Cragoe, Olson earn Super 25 honors

After a state championship run through the post-season, the Powell Panthers flexed their muscle in the post-season awards category as well. Nine members of Powell’s roster earned all-conference recognition. Four advanced to earn all-state honors while head coach Jim Stringer was named the 3A West coach of the year.

For Panthers Josh Cragoe and Olie Olson, those accolades were just the tip of the iceberg.

Both Cragoe and Olson were named to the Casper Star-Tribune’s Super 25 list for the top prep football players in the state. Cragoe narrowly edged the competition to lead Class 3A in all-purpose yardage, averaging just over 260 yards per contest. After spending much of his junior year as a member of the Panthers’ backfield, Cragoe flourished behind center this autumn in helping direct Powell to a 9-2 overall record.

Olson, meanwhile, was simply Mr. November for the Panthers.

After opening the playoffs with a four-interception performance in the quarterfinals, Olson snared the game-winning touchdown at Green River in the semifnals. Seconds later, he clinched the victory by snaring a game-ending interception. In the 3A title game, Olson notched yet another interception, then picked off a Douglas two-point conversion pass with 15 seconds to play to deny the Bearcats their fourth consecutive state title and bring the 3A title trophy home to Powell.

Fittingly, Olson was named the defensive player of the year. He led the state with nine interceptions.

Both Cragoe and Olson were also members of the Panthers’ all-state delegation as chosen by the state’s 3A coaches. Joining them were senior Cooper Wise, who provided Olson with one of his closest pursuers for the title of 3A interception leader, and junior Vince Sleep, who for the second year in a row ranked among the state’s all-class leaders in defensive points.

All four were making their second appearance on the all-state list for the Panthers.

Five other Panthers earned all-conference honors from the 3A West coaches. Brendon Phister, who led the Panthers in defensive points and also finished among the state’s leaders in that category, scored all-conference honors as a sophomore. Classmate and fellow linebacking corps member Anthony Lujan was also an all-conference selection.

Powell’s linebacking trio of Sleep, Phister and Lujan will all return next season.

Also earning all-conference recognition were brothers Keithen and Dewey Schwahn. Both players provided Cragoe with sure-handed targets to throw the football to. Keithen added yardage carrying the football out of the Panthers’ backfield while Dewey led the state in net punting yards this season.

Sophomore offensive and defensive lineman Garrett Lynch rounded out Powell’s selection of all-conference players.

The final postseason award for the Panthers was reserved for Powell head coach Jim Stringer. Stringer was named the 3A West coach of the year after helping to direct the Panthers to the state title. The 3A coaches did not name a state coach of the year recipient.