Panthers relegated to No. 3 playoff seed

The No. 1 Green River Wolves scored touchdowns on each of their first five possessions on Friday night to cruise to a 38-14 victory over No. 3 Powell. Powell will now travel to Lander for the opening round of the 3A playoffs this Friday while the Wolves captured the 3A West conference title.

The anticipated clash of top-three teams never had a chance to materialize. After making the long drive to southwest Wyoming, Powell allowed the host Wolves to march 69 yards in nine plays on the game’s first drive for a score.

Green River picked off Powell quarterback Josh Cragoe on the Panthers’ third play from scrimmage, giving the football back to its offense at the Powell 18. Three plays later, the Wolves were celebrating once more.

The trend continued as the Panthers’ typically stout defense was unable to rise to the occasion. Green River converted its first seven third-down opportunities as the team tacked on second-quarter touchdown passes of 10, 20 and 8 yards to grab a 35-0 lead with 3:39 remaining in the first half.

The Panthers’ first successful stop of the Wolves’ offense didn’t come until just over a minute remained in the first half when Olie Olson stepped in front of a Green River pass for one of two interceptions recorded by Powell. Green River tallied 323 yards of offense in the first half.

“They didn’t do anything we hadn’t seen from them in film,” said Panther head coach Jim Stringer after the contest. “The stuff they were running out there was the same stuff we practiced against all week. We just didn’t execute.”

Things got better for the Panthers in the second half. Powell marched the opening kickoff to the Green River 36 before Garrett Lynch was stopped inches shy on a fourth-down rushing attempt.

Powell also pushed deep into Green River territory on its next possession, only to give up the football near the 20 on an errant option pitch. It was one of four turnovers by the Panthers in the contest.

The third time proved to be the charm as Powell broke through late in the third quarter. Cragoe hooked up with Dewey Schwahn for a 42-yard touchdown pass to get the Panthers on the scoreboard with 2:25 left in the period.

Green River tacked on a 33-yard field goal with 4:39 remaining in the game. The kick produced the Wolves’ only points of the second half. Powell responded with a 39-yard Cragoe-to-Lynch touchdown pass with 2:41 left to play before Green River ran out the clock.

After a lopsided first half, the Panthers were able to restore some parity in the stat column over the final two quarters. Powell finished with 337 yards of offense, much of which was achieved through the air as the team attempted to claw its way back into the contest. Cragoe finished 15-for-32 throwing the football as Powell passed for 261 yards in the contest. The Panthers added 76 yards along the ground, 51 of those coming from Cragoe as none of the Panthers’ running backs carried the ball more than three times.

Green River finished the night with 454 yards of offense, 293 along the ground and 161 through the air.

The loss dropped the Panthers to 6-2 overall this season and gave the team a third-place finish in the 3A West conference. Powell travels to Lander (7-1) to begin playoff action this Friday. The Panthers and Tigers are familiar foes, having played against each other in the 3A West until this season.