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A 7-3 season led to a string of postseason honors for the Powell Panther football team, with six Panthers being named to the All-State team, three additional players named to the 3A West …
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A 7-3 season led to a string of postseason honors for the Powell Panther football team, with six Panthers being named to the All-State team, three additional players named to the 3A West All-Conference team and one player named the 3A West Special Teams Player of the Year.
ALL-STATE SQUAD
A strong season was capped off with six of the Panthers being named to the All-State team, with three being named on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
Leading the way for Powell with his second straight All-State selection was receiver Trey Stenerson.
He finished the season with 797 yards receiving on 40 receptions, leading to 12 touchdowns in his senior year.
Another offensive player named to the All-State team was the one throwing to Stenerson, with senior Jhett Schwahn earning honors at the quarterback position.
He led the Panthers with 2,032 yards through the air on a 54.9% completion percentage, throwing 24 touchdown passes compared to nine interceptions on the season.
“It was awesome to make the All-State list in two sports (baseball and football) — not many people can say they’ve done that,” Schwahn said.
In addition to his arm, Schwahn was the second leading rusher for the Panthers — finishing with 456 yards and an additional 11 touchdowns on the ground.
“I felt that as the year went on (coach Chase) Kistler saw that my running ability could be a useful part of the offense and I gained confidence every week,” Schwahn said. “I think that our speed was the reason we were so explosive. We also were a super close-knit group and really enjoyed playing with each other.”
The final offensive player named for the Panthers was junior offensive lineman Dusty Carter, who helped the team’s explosive offense and kept the opposing teams in check.
“This award and nomination meant a lot to me, and I know it meant a lot to the others that got it,” Carter said.
Flipping to the other side of the ball the Panthers were led by a pair of juniors and another senior who led a stout Powell defense.
Leading the way at the linebacker position was junior Keona Wisniewski, who finished third in the state for defensive points per game, and fifth in the state for total tackles with 91.
Of those tackles, Wisniewski had 18 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.
He also recovered three fumbles and an interception while also recording a safety.
“I put a lot of work into the offseason — I was in the weight room a lot and I tried to watch at least an hour of film a day,” Wisniewski said. “Our defensive team was super close, and we were all on the same page every game and practice. I couldn’t have done it without my team.”
On the defensive line, Wyatt Blackmore earned All-State honors for his senior season.
Blackmore finished with 46 tackles, including nine for loss and four sacks. He also had two pass breakups, one forced fumble and a blocked kick.
The final All-State Panther was junior Doug Bettger who was also a defensive lineman.
He finished with 13 tackles for the year, including five for loss and one sack.
“It really meant a lot being named All-State with two other linemen,” Bettger said. “It shows how hard we worked throughout the year to get to that point. Communication on the defensive line was one of the most important things that made us successful this season.”
Powell boasted the third best offense in the state and the second best defense.
ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
In addition to the six All-State honorees, the Panthers had three additional 3A West All-Conference selections and an additional honor for Schwahn.
Schwahn was named the 3A West Special Teams Player of the Year, finishing 8-9 on field goals and 36-42 on extra point attempts. He also attempted 52 kickoffs and had 21 touchbacks.
“Being named special teams player of the year was really rewarding, it made all of those plays worth it,” Schwahn said.
Offensively the Panthers had two additional linemen named All-Conference, with senior Jimmy Dees and junior Jacob Eaton garnering the honors.
Those two were part of a close-knit line of Panthers who allowed for less than 10 sacks on Schwahn the entire season.
“My boys up front know how to get things done,” Carter said. “Our whole O-line were wrestlers or previous wrestlers. We’re just a tough group of guys.”
The final Panther to earn postseason honors was junior Trevon Abraham, who earned it at the linebacker position.
He finished with 72 total tackles, which included three for loss and one sack. He also recorded two fumble recoveries and one interception as the second leading defensive point getter for the Panthers.
