In soccer, getting a hat trick — three goals by one player — is one of the main single-game achievements someone can reach. Imagine doubling that. 

Senior Hawkin Sweeney achieved this unheard of feat Tuesday in Powell High School’s 9-1 win over Cody, scoring six goals. 

“He’s got clinical speed and finishing,” head coach David Gilliatt said. “We were just playing balls into the passing channels behind Cody’s defense, and that led to so many goals for him.”

Sweeney is the team’s leading scorer, with eight goals through two games. The win was Powell’s second of the year, just three days after a 3-0 road win against Buffalo. 

In the Buffalo match, however, Gilliatt wasn’t pleased with the three-goal scoreline, noting that his players were holding onto the ball too long. But against the Broncs, quick passes led to a lopsided result and unstoppable attack.

Powell led 2-0 just 10 minutes into the game and never wavered. 

“We went on some well-timed runs,” Gilliatt said. “The supporting group was putting quality balls to our strikers.”

Center midfielders Chance Franks, Gunnar Erickson and Garrett Morris stood out in the win, “getting under Cody’s skin the whole game,” according to Gilliatt. They “linked up well together,” and Erickson and Morris even showed up on the score sheet, each notching a goal.

The only Cody goal came late in the second half, when Tucker Lynn sailed a free kick over Ashton Brewer’s outstretched arms. Gilliatt admitted he was “confused” with the officiating that led to the free kick, saying the contact causing the foul was shoulder-to-shoulder defending. But he isn’t hanging his head about it.

“It is what it is,” Gilliatt said.

Over the years, the rivalry between Cody and Powell has been back-and-forth, with Cody dominating in some years and “probably leading the all-time series,” per Gilliatt. The coach said he has great respect for the CHS program, but he was still thrilled to win the first match between the squads since 2019.

“I think it’s fun to even it out a bit,” Gilliatt said. “There’s no malice there, we just want to play ‘til the final whistle.”

While it’s hard to ask for a better performance than what PHS brought Tuesday, the team doesn’t have any plans of letting up. With state-title hopes, every player on Powell’s roster knows this commanding effort will have to be shown every time they take the pitch. 

In the practices before Powell’s Saturday match against Green River, Gilliatt will ensure his boys stay physically and mentally dominant and not look far ahead to Tuesday’s contest against Worland. 

“We want to use this to build on,” Gilliatt said of the Cody game. “Don’t let that win make you become complacent. You guys won by a big margin, don’t let that ruin you psychologically. Worland on Tuesday is a big matchup for us, but I don’t want us to think about them before Green River.”

Powell 9, Cody 0

Goals — Hawkin Sweeney 6, Keaton Rowton 1, Gunnar Erickson 1, Garrett Morris 1