Ladies and gentlemen, Cole Teel would like to reintroduce himself to you.

The reigning High Desert League Offensive Player of the Year ran in all but one of Prairie City/Burnt River’s touchdowns on Friday, Oct. 28, in the Panthers’ gritty 46-41 win over a pass-heavy Echo squad in Prairie City.

Echo struck first in the game, punching the ball in from three yards out to take an 8-0 lead following a converted two-point kick attempt. Echo would get brazen and attempt an onside kick following the touchdown, which they recovered.

The elation was short-lived for the Cougars as a fumble hampered any momentum gained by the surprise onside kick. The Panthers would capitalize via a 72-yard touchdown run by Teel to bring the contest to 8-6 following the missed extra point try.

Another Teel touchdown run, this time from 55 yards out, gave Prairie City/Burnt River their first lead in the game toward the end of the first quarter. The extra point attempt was no good, leaving the score at a 12-8 Prairie City advantage.

The Cougars would reclaim the lead by way of a 3-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter. A converted extra point play brought Echo’s advantage to three at 15-12.

The cougars would have another opportunity to build on their lead following an interception that set their offense up on the 31-yard line. The Panther defense would force a turnover on downs to stay within a field goal.

Both teams then traded turnovers late in the first half, ultimately culminating in the Panthers gaining the advantage with possession inside the 10-yard line. Teel and the Panthers would add one more touchdown with just over a minute left in the half to take an 18-15 lead into intermission following a missed extra point try.

Echo would draw first blood to open the second half, scoring a short touchdown to retake the lead at 21-18 with just over 7:30 left in the third quarter. The Cougars would maintain that lead until there was just under a minute left in the third quarter.

Teel would once again find paydirt, this time from 80 yards out, to give the Panthers another lead at 25-21 following a converted extra point play. Echo would refuse to go away, however, scoring another short touchdown pass to retake the lead at 28-25 with just over nine minutes left in the contest.

Another Prairie City/Burnt River touchdown midway through the fourth quarter swung the game back in favor of the Panthers at 32-28 following a converted extra point play. Teel would then attempt to put the game out of reach, scoring another touchdown with 4:35 left in the game to put the Panthers up 39-28.

Echo still didn’t want to quit, though, adding another touchdown to pull within four points at 39-35 late in the fourth quarter. Teel would respond one more time, finding the end zone once again with 3:05 left to give the Panthers a 45-36 lead.

Echo stubbornly added another quick touchdown pass to bring the game to 45-41 with 2:52 left to play. The Panther offense was stopped on the subsequent drive, which gave the Cougars possession and a chance to take the lead and perhaps snatch a victory late in the contest.

The Panthers would stop the Cougars on the final possession of the game, however, to secure the 46-41 win and punch their ticket to the state football playoffs for the second year in a row.

“I feel amazing,” Teel said after the game. “My legs hurt really bad and I’ve been cramping the whole time, but other than that …”

He added that he had plenty of help from his teammates.

“It’s not just me,” he said. “(It was) the whole line just getting every block they possibly could to get me all those touchdowns.”

Teel also talked about Echo’s uniquely pass-heavy offense in the six man game and what it took to defend that aerial attack. “They’ve always been more of a passing team and we’ve usually had a problem with that. We put in a new defense to cover passing, which it did good for the most part,” Teel said.

The Panthers will travel to Blachly to take on Triangle Lake Charter School in the opening round of the 1A six man state football tournament on Saturday, Nov. 5. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 1 p.m.