Getting out on the field for summer action the Powell Panther football team took 42 athletes to compete at the Black Hills State University team camp in Spearfish, South Dakota in early June, with both the junior varsity and varsity teams claiming victory.

“We had a junior varsity and varsity squad, we haven’t had that for a long time,” coach Chase Kistler said. “We only had 20 kids last year … that’s a big accomplishment for us is having that many kids take part in camp.”

Kistler said determining an overall winner at the camp came from short-sided scrimmages where teams score points either for a touchdown on offense or a stop on defense. The varsity team won by seven points while the junior varsity team won by one on the last play.

He added that there were a lot of Wyoming teams including Worland, Riverton and Wheatland, alongside a host of South Dakota teams.

The camp was important for the Panthers because Kistler said the team is installing new offensive plays along with a different offensive style of play heading into next season.

“It’s important for us to get our guys out there playing football,” Kistler said. “We are putting in a lot of new stuff, we looked really clean with a lot of our new plays and style of play.”

He said that throughout the weekend, the Panthers competed in a number of individual drills as well, with incoming senior Doug Bettger winning the linemen’s game.

In those individual workouts, Kistler said it is important that kids and coaches get exposed to different techniques and drills in order to further develop the Panthers’ skills heading into the season.

“It’s good for both the players and the coaches. We got to see some drills we’ve never seen before,” Kistler said. “The kids get to experience some different coaching and hear from different college coaches on different techniques. As coaches we also pick up on some different drills.”

Throughout the weekend long camp Kistler said the Panthers continued to click and perform better with each passing day, proving the competitiveness of the team moving forward despite losing some key players to graduation.

“Each day we kept getting better at every one of the competitions. By day three it felt like mid-season when we’re clicking,” Kistler said. “As a play caller it’s more fun when we’re kind of clicking as a whole group … As a whole we looked good, it shows that we can be competitive next year even with the great seniors we lost.”

Following the conclusion of camp Kistler said he was shocked when four Panthers were approached with offers to play past high school.

“We had some offers to the kids at the camp which is unheard of. In all my years I’ve never had that happen,” Kistler said. “I don’t know if it’s a new recruiting technique or what.”

Heading into the rest of the summer, Kistler said the Panthers will continue working out in order to get bigger, faster and stronger, preparing for a physical season ahead in a difficult 3A West.

“We play a physical game. That’s always been our M.O.,” Kistler said. “They have to get bigger, faster and stronger throughout the summer and keep working on skills.”