POWELL – The Evanston High School football team anxiously waited all week to bounce back from its homecoming loss to Star Valley.

When the Red Devils got that opportunity, that’s exactly what they did.

Tyus Cornia ran for two touchdowns and Evanston’s defense held strong throughout the contest as the Red Devils claimed a 14-7 win in a 3A West conference game against Powell.

“They believe in themselves and we really felt good about getting a win on Friday,” Evanston head coach Pat Fackrell said in a phone interview on Saturday. “They really bounced back well from a week ago. They were able to go up and play a tough Powell team and grind it out.”

Cornia ran for 144 yards on 19 carries in a game that featured rainy conditions throughout the night.

“Tyus is a hard-nosed downhill runner,” Fackrell said. “We just kind of rode his back, picking up those three, four, five-yard gains.”

Evanston (2-3, 1-2 3A West) and Powell (1-4, 1-2 3A West) both gained 192 net yards.

Hunter Groll led the Red Devils with 18 tackles. Gavin Simmons finished with 15, Beau Lloyd had 14 and Rylie Griggs added 10 to pace the defense.

“I thought (our defense) played with a lot of energy,” Fackrell said. “We had guys flying around, making plays. I was very impressed with the play up front. It was very much improved.

“Rylie Griggs, from inside linebacker, had an exceptional game. He really led the way in getting guys know where they needed to be.”

Cornia put Evanston on top when he ran for a 79-yard touchdown as the Red Devils took a 7-0 lead with 2:52 to play in the first quarter.

Colton Schleichardt recovered a fumble for Evanston to set up a three-yard run for Cornia as the Red Devils extended their lead to 14-0 with just over a minute to play in the first half.

Powell got on the board with 3:56 to play in the third after a quarterback keeper by Kaelan Groves.

Evanston was able to maintain clock control and put the game away from there.

“They really are resilient,” Fackrell said of his team. “They wanted to get back on the right track.”

The Red Devils now hope to stay on the right track, but they know they have a tough test ahead when they travel to Green River on Friday. The Wolves are 4-0 and ranked second in 3A.

“We have to make another big step this week,” Fackrell said. “We’re playing a good team, but we can be that good team. We are just going to have to take another step forward. We talk about getting better after every snap. I really think our kids got better with each snap Friday night.”