Another trip to Fremont County yielded a second consecutive shutout for the Powell Panther football team — breezing past the Lander Tigers on Friday night 50-0.

POWELL 50, LANDER 0

Squaring off with the second part of the Fremont County opposition the Panthers (3-0) held off any early rushing momentum for the host Tigers (0-3) who ran a triple option offensive set.

“We knew it was coming, there was no surprise on what they were going to run,” coach Chase Kistler said. “I thought we defended the option really well but we did not defend the sweep well for whatever reason.”

Powell got on the board first with a drive that ended up being one of the longest of the half for the Panthers. The four play drive was capped off by a 44-yard touchdown on a quarterback run by Jhett Schwahn.

Lander got the ball back and began running the triple option effectively, working its way into Powell territory but finding the offense stalled with a fourth down and short.

The Panthers came up with the stop, and had another quick solution on offense.

Cody Seifert took the first snap handoff, and sprinted past the defense for a 67-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 14-0.

Powell generated a turnover, with a fumble recovery by Colin Wilson at the Tiger 22-yard line, leading to a Trey Stenerson touchdown catch on the next play from scrimmage to make it 21-0 just before the end of the first quarter.

Powell’s next drive  was quick in the second, highlighted by a long pass to Keona Wisniewski that set up another Trey Stenerson touchdown catch to make it 27-0 after a missed PAT.

Powell instantly got the ball back, when Dexter Opps recovered a fumble on the kickoff to give the Panthers the ball in Lander territory.

Finally a drive stalled out for the Panthers, who settled for a 34-yard field goal from Schwahn to make it 30-0.

Powell was not finished in the first half, scoring on a 52-yard touchdown by Seifert just two minutes before the break to make it 37-0 going into the half.

“We had 17 plays offensively in the first half which is kind of shocking,” Kistler said. “I was pleased with the explosive plays. I don’t view them as explosive; they were just base plays that broke for long yards … That means we are doing our assignments up front.”

In the second half Seifert scored immediately from 12-yards out to give Powell a chance to take a 45-0 lead, but a failed 2-point conversion kept it under the running clock requirements for the time being.

Stenerson got his third touchdown of the day, this time on defense, returning an interception 28 yards to the house to give Powell a 50-0 lead and start a running clock for the remainder of the second half.

Powell cruised the rest of the way, with Case Bradish snagging another interception to stop a Lander drive late to preserve the shutout.

“I told them after the game ‘you’ve got to keep sharpening your edge,’” Kistler said. “Even in a game that you are really up or you are really down when you think things are perfect you’ve gotta find ways to make yourself better.”

Seifert led the way on the ground again, finishing with 176 yards on eight carries with three touchdowns.

Wilson led defensively with nine tackles, four solo, while also adding a fumble recovery with a tackle for loss.

RANKED HOME GAME

Powell returns home after the quick road trip, setting up a key test in the final non-conference matchup of the season against the Douglas Bearcats (2-0).

It’s expected to be a ranked matchup between the No. 3 Panthers and the No. 4 Bearcats in the WyoPreps rankings.

Those positions may change depending on voting when the rankings are released Wednesday after No. 1 Star Valley suffered its first loss to Sugar-Salem, Idaho, on Friday.

Kistler expects this to be a test for the Panthers, with the Bearcats showing a strong throwing game in their early season contests having defeated Jackson and Gering, Nebraska, to open the season.

“I think it’s more important that we focus on ourselves through the week just so when our conference games do hit that we are firing on all cylinders,” Kistler said. “They are a team that should make the playoffs on their side of the conference — there is a good chance you will see them down the road if we can hold up our end of the bargain and get there too. We are focused on ourselves and cleaning up what we need to.”

POWELL 50, LANDER 0

Total tackles then solo in ()

Passing — Jhett Schwahn 4-10, 68 yards, 2 touchdowns

Rushing — Cody Seifert 8-176, 3 touchdowns; Jhett Schwahn 6-56, 1 touchdown; Trevon Abraham 3-11; Case Bradish 1-8

Receiving — Keona Wisniewski 2-32; Trey Stenerson 2-32, 2 touchdowns

Tackles — Colin Wilson 9 (4), Keona Wisniewski 8 (4), Wyatt Blackmore 7 (4), Seston Shoopman 7 (2), Trevon Abraham 4 (1), Dusty Carter 4, Dawson Griffin 4 (2), Jhett Schwahn 3, Doug Bettger 3 (2), Alex Jordan 2, Drake Heintz 2 (1), Jordan Loera 2 (2), Trey Stenerson 1 (1), Caden Nelson 1, Rowan Diaz 1 (1), Ethan Melton 1 (1), McKale Foley 1 (1)

Tackles for loss — Doug Bettger 2, Wyatt Blackmore 1, Colin Wilson 1, Drake Heintz 1, Keona Wisniewski .5, Seston Shoopman .5

Forced fumbles — Wyatt Blackmore 1, Rowan Diaz 1

Fumble recoveries — Colin Wilson 1, Dexter Opps 1

Interceptions — Trey Stenerson 1, 1 touchdown; Case Bradish 1