One of the top receivers in 3A football signed his letter of intent last Thursday to continue his football career at the next level, as Powell High School senior Trey Stenerson will compete at Division II Chadron State College in Nebraska next fall.

“Going up there for a visit they treated me like family. That separated Chadron from the other schools I visited,” Stenerson said. “I liked it up there with the really cool facilities and the nice coaches.”

Stenerson is a two-time All-State selection as a receiver for the Panthers, and has contributed at the varsity level the past three years.

In his sophomore year he finished with 12 catches for 124 yards and one touchdown, before exploding for 54 receptions for 813 yards and 10 touchdowns his junior year.

He continued to produce for the Panthers his senior year, catching 40 passes for 797 yards and 12 touchdowns this past season.

One of the highlights from this past year came when Stenerson put up 249 yards on six catches for six touchdowns against Douglas. That broke the school record for receiving yards in a game that had been held since 2000 by Matt Hartford at PHS.

Stenerson plans to continue as a receiver for the Eagles, joining a class that has added four more wide receivers alongside him and five total players from Wyoming.

“I will go up there and do as I always do, kind of the same thing as I do down here,” Stenerson said.

Strong coaching and the culture of Chadron steered Stenerson toward picking Chadron over other places he had visited.

“I think the coaches are really experienced up there. I think that was a really good fit for me and they are all-around great coaches in my opinion,” Stenerson said.

Making the decision to play football was difficult, as Stenerson is also a two-time first team All-State selection on the diamond for the Powell Pioneers and was leaning towards baseball before this past fall.

“Towards the end of this baseball season I was pretty set on playing baseball but after visiting Chadron I just kind of decided to transition to football,” Stenerson said.

In addition to the family feel of Chadron, he said that his own family helped make the decision to sign with the Eagles.

“They were asking questions about where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do and it was a huge part in my decision,” Stenerson said.

He is thinking about pursuing a career in physical education, but is not fully set on his future yet.

Last season the Eagles finished 5-6 competing in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference at the Division II level.