EVANSTON — With a berth in the 3A State Playoffs already locked up, the Evanston High School football team was playing for seeding in Friday night’s regular-season finale, though longtime rival Powell wasn’t about to make it easy.

The Panthers’ ball control offense made it difficult for the home team to get its own offense on the field, and when they did, the Red Devils had difficulty finding a consistent rhythm. Though Evanston only gave up two scores in a 14-6 loss, the Panthers ran 55 total plays to the Red Devils’ 29, handing the home team their sixth loss of the season, as well as a date with Douglas – the No. 1-seed out of the 3A East – in Friday’s opening round of the playoffs.

“We had a hard time getting anything going offensively,” said EHS head coach Steve Moore. “A lot of the times we got it we didn’t do much with it. Especially after that first drive, we just couldn’t get in a rhythm, we couldn’t move the chains, we just couldn’t get going.”

After forcing the Red Devils to punt on their opening possession, Powell made the most of their first time with the ball, driving 78 yards for a score, a 22-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Keona Wisniewski to Alex Jordan. Ivy Agee kicked the extra point, and the Panthers led 7-0.

The Red Devils scored their only points of the contest in the second quarter, a drive highlighted by a 31-yard by Brayden Wallace and a 3-yard run by Brecken Rich. Jordan Mendez’ PAT went wide right, and Powell still held the lead at 7-6; that would be the score at halftime.

Powell extended their lead midway through the third quarter, a 9-yard touchdown pass from Wisniewski to Jordan, his second of the game. Agee again hit the extra point, and the score was 14-6 in favor of the Panthers.

“Their quarterback threw the ball extremely well,” Moore said. “I talked to their coach after, and he said that’s the best they’ve played all year, and quarterback play, that’s the best they’ve had all year. I mean he was throwing darts out there, he was putting it where it needed to be. Sometimes our coverage was there, and we were right in position. But yeah, he threw the ball extremely well.”

The Red Devils had a couple of drives that showed promise in the second half, but Powell did a good job of taking away the passing game. With the receivers no longer a threat, the Panthers’ defense was able to key on Wallace and limit his bip-play capability.

“We need to get our receivers – Clayton Cook and Ryker Pace – more involved offensively,” Moore said. “They’re big targets. We were trying, but they would key on Cook, they would key on Wallace  and then when you’re limited offensively –  it’s just, like I said, we didn’t get in a rhythm, we didn’t get set up the way we wanted to.”

Under center, Braunson Sims completed just one pass for nine yards, a catch by Brecken Rich on the Red Devils’ scoring drive in the second quarter. Wallace led the team in rushing with 53 yards on 10 carries, while Sims finished with 33 yards on six carries. Braxton Hanks carried the ball five times for 28 yards, while Rich finished with two yards on two carries and the game’s only touchdown.

“Brecken was a little bit sick last week, but he gutted it out, Moore said. “We didn’t use him offensively probably as much as we would have if he was feeling 1000% – he packs the ball well when he’s healthy.”

Brooks Searle (11 tackles, 7 solo) and Rich (14 tackles, 3 solo, 1 for loss) led the charge on defense with 18 points apiece, followed by Caden Marler with 15 (9 tackles, 6 solo) and Domonik Stuart with 11.5 (8 tackles, 2 solo, 1.5 for loss). Bridger Roberts rounded out the double digit point earners with 10 (6 tackles, 4 solo). Tarrin Haws had the Red Devils’ lone sack on the night.

“I thought the D-line played well – with all the plays Powell ran, I think they just kind of wore us down,” Moore said. “Coach Fessler does a great job rotating D-linemen when they’re in there but we’re asking a lot of those kids and I think they just got wore down towards the end of the game.”

The Red Devils will once again have to have a sort memory, as they prepare to hit the road for the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs, once again going in as the No. 4-seed out of the 3A West.

“We wanted to end up third in the West, because we haven’t done that before,” he explained. “The goal was to win and get third, but in the end we were traveling no matter what, so I told them to keep their heads up and we’ll travel anywhere we need to travel. I think we have a shot no matter where we go. We’re playoffs in back-to-back years – that’s important, so there’s a lot of positives, but the kids were upset after Powell, which is understandable – and I would be concerned if they weren’t, so there’s a lot of things to celebrate, a lot of things to congratulate them on, and now we just need to prepare for Douglas.”

The Bearcats are a team Evanston literally has no history with – or at least according to a cursory glance at Wyoming-Football.com. Moore said he’s watched film, but it’s a tough team to pin down.

“I thought they were run heavy – and they are, statistically – but they do pass the ball well,” he said. “Their quarterback is good, he scrambles well, he throws a pretty good ball. Physical team, their backs are big and kind of power runners, if you will, and defensively they’ve shown a few good things in terms of fronts in their previous games. They’re aggressive – really aggressive – on defense, just a good football team, for sure.”

Asked to reflect on the regular season now that it’s in the books, Moore said it’s been a season of close calls, and games decided by a play or two here and there that could just as easily turn a 3-6 team into one that’s 6-3.

“Obviously we lost some games that we could have won,” he said. “Looking back, we three one-possession games, so we gotta learn how to win the close ones and how to gut those close games out. But I saw growth in our team, for sure. And just looking back I wish we could have won some of those closer games that we dropped. We’re excited for the playoffs, we’re excited for another opportunity to play, like I said, that’s not guaranteed when you start the season especially in the 3A West, that’s a tough conference. So we’re grateful for the opportunity to get to play again. “