Road woes continued for the Panther football team on Friday, after a first half scoring outburst by Douglas had Powell searching for answers often, resulting in a 34-14 defeat.

DOUGLAS 34, POWELL 14

Heading into the contest, the Panthers (2-2) were looking for a fast start against Douglas (2-1) after finding a groove in the second half against Lander the week prior.

That momentum was sapped from the first play of the game, when the Bearcats took the opening kickoff 99 yards to the house to make it 7-0.

“We dug ourselves in a hole early,” coach Chase Kistler said.

From that point forward neither team was able to find any momentum throughout the first period, leaving the score 7-0.

Douglas got another explosive play to start the second quarter, as the Bearcats quarterback found a way over the top of the Panther defense for a 70-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0.

Powell got the ball back, looking to put together a drive to keep the score close.

A Jhett Schwahn pass was intercepted by a Bearcat defender, and a quick two play drive pushed the lead to 21-0.

The Panthers appeared to be putting a drive together, before a miscue in the backfield resulted in a major loss on a sack.

Powell then was forced to push the ball upfield, and another Schwahn pass was intercepted and returned 30 yards to give Douglas good field position before the half.

The Bearcats capitalized on a 20-yard pass on a roll out, giving the home team full momentum going into the half up 28-0.

Coming out of the locker room, Powell punted on its first drive giving the ball right back to the Bearcats.

The Panthers got their first break of the game when a forced fumble was recovered in Douglas territory, setting up a short field opportunity.

“We came out timid in the first half,” Kistler said. “In the second half I think we started to find our momentum a little better and completed our assignments a little better.”

Powell took advantage, with the 34-yard drive capped off on a quarterback sneak by Schwahn to cut the lead to 28-7.

Douglas appeared to get right back to work on its next drive, when a long quarterback keeper put the Bearcats deep in Powell territory.

Trey Stenerson stopped the drive, intercepting a deep corner route at the 2-yard line, giving Powell the ball back.

The Panthers were unable to put together a long drive, giving the ball back to Douglas.

Douglas got its final touchdown of the game on a 7-yard slant, but the extra point sailed wide left making the score 34-7.

Powell got its second touchdown on a pass from Schwahn to Stenerson on a 3-yard play with 7:57 left in the game to make the final 34-14.

CONFERENCE BEGINS

Conference play now kicks off for the Panthers for the rest of the season, as they head back on the road this Friday to take on Green River (1-3) at 6:30 p.m.

Kistler is hoping for a faster start from his team this week, and wants his team to come out with more confidence heading down to Green River.

“It comes down to how we prepare for the game mentally,” Kistler said. “Usually I have to jump all over them at halftime and they come out more locked in. They just need to figure out how to do that because I don’t want to be that kind of coach. They are learning as they go, and I think they learn as the game goes on and that is why they get more comfortable.”

The Panthers will return home next Friday for their homecoming game against Star Valley.