With playoff berths securely locked up between the two teams, the Powell Panthers and Evanston Red Devils battled for the third and fourth seeds on Friday in Evanston, as two touchdown catches by Alex Jordan proved to be the difference in a 14-6 win for the Panthers.

POWELL 14, EVANSTON 6

With seeding on the line in the final game of the season, the Panthers (6-3 overall, 3-2 3A West) made the long trip to the southwest corner of the state to take on the Red Devils (3-6 overall, 2-3 3A West) as both teams had already secured a postseason position.

After stopping the Red Devils on their first drive the Panthers took over and started a drive that would take approximately five minutes and span 64 yards to help get Powell on the board.

The drive would be capped off by a 22-yard touchdown pass from Keona Wisniewski to Alex Jordan, who acrobatically got his foot down in the front corner of the end zone to make it 7-0 with 4:59 left in the first quarter.

“When you have Alex catching balls, and Jordan (Loera) catching the ball and Evan (Whitlock) catching the ball, you can’t load the box,” coach Chase Kistler said. “It’s nice to just kind of have that one-two punch.”

Powell continued to stifle the host’s offense through the remainder of the first quarter, before the Red Devils got going in the second.

A long run helped set up Evanston in the red zone, with the hosts eventually punching it in on a run to the corner with 8:22 left, but a missed extra point kept Powell in the lead 7-6.

Penalties once again plagued the Panthers throughout the night, as they finished with 11 for 85 yards while Evanston only had two for 15.

Despite the penalties, Kistler was happy with his team’s ability to fight back from a majority of them and continue drives.

“We averaged one or two possessions each quarter but we dominated the time of possession,” Kistler said. “We just chewed off the clock.”

Neither team found a way to score the rest of the half, as Powell led 7-6 at the break.

Receiving the second half kickoff the Panthers wanted to take control of the line of scrimmage, beginning the drive with several runs and moving quickly into Evanston territory.

“After halftime our line started really clicking,” Kistler said. “My message the entire night was, ‘I don’t care if we are third or fourth, if we win or lose, I just want us playing the best football we can possibly play.’”

Powell eventually capped off the more than 5:30 minute drive with another touchdown pass from Wisniewski to Jordan, this time from 9 yards out to take a 14-6 lead with 6:23 left.

The Panthers continued holding off the Red Devils and regained possession before starting on a long drive.

Powell ate up the remaining 4:30 minutes of the third quarter, driving inside the red zone heading into the fourth quarter.

Penalties reared their ugly head once again, pushing Powell back to the 40 yard line and forcing a third and 33.

A screen to Trevon Abraham gained some yardage back before an offside gave Powell a chance to convert with a fourth and 21.

Wisniewski connected with Evan Whitlock to the 15-yard line but the Panthers turned it over on downs with 10 minutes left in the game.

Evanston started to drive, but the Panther defense stood tall near midfield and turned the ball back over on downs with 5:29 left in the game.

Powell then started to slowly moving the ball down the field, and an apparent rushing touchdown by Cody Seifert that would have sealed the game with two minutes left was called back by a holding call.

“It’s tough because you watch it on film and it’s not holding,” Kistler said. “It’s tough whenever you’re getting those kinds of penalties — to overcome that is a battle.”

The Panthers maintained control to finish out the final minutes and earn a 14-6 win to take the No. 3 seed into the postseason.

Wisniewski finished 11-14 for 141 yards and two touchdowns.

Seifert led on the ground going for 120 yards on 14 carries, while Abraham added 73 yards on 14 carries.

Whitlock led with 61 yards receiving on four catches, Jordan Loera added three catches for 38 yards and Jordan’s two catches totaled 31 yards for two touchdowns.

Abraham led the Panthers defensively with nine tackles.

POSTSEASON ROAD TRIP

Heading into the postseason the Panthers will now match up with a familiar face, taking on the east No. 2 seed Riverton Wolverines (7-2 overall, 4-1 3A East), a team that narrowly defeated the Panthers 7-0 in the opening game of the season, as Powell lost on a controversial final play at the goal line that could have equaled the score.

“Both us and Riverton, we made so many mistakes that first week,” Kistler said. “The way that game ended was hard. I was listening to one of their interviews and their announcer said ‘yes, and now they get Powell, and I’m not entirely sure that that last play that kid was not across the pylon.’ So it’s still fresh in their mind too.”

Heading on the road in the postseason once again for the quarterfinals the Panthers will be looking to snap a four game losing streak in the opening round. As the weather turns colder Kistler said his team will be prepping better this year after a frigid opening round last year froze the Panthers.

“Turnovers will single-handedly make you lose a game,” Kistler said. “They’ve got great athletes, they’re pretty big up front and they’re a lot more physical than they ever have been in the past … We’re going to practice in the elements as best as we possibly can. Last year we had a snowstorm come through in the middle of the week and we were kind of inside and outside. This year we’re gonna be in the elements and play through them and learn how to deal with them through the week.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday in Riverton,. The winner will advance to take on the winner of the west’s No. 1 seed Star Valley (9-0 overall, 5-0 3A West) and the east’s No. 4 seed Lander (4-4 overall, 2-3 3A East).

POWELL 14, EVANSTON 6

Total tackles then solo tackles in ()

Passing — Keona Wisniewski 11-14, 141 yards, 2 touchdowns

Rushing — Cody Seifert 14-120, Trevon Abraham 14-73, Keona Wisniewski 10-36, Jordan Loera 1-11, McKale Foley 2 for negative 4 yards

Receiving — Evan Whitlock 4-61; Jordan Loera 3-38; Alex Jordan 2-31, 2 touchdowns; McKale Foley 1-7, Nathan Preator 1-4

Tackling — Trevon Abraham 9 (1), Keona Wisniewski 4 (1), Evan Whitlock 3 (2), Dusty Carter 3, Nathan Preator 3 (2), Jordan Loera 2 (1), Tyler Wenzel 2, Doug Bettger 2, Alex Jordan 1, Lincoln Crawford 1, Broc Frank 1, McKale Foley 1, Cody Seifert 1, Gabe McMillin 1, Connor Farwell 1, Landon Smallwood 1, Jacob Eaton 1, Brady Harvey 1

Tackles for loss — Doug Bettger 1, Trevon Abraham .5, Cody Seifert .5, Tucker Oliver .5, Dusty Carter .5, Landon Smallwood .5, Jacob Eaton .5

Sacks — Tucker Oliver .5, Jacob Eaton .5

Pass breakups — Nathan Preator 1