Prairie City/Burnt River football players huddle during their first-round playoff matchup with Triangle Lake in Blachly on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022. The Panthers fell 52-26 after falling behind early.

BLACHLY — The Prairie City/Burnt River football team’s strong season came to an end on Saturday, Nov. 5, in Blachly with a 52-26 loss in the opening round of the state playoffs at the hands of undefeated Triangle Lake.

Despite the disappointing loss, the team has a lot to be proud of. After being viewed as a football doormat for years, the Panthers punched their second consecutive ticket to the state football playoffs in 2022.

The team lost just two games during the regular season, one to defending state champions Wheeler County and the other to third-ranked South Wasco County. The Panthers scored at least 45 points in all but one of the games they won in 2022.

The Triangle Lake game was an uphill battle from the start for the Panthers, who found themselves staring at a three-touchdown deficit in the early going.

“We knew we were going to be in a dogfight then,” Prairie City head coach Nick Thompson said after the game.

Efforts to dig out of that early hole were stifled by repeated turnovers by the Panthers. “I don’t know for sure, but I think we fumbled it five series in a row. … When you turn the ball over every series, that recipe is not going to win you very many games,” Thompson added.

The Panthers headed into halftime down more than 35 points. The large deficit coupled with the turnovers and Triangle Lake’s desire to run clock in the second half made a Panther comeback that much more unlikely.

The Panthers refused to quit, however, making adjustments during halftime and actually outscoring Triangle Lake in the second half. One of the changes the Panthers made was for the quarterback to take snaps under center instead of in shotgun formation.

“We made some adjustments, decided to go under center which we have not done this year at all,” Thompson said. “(We) managed to move the football a little bit on Triangle Lake, enough to score 26 points there. We did have one touchdown called back.”

Thompson praised his team’s willingness to continue to compete despite being down big early and not having the game go the way they would have liked in the first half.

“I was proud of the boys for the way they responded,” he said. “They could’ve come out in the second half and decided that if they could just stick it out for 20 minutes they could get out of there and be done with it, but they chose to fight their way back.”

Prairie City/Burnt River had three seniors who likely played their final high school football games this past Saturday. Doyal Lawrence’s season was cut short by concussions, but the senior went to every practice and attended every game he wasn’t cleared to play in.

Seniors Eli Wright and Cole Teel will both be missed by the program as well.

Wright was a transfer from Grant Union and was instrumental in getting Prairie City/Burnt River players up to speed on the defensive side of the ball.

Teel finished the 2022 campaign with over 2,000 rushing yards and 30 rushing touchdowns. Teel was named the Offensive Player of the Year in the High Desert League for the second straight year. Wright was one of two other players to earn Player of the Year in the High Desert League in 2022.

“We’re going to miss our seniors dearly. They’ve been a vital part of this program. Regardless of how good they are, they’ve been here for it all,” Thompson said.

“That was a hard pill to swallow. We’ve got five foreign exchange kids who most likely are never going to play football again either. When all of those things are at stake, that’s a hard pill to swallow,” he added.

Despite the loss, the future appears bright for Prairie City/Burnt River football. Thompson and the rest of his coaching staff have been to the playoffs in every year of their tenures with the Panthers.

A couple years after being thought of as doormats, the Prairie City/Burnt River football coaching staff is building a culture change within the program. If all goes according to plan, the Panthers may soon find themselves being the hunted as opposed to being the hunters.