it 35-28.

“I was pretty confident in our offense getting in our big set and just punching the ball in. It might not be pretty, but they couldn’t stop it,” Kistler said. “Then it was just thinking that our defense gets one stop.”

Riverton answered with a touchdown run, before both teams exchanged timeouts as the Wolverines went for two.

A throw found a Wolverine in the back of the end zone, and Riverton completed the comeback with a 36-35 win.

“There was some thought (going for two), but between the discussion and what’s going on in my head, the extra point is for sure,” Kistler said. “So you can go up by seven and then put the pressure on them. We set the bar and they either have to go for two and pick it up, or go for one and keep going in overtime … I just believed that our defense could get the job done and get a stop or a turnover.”

Seifert led the Panthers on the ground with 152 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns.

Wisniewski led the Panthers on defense with 18 tackles, eight solo, while Whitlock and Abraham each had 10.

Whitlock added three pass breakups, Jordan Loera had two and Wisniewski had one.

RECAP AND REBUILD

Heading into this season the Panthers had a lot of uncertainty surrounding key positions following graduation last season, but the team replaced those skill positions and still produced a strong season that ended with a winning record.

“Making the playoffs in our conference is an accomplishment,” Kistler said. “It’s tough when you have the two top teams in the state on our side, and then also just being on the west side we’re pretty much the smallest school. The entire 3A conference is competitive. It’s tough getting through the west health-wise, and we battled that all season from zero week all the way to the end.”

He said that at times the Panthers had sophomores and even freshmen step into the team at times, and expects a rebuilding year following a large graduating class this season.

“The amount of improvement that I’ve seen from all levels, from all of our young guys to our seniors towards the end of the season, we were playing our best football at the end of the year,” Kistler said. “The future does look good, next year is going to be a rebuilding year. We’ve got a lot of young guys … They can be competitive next year, and they’re going to be fighting for a spot in the playoffs again next year, but it really comes down to what they do in the offseason. Being a young team, if they get in the weight room and get their strength and get their size up, they’ll be competitive.”

RIVERTON 36, POWELL 35 (2OT)

Total tackles then solo tackles in ()

Passing — Keona Wisniewski 3-8, 23 yards, 1 interception

Rushing — Cody Seifert 24-152, 2 touchdowns; McKale Foley 1-25, 1 touchdown; Keona Wisniewski 5-20; Trevon Abraham 3-13, 1 touchdown; Evan Whitlock 1-6

Receiving — Evan Whitlock 2-13, Brady Harvey 1-10

Tackles — Keona Wisniewski 18 (8), Evan Whitlock 10 (8), Trevon Abraham 10 (5), Nathan Preator 5 (4), Dusty Carter 5 (1), Jordan Loera 5 (3), McKale Foley 5 (3), Alex Jordan 3 (2), Tucker Oliver 3 (1), Cody Seifert 3, Doug Bettger 2, Tyler Wenzel 1, Weston Hull 1 (1)

Tackles for loss — Dusty Carter 2, Keona Wisniewski 1, Tucker Oliver 1, Trevon Abraham 1, Cody Seifert 1

Pass breakups — Evan Whitlock 3, Jordan Loera 2, Keona Wisniewski 1

Interceptions — McKale Foley 2

3A PLAYOFF BRACKET

QUARTERFINALS (Friday, Nov. 1)

No. 1W Star Valley def. No. 4E Lander 52-0

No. 2E Riverton def. No. 3W Powell 36-35 (2OT)

No. 2W Cody def. No. 3E Torrington 63-6

No. 1E Douglas def. No. 4W Evanston 31-14

SEMIFINALS (Friday, Nov. 8)

6 p.m. No. 2E Riverton at No. 1W Star Valley

6 p.m. No. 2W Cody at No. 1E Douglas

CHAMPIONSHIP (Friday, Nov. 15)

(State championship game is in Laramie at War Memorial Stadium)

3 p.m. Semifinal 1 winner vs. Semifinal 2 winner