A stout defense and explosive plays helped the Powell Panthers roll past the Douglas Bearcats 34-14 on the road Friday night, capping off a 3-1 nonconference start to the season.

POWELL 34, DOUGLAS 14

Wrapping up nonconference action the Panthers (3-1) and the Bearcats (1-2) were both looking for a win to carry momentum into conference openers.

A good kickoff return by the Bearcats set them up near midfield, but a four-play drive including a fumbled snap on a short fourth down turned the ball over to Powell.

“The first turnover they had was really weird,” coach Chase Kistler said. “They were going on a hard count, but their center snapped the ball and the quarterback just fell on it. I was kind of looking around like, what was that? Then you know in my head, it’s like, well that’s fourth down, our ball. It’s good that their miscues led to positive field position for us.”

Powell quickly got its offense going, when Keona Wisniewski found Caden Nelson on a 37-yard gain down to the 13-yard line.

After a timeout, two straight runs by Cody Seifert capped off the quick drive and the Panthers led 6-0 after a missed extra point.

Douglas answered on its next drive, driving 80 yards and scoring on a 22-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-6 after the extra point.

Powell immediately had a response.

Nelson received the kickoff and faked a handoff to Jordan Loera, then turned upfield and broke a couple of tackles on the way to the end zone for a 90-yard touchdown.

“To respond right back to it was a gut punch to them,” Kistler said. “Momentum was in their favor for about 30 seconds and then it came right back to us.”

With Ivy Agee’s extra point the Panthers led 13-7.

Powell didn’t slow down, as Alex Jordan jumped a route on the ensuing possession to give the Panthers the ball at the Douglas 40-yard line with just under a minute left in the first.

Early in the second, Wisniewski capped off another scoring drive with a quarterback sneak from 3 yards out.

Douglas answered with a drive of its own, taking the ball all the way down to the Panther 16 yard line.

The Panther defense stood tall, forcing three incompletions and a rush for no gain to turn over the ball on downs.

“They [Douglas] ran the ball somewhat consistently, but the defense did a good job of putting them behind the sticks,” Kistler said. “It forced them in a third and long where we knew that they couldn’t pick it up on the ground. They would have to go to the air, so then it allows our defense to either put a stunt together or just rely on our secondary to get the job done.”

Powell drove for most of the remainder of the half, but punted late as the score stood at 20-7 going into the half.

Receiving the ball in the second half the Panthers got another big special teams play on the return when Loera returned the ball to the Douglas 39-yard line.

After a 5-yard penalty against Douglas and a run for no gain, Wisniewski found Loera across the middle of the field and he raced into the end zone.

An encroachment on the extra point led to Powell going for two, and Trevon Abraham powered his way in to make it 28-7.

Douglas once again answered with a drive, taking it all the way down to the Powell 23-yard line before the Panthers stood tall and turned the ball over on downs.

Powell took over and drove down the field mostly on runs, capping off their scoring with a 1-yard McKale Foley touchdown run to make it 34-7 due to a failed 2-point conversion after a high snap.

Douglas added a touchdown late, as the Panthers finished with the 34-14 win.

Wisniewski led going 9-12 for 144 yards and a touchdown through the air.

Abraham led on the ground recording 61 yards on 13 carries.

“I think we stayed pretty balanced even though I know with our heavy package, they didn’t really have an answer to it,” Kistler said. “I thought we threw the ball well when we needed to.”

Loera had three receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown.

Abraham and Wisniewski led with 11 tackles each, seven solo, while Abraham recorded three tackles for loss, one sack, and Wisniewski had one tackle for loss.

RIVALRY GAME

After wrapping up the first part of the season the Panthers will turn to 3A West action for the first time this season, starting with the rival Cody Broncs (3-0).

“They’ve got some athletes back,” Kistler said. “They’re always really well coached up front and they’re so fast-paced on offense that we know that the defense is not going to be able to get subs … We want to keep our offense on the field, we’re not fast paced. They’re averaging 180 plays a game and we’re averaging about 125-130 so it’s important for our offense to stay on the field.”

That game is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Panther Stadium.

Kistler said both Cody and Powell will be selling Park County rivalry T-shirts this week, with the proceeds going to the Torres family following the tragic death of Joel Torres on Sept. 16.

POWELL 34, DOUGLAS 14

Total tackles then solo tackles in ()

Passing — Keona Wisniewski 9-12 144 yards, 1 touchdown

Rushing — Trevon Abraham 13-61; Keona Wisniewski 12-29, 1 touchdown; McKale Foley 5-15, 1 touchdown; Cody Seifert 2-13, 1 touchdown

Receiving — Jordan Loera 3-48, 1 touchdown; Alex Jordan 4-39; Caden Nelson 1-37; Trevon Abraham 1-29

Tackles — Trevon Abraham 11 (7), Keona Wisniewski 11 (7), McKale Foley 7, Dawson Griffin 6 (3), Jordan Loera 6 (2), Alan Crawford 5 (1), Dusty Carter 5 (3), Tucker Oliver 4 (1), Jacob Eaton 3, Evan Whitlock 3 (1), Tyler Wenzel 3, Doug Bettger 1, Alex Jordan 1 (1), Rowan Diaz 1

Tackles for loss — Trevon Abraham 3, Keona Wisniewski 1

Sacks — Trevon Abraham 1

Interceptions — Alex Jordan 1