The Powell High School football team had the opportunity to face off with rival and No. 1 ranked Cody on Friday in its final home game, but a second quarter decimation left the Panthers reeling heading into the playoffs after a 62-15 loss.

Cody (8-0, 5-0 3A West) got things started early, when a strong drive was capped off with a 5-yard touchdown to give the Broncs a 7-0 lead over Powell (4-5 overall, 2-3 3A West).

That lead extended when a 46-yard pass found its way over the Panther defense, and Cody found its way into the end zone again — extending the lead to 13-0 after a blocked extra point.

The Panthers got back into the game after a strong drive was capped off by a Trevon Abraham 1-yard run to cut the lead to 13-7.

On the next drive Powell got a turnover on an Evan Whitlock interception, giving Powell momentum heading into the second quarter.

Once the second quarter hit however, Cody took control of the contest.

The Broncs scored on a 12-yard run and a 6-yard pass that pushed their lead quickly out to 27-7.

Big plays continued to plague Powell, when the Broncs scored on a 79-yard pass play.

Then on two straight drives by Powell, Cody scored two touchdowns. The Bronc defense intercepted quarterback Jhett Schwahn twice and took both the distance from 38 yards and 65 yards to push the lead even further out to 48-7.

The disastrous second quarter was capped off by one more touchdown on a 1-yard run to make it 55-7 going into the half.

“Defensively I think we had maybe one or two stops, and then we gave up two pick sixes,” coach Chase Kistler said. “They have a lot of team speed and are a really good team, can’t take anything away from them.”

Starting out the second half with a running clock, a big play aided Cody in scoring a 1-yard touchdown run to make it 62-7.

Powell got its second touchdown late in the game, when Keona Wisniewski broke through for a 12-yard touchdown and a bobbled snap resulted in a two-point conversion pass to Zane Graft to make the final 62-15.

“We just ran the ball with what we had and I told them to get positive yards,” Kistler said. “We wanted to move the sticks and get something positive out of the game moving into next week.”

For the game the Panthers gave up 491 yards to the Broncs. The loss, coupled with defeats by Jackson and Green River, dropped Powell to the No. 4 seed heading into the playoffs.

RETURN TO DOUGLAS

Powell makes its second trip down to Douglas (7-1 overall, 5-0 3A East) this season, hoping to make it a more difficult contest for the East No. 1 seed after losing to the Bearcats 34-14 on Sept. 16.

“The Cody game is over, we need to let it go and focus on Douglas who we have already played once,” Kistler said. “Big plays, staying stable up front on the defensive run and not giving up big plays while putting up points offensively is key.”

This will be the second playoff trip in a row to Douglas for the Panthers, where last season Powell dropped a close contest 14-10 in the quarterfinals.

The quarterfinal matchup is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. at Douglas High School.