The Prairie City/Burnt River Panther football squad looked every bit the part of the No. 1 overall seed in the state tournament, pitching the only shutout of the quarterfinal round to down the North Lake Cowboys 47-0 and advance to an all-High Desert League matchup with Joseph in the semifinal round.

Trey Brown would get the scoring started for the Panthers, catching a 39-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Wes Voigt to put Prairie City/Burnt River up 7-0 midway through the first quarter. The Panther defense would force a turnover on the ensuing possession, setting their offense up at the Cowboy 35 with 4:21 left in the opening quarter.

The Panthers took advantage of the opportunity, hitting a 42-yard touchdown pass with 3:30 left in the first quarter to increase their lead to 13-0 following a missed extra point try. The Panthers would find the end zone again with 6:48 left in the first half to take a commanding 20-0 lead.

A pair of touchdown runs from Tucker Wright and Maison Teel capped the half for the Panthers, who took a 33-0 lead into halftime. The Panthers kept their foot on the gas following the intermission, surprising the Cowboys with an onside kick that was recovered by the Panthers to start the third quarter.

A five-yard touchdown scamper from Wright converted the onside kick recovery into points less than two minutes into the third quarter to give the Panthers a 40-0 advantage. A 58-yard touchdown run by Teel would put a cap to the Panther scoring for the evening and push the home team’s advantage to 47-0 with 2:24 left in the third quarter.

The Panthers would hold the Cowboys out of the end zone for the rest of the game to advance to the state semifinals with a convincing 47-0 win.

Prairie City/Burnt River created five turnovers in the game while holding the Cowboys to 24 total yards of offense and a mere two first downs. The Panther defense also kept the Cowboys out of the red zone throughout the entire game.

The Panthers’ two-headed rushing attack of Maison Teel and Tucker Wright made life difficult for the Cowboys all evening.

Teel finished with 195 total yards, three rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown. Wright finished with 104 yards and two rushing touchdowns.

Panther head football coach Nick Thompson said preparing for the dual attack of Teel and Wright presents a unique challenge to opposing defenses.

“I don’t really know how you plan for one or the other,” he said. “I’m kind of thankful that I don’t have to, that I have them on this team.

“They’re two of the fastest guys on our team,” Thompson added. “So that’s a challenge for defenses either way.”

Three of the four semifinal teams in the OSAA 1A six-man football tournament are from the High Desert League. Thompson said that fact comes as no surprise to him and his fellow coaches.

“I’ll be honest with you — and I think I speak for entire league — we believe for the last couple of years that we’re stronger across the board than the West,” he said.

“It’s always funny when, the first couple of weeks, all the rankings come out, and then we get a couple of football games under our belt, how those things seem to change,” he said.

Thompson’s team knows what is in front of them: a chance at the first-ever state football championship in the history of Prairie City/Burnt River football. Nevertheless, the coach said, the Panthers are taking things one game at a time.

“Right now all we’ve focused on so far is winning games, and we’re not really concerned with who knows about it or ranking or who we play or whatever,” he said. “We’re focused on ourselves and trying to be the very best, and right now we’re knocking on the door of a semifinal win.”

The Panthers head into a state semifinal matchup with Joseph on Saturday, Nov. 18, at Hermiston High School. The Eagles are 8-1 this season, with their only defeat being an 18-6 loss to the Panthers back on Sept. 8.

Thompson said he’s sure Joseph is ready, but the Panthers are as well.

“We played Joseph before. From reading their paper, it sounds like they’re ready for a rematch,” he said.

“Joseph will be a test for us. They always are. They play hard and our boys like playing them, too.

“It’s nice to compete,” Thompson added. “We’re looking forward to competing on Saturday.”