Powell versus Cody — a phrase that needs no introduction.

On Friday, one of Wyoming high school football’s longest rivalries continues when Powell High School hosts Cody High School in a regular season finale chock full of storylines, scenarios and bitter memories.

“It’s always an exciting time when Powell and Cody meet on the football field,” PHS interim head coach Chanler Buck said.

CHS (6-1, 4-0 3A West Conference) will travel to Panther Stadium for the second straight season thanks to a quirk in scheduling by the Wyoming High School Athletics Association. When kickoff commences at 7 p.m., PHS (5-2, 3-1) will be vying for a three-way conference tie, as well as a favorable seed once the state championship playoffs begin on Halloween.

The stakes are much higher this season compared to a year ago when the Panthers routed the Broncs 35-0 to seal the conference title in week seven. That was followed by a 26-13 PHS victory in the semifinals of the playoffs. But this time around, to become conference champions, PHS will need to defeat Cody while also winning a three-way coin toss against the Broncs and Jackson Hole.

“These kids know what’s on the line as far as playoff positioning goes,” Buck said. “If we lose Friday, we’re a third seed. Or we could win Friday and lose the coin flip and still end up third. It’s a tricky situation either way. The kids know all of that and understand a win gives us an opportunity.”

CHS’ second-year head coach Matt McFadden acknowledged the incentives tied into Friday’s contest, but said that focusing on all of the added drama to the Park County football rivalry can take away from the heart of the matchup.

“It’s going to be awesome, the rivalry is great,” McFadden said.  “I look forward to it every year and the kids look forward to it every year. It’s going to be a physical, emotional game ... very intense.”

McFadden went on to say that the PHS-CHS rivalry is a bountiful source of pride for the winning team.

“It’s a goal every year to win Park County and own this county,” McFadden said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t do that last year, and that’s something our seniors really want to do this year.

“When the game starts, you can pretty much take both teams’ records and throw those out and disregard all of that stuff that’s on the line,” he said. “The point is to beat Powell, and I’m sure that’s how they feel about us too.”

Beating PHS is something the Broncs have failed to do in the teams’ last four meetings. Panthers standout senior and lineman Riley Stringer said that those losses have likely created a chip on the shoulders of his soon-to-be opponents.

“We’ve pretty much taken care of business these past couple seasons,” Stringer said. “That 13-point win we had over Cody in the playoffs last season, that was the closest game of our past four wins, so I know they’ll be hungry for some revenge.”

Having experienced the rivalry as part of PHS’ varsity squad since he was a freshman, Stringer knows the Panthers are going to work as hard to extend their dominance over Cody as the Broncs will fight to end it.

“Anytime Powell and Cody get together, it’s a tough, physical game,” Stringer said. “Everyone out there is running a little faster, they’re hitting a little harder and it’s just smash-mouth football.”

Leading the Broncs through their two losses to PHS last season was quarterback Blake Hinze. Now in his second year as starting QB, the junior said CHS is eager to prove they aren’t the same team the Panthers have gotten accustomed to pushing around.

“We definitely want to show Powell that things are different this year,” Hinze said. “Our main goal from the beginning of the year was to win the 3A West Conference this season and that’s what we plan to do.”

An interesting thing to remember is that because Powell and Cody high schools are only separated by 26 miles, several of the football players have become very familiar with each other. Many play baseball together during the summer and maintain friendships on a regular basis. But according to Stringer, those friendships will be put on hold for 48 minutes this Friday.

“We can be friends before the game, and we can be friends after the game, but between those two times, we’re going out there to hit these guys,” Stringer added. “I think I speak for the rest of my team when I say the most important thing about Friday’s game is to just beat Cody.”