For years, Star Valley has been regarded as a goliath in the Wyoming football world. The Braves entered the season as back-to-back defending state champions, having defeated Powell 49-13 in last year’s title game.

None of that held any weight on Friday, however, as the Panthers cruised to a 28-6 victory on senior night.

“We played a complete game,” Powell High School head coach Chase Kistler said. “Our offense played well; defense played well; special teams did well. It was just a good, all-around team win.”

Offensively, Powell’s performance was a full turnaround from the slow outing (74 all-purpose yards) just seven days prior in a 14-0 loss against Cody.

Senior quarterback Landon Lengfelder had his best game on Friday, completing 8 of 15 passes for 157 yards and one passing touchdown. That score came on a 48-yard heave to wideout Braily Gann.

Gann and receiver Jesse Trotter tied for the team-high in receiving yards with 58 a piece (both finished with two receptions). Zach Ratcliff and Reed Smith also had two catches each for a combined 41 yards.

On the ground, the Panthers posted 155 rushing yards. Three of their scores came from the run game, with Kadden Abraham logging two rushing touchdowns and Lengfelder hitting paydirt once as well.

Kistler attributed much of this offensive rhythm to the stellar work from the PHS line.

“Tonight, up front we had guys doing our job,” Kistler said. “I think we were a little bit confused last week, but tonight they just did their job. It worked out just fine.”

Defensively, the Panthers once again held their ground. Powell held the Braves under 250 total yards of offense. Five games into the season, PHS has surrendered just 33 total points.

Kistler traces much of the defense’s success against the Braves to the offense’s ability to sustain drives and keep the unit off the field.

“We kept the ball away from them that entire third quarter with our offense,” Kistler said. “Tonight, I have to give a little credit to the offense for keeping the ball away from Star Valley’s offense.”

While Powell’s offensive production certainly led to fewer Brave chances on offense, the Panthers’ did their part in halting any Star Valley momentum by controlling the turnover margin.

PHS forced four takeaways in the rout — two fumbles and two interceptions. Senior defensive back Kobe Ostermiller led the way with two — a fumble recovery and an interception — while Sheldon Shoopman recovered a fumble and Adrian Geller notched a pick.

A strong performance from the Panthers’ front seven kept the Braves’ offense relying on the air, which may have led to the high number of takeaways.

“They forced Star Valley to throw it,” Kistler said. “Our secondary is pretty stingy. When you force a team into throwing like that, they have to take more risks than we do.”

Even after a rough loss a week ago, Kistler stressed the importance of keeping his team positive. Part of that was reiterating how strong of a team PHS can be when it performs at its best.

“I think we’re quite there at the same level,” Kistler said. “I told our guys that we need to keep moving forward and keep getting better.”

The Panthers are now 4-1 overall after the win, compared to the 1-4 Braves. But while Star Valley — and many other teams in Class 3A — have struggled to find the win column, it’s important for PHS to keep improving while their opponents regroup.

“Other teams are going to keep getting better,” Kistler said. “There comes a point where we just have to go, no matter who’s in and who’s playing. We just have to go and have that mentality.”