Panthers fall to Jackson 21-17

Late rally comes up short; playoffs in Lander Friday

Posted 10/29/19

Shaking off a slow start that saw the Powell High School football team trailing host Jackson 21-7 at the break, the Panthers battled back. They held the Broncs scoreless in the second half before …

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Panthers fall to Jackson 21-17

Late rally comes up short; playoffs in Lander Friday

Posted

Shaking off a slow start that saw the Powell High School football team trailing host Jackson 21-7 at the break, the Panthers battled back. They held the Broncs scoreless in the second half before running out of clock in a 21-17 loss.

“I was very pleased with how we responded, especially after that first half,” said PHS head coach Aaron Papich. “Our guys are tough, and they were in it effort-wise for the whole game, giving everything they had.”

At stake was the No. 3 seed in the playoffs coming out of the 3A West, a designation both teams played hard to attain.

The Panthers (5-4, 2-3 in 3A West) knew they had their work cut out for them defensively, looking to contain senior tailback Jeydon Cox, the leading rusher in 3A.

“Our guys were just flying to the ball, and anytime you see that as a coach, I’m delighted with that effort,” Papich said. “We have tough kids, and we just tried to put them in positions to make plays, and those guys did the rest.”

Offensively, Powell was without starting quarterback Landon Lengfelder, turning to back-up Jesse Trotter to lead the way.

“Landon got hurt against Green River, but it’s very likely he’ll be back and ready this week for Lander,” Papich said. “But I think Jesse did a great job filling in and being a good teammate. We’ve had a lot of guys stepping up out of necessity all season, and that’s what I think our team is all about.”

Jackson (6-3, 3-2 in 3A West) received the opening kickoff and marched the ball down to the Panthers’ 2-yard-line. But just as the Broncs appeared poised to take an early lead, Powell dodged an early bullet, recovering a fumble to take possession.

The Panthers answered with a nice drive of their own, moving into Jackson territory behind a 16-yard pass from Trotter to Carson Olsen. However, the drive ended after Trotter was picked off at the 15-yard line, ending the threat, and the first quarter ended with the teams knotted at 0-0.

A short punt by Powell at the start of the second quarter gave the Broncs a short field. The Broncs took advantage, as Cox scored on a 9-yard run for Jackson’s first touchdown of the night. Less than two minutes later, Jackson receiver Peter Goettler caught a lateral behind the line of scrimmage and threw a pass of his own, hitting Evan Brunner in the end zone from 19 yards out to take a 14-0 lead.

Down two scores, the Panthers finally found their bearings. Facing a third-and-long, Brody Karhu took the ball on a draw and scampered 57 yards for Powell’s first score; Hawkin Sweeney’s PAT cut the Broncs’ lead in half 14-7.

Powell’s momentum was short-lived. With the first half winding down, Jackson’s Sadler Smith hit Goettler with a 33-yard strike to make it 21-7 at the break. The Panthers had 133 yards in the first half, led by Karhu with 103 yards and a score.

“Running the ball is certainly one of our strengths, and our O-line did an extraordinary job of making some big holes,” Papich said. “Brody [Karhu], Toran [Graham] and Kadden [Abraham] did a good job — they ran hard the whole game. It was awesome to see that.”

Powell had four turnovers in the first half, including three picks by Trotter.

The Panthers’ defense grabbed momentum early in the second half, forcing a turnover on downs that gave Powell a short field. Karhu took advantage by scoring his second touchdown of the night on an 8-yard run. Sweeney’s PAT was good, and the Broncs led by just a touchdown 21-14.

Both the Panthers and Broncs abandoned the pass in the second half. Jackson relied on a steady diet of the state’s leading rusher to carry the load, especially in the final two quarters, though Powell’s defense was up to the task.

“He [Cox] carried the ball 43 times — it’s undeniable that he’s a great talent,” Papich said. “So to hold them to 21 points in a game where Cox carried the ball 43 times was an accomplishment.”

With just under eight minutes left in the game, Powell drove the ball down to the Jackson 14, led by nice runs by Karhu, Graham and Riley Bennett. But with first-and-10 on the 14 and four tries to tie the game, the Panthers were unable to capitalize. Powell settled for a Sweeney field goal to make it 21-17 Jackson. A 42-yard field goal attempt by Sweeney in the game’s final minutes had the accuracy but not the distance, and the Broncs used Cox to run out the clock for the win.

“We shut them out in the second half, and that’s a credit to all our players,” Papich said. “We have a tough group of kids. Nothing fancy that we were doing — it was just meat and potatoes. Those guys just stepped up; it was all them.”

The loss gives the Panthers the No. 4 seed out of the 3A West; they’ll be on the road to Lander next week for the first round of the 3A state playoffs. The Panthers had 207 yards rushing for the game, led by Brody Karhu with 143 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns.

Cox had 220 yards on a whopping 43 carries for the Broncs, scoring one touchdown.

“We played with a lot of heart,” Papich said of his team’s play in the second half. “On defense, we had 11 guys running to the ball every play. We knew that Jeydon [Cox] was going to make some big plays here and there, but if we could stay in there and rally to the ball, we’d have a chance. The game didn’t turn out the way we wanted, but it didn’t feel like we got beat, to be honest. We just ran out of time.”

Powell heads to Lander Friday for a rematch with the Tigers (7-1, 5-0 in conference), the No. 1 seed in the 3A East. The Panthers handed Lander its only loss of the season 17-7 in week two; the Tigers rebounded to rattle off six straight wins, and Papich said their seeding is well-earned.

“Lander’s strength is they play well to what works for them,” Papich said. “They have a really big O-line, so they like to pound the ball. Their strength is between the tackles, and they’re just going to try to push our guys forward and have their backs run behind them. Nothing too sneaky, I think — they’ll just let those big boys lead the way and try to pound it.”

And despite the tough loss to Jackson, Papich said the Panthers will go into Lander looking to make a statement.

“The approach our guys took to the Jackson game, I’m honestly encouraged,” he said. “I think we have the toughest kids in the state, and they’re ready to go. I’m excited for this week.”

Powell High School, Panther Football

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