Time was slipping away for the Panthers.

And then, Carter Baxter’s inadvertent mistake cost the Powell High School football team the few precious seconds it had left.

With PHS trailing by six and hoping for a miracle on fourth down, the Panthers’ senior quarterback and the PHS coaching staff experienced some miscommunication. Panther coaches were signaling pass; Baxter apparently read spike and promptly tossed the football to the ground on the next play, turning the ball and the game over to Riverton.

“It hurts, and I can take full responsibility for it,” Baxter said of the play that sealed visiting Riverton’s 20-14 victory with 11 seconds remaining. “My job as quarterback is to be a leader and to be aware of the situation. Impulsively, I misread a signal from the sideline from the coaches, and it cost us the game.”

Baxter’s insistence on accepting responsibility is understandable, and maybe even a bit admirable, but not entirely fair to the young player. PHS interim head coach Chanler Buck said the breakdown between his staff and his quarterback fell on him.

“It’s my fault,” Buck said. “It’s communication ... there’s a lot of noise, and without timeouts, it’s my fault for not preparing us for that kind of situation.”

The last-second drama aside, Powell (2-1) gave Riverton too much early on, surrendering all 20 Wolverine points in the second quarter. The hole proved too deep for the Panthers to recover.

PHS saw their first scoring opportunity turn into a big play for Riverton. With just over nine minutes to go in the second quarter, PHS attempted a 49-yard field goal, but the kick fell several yards short and into the hands of Wolverines quarterback/defensive back Brandon Fullerton. Fullerton returned the kick to the Panther 18, setting up RHS’ first scoring drive. Running back Tristan White scored on a 3-yard scamper two plays later, and Dietrik Becker’s kick made it 7-0.

“That’s a talented team over there,” Buck said of Riverton. “You have to play your best defense or they’ll make plays, and they did that tonight.”

The Panthers made a few plays of their own on their next possession. After a touchback started the PHS drive at its own 20, Baxter led his team 80 yards on seven plays in 3:18. He completed passes of 10 and 15 yards to TJ Abraham and Kalei Smith, respectively, before finding Smith on a spectacular 52-yard touchdown bomb that saw the receiver break two tackles for the tying score.

“First and foremost, Kalei is a phenomenal athlete. He is a monster of a playmaker,” Baxter said. “Coach (Buck) made some good play calls, and he and coach (Chase) Kistler told me before the game what would and wouldn’t be there.”

With Riverton (3-0) leading the Panthers 20-7 early in the fourth quarter, Baxter hooked up with Smith again, this time on fourth-and-14 from the RHS 39. Smith split two defenders and turned around on a fade play to catch Baxter’s pass. A Wolverine tackler snagged Smith’s jersey, but the wideout pulled away for his second touchdown.

Smith finished with five catches for 126 yards.

“[Those plays were the result of] some things we saw on the RHS film throughout the week, and I told Carter, ‘Hey, they’re going to do this, and if we have the opportunity, go for it,’” Buck said. “I gave him the green light to take some shots if they were there, and he did.”

Earlier in the contest, RHS regained the lead following Smith’s first touchdown reception. After the Wolverines returned to their 38, Fullerton rushed 23 yards on his team’s first play of the series before handing the ball off to White for a 39-yard touchdown run two plays later.

Fullerton then intercepted a Baxter pass while sitting on his backside on the next PHS possession, and he hit White in the middle of the Panther secondary, where White proceeded to slip through several tackles on his way to a third TD. Baxter blocked the extra point.

PHS out-gained their opponents in total offense, 299-270. Baxter completed 10 of 28 passes for 203 yards and rushed for 43. Fullerton finished 11-of-21 for 146 yards to go with his three touchdown strikes.

The Panthers’ home loss was their first since unveiling their new stadium in 2012. That year, the team won its second of three straight 3A state titles. Now, Buck and his players will look to regroup before making a trip to Green River on Friday.

“Regardless of what our win-loss record is, every team is still going to play us to the very, very best they can,” Buck added. “We’ve got to do everything in our power in order to prepare our boys for the very best that we’re going to get from every team every remaining week of this season.”