Powell Panthers pound Green River

The Wolves took the long bus ride to Powell this past week to take on the number three team in 3A, the perennial powerhouse Powell Panthers.

Powell had outscored their opponents 189-31 to achieve their 4-0 record prior to their game with Green River. The Panthers had a number of players ranked high in a number of categories, both offensively and defensively. Playing on their home field, they were able to dominate the Wolves, gaining their fifth win of the season to remain undefeated with a 44-3 victory.

In pregrame, Powell’s coach announced their strategy to establish the run and not have to rely on the pass too much. The Panthers were able to establish a strong running game, out-gaining the Wolves with 200 yards to Green River’s 85. They were also able to establish a strong passing game, completing 9-12 passes for 165 yards compared to the Wolves’ 3-14 for 29 yards. Both teams turned the ball over once and had a number of penalties. The Wolves also had a number of bad exchanges between the center and quarterback, which they recovered so they did not count as turnovers, but it caused the offense to stall.

The Wolves received the kickoff and got a good return from Alex MacKinnon. The first play of the offensive series was fumbled but recovered, and two plays later the Wolves had to punt. The Panthers got a big completion on first down and a number of good runs before the Wolves’ defense stiffened and Powell was held to a field goal to take the lead 3-0. This time the Wolves got a 28-yard kickoff return. Three downs later, the Panthers intercepted a Wolves’ pass and took the ball in on their offensive series to up their lead to 10-0.

On their next offensive series, the Wolves lost one of their top defensive players, Christian Lee, to injury. After an exchange of series, Powell went to work and scored on a touchdown pass. The P.A.T. was blocked by the Wolves’ Dakota Hudson, but Powell had a quick lead 16-0.

The Wolves then got a 50-yard return, again from MacKinnon, but could not score. With 2:26 left in the first half, the Panthers scored again on a nine-yard run, and with the P.A.T. kick good they upped their lead to 23-0. 

The two teams continued to exchange the ball, with both teams hurting themselves with penalties. The Wolves had continued problems with holding on to the ball before the Panthers scored three more times, upping their score to 44-3 and finishing with a dominating performance despite some excellent plays on occasion by the Wolves on both offense and defense.  

Powell ended up with their fifth win of the year after having outscored their opponents 234 to 34.

One of the bright spots on the night for Green River was the return to play of James Herwaldt, who played tough on both offense and defense and was rewarded for his efforts by being named “Player of the Game.” 

After the game, Head Coach Blaine Christensen commented that he thought “we did some good things in the first half but then players missed their blocks in the second half.”

The Coach went on to exclaim that he is proud of the effort of his team, but that they have to build the team to match “these guys” (Cody, Powell, Star Valley etc.) who have had dominating play for a number of years.

The Wolves will host the number one team in 3A this week as they take on the Cody Broncs at home at Wolves Stadium on Friday, September 29 at 6 p.m.