Yet Powe's other 12 carries were a delightful dozen for the Purple Raiders and a devilish dilemma for the Wildcats.

Powe rushed for 217 yards and two long touchdowns, and BHS quarterback Brent Holtz passed for scores on three of his four completions as the Raiders thwarted West, 33-12, in a Big 12 Conference showdown.

"Their defense did an outstanding job. They took away our option to the outside and made it very difficult for us to have success," BHS coach Rigo Schmelzer said. "It was a physical kind of game, and in this kind of game we don't stack up too well. What basically carried us was a lot of skill and Valshun."

Ranked No. 10 in Class 6A, the Raiders improved to 6-1 overall and are tied with Normal Community for the Big 12 lead at 6-1. West slipped to 5-2 both overall and in conference play.

Powe sprinted 79 yards for a touchdown on BHS' third play from scrimmage and added a 48-yard scoring jaunt early in the fourth quarter.

"My hat's off to No. 6. Powe is just as good as everybody said he was," said West coach Darren Hess. "He was a man-child. You think you have angles on him, but he's a big, strong kid and everybody bounced off. I think I counted he broke seven tackles on one play."

The Raiders took a 13-12 edge into the second half despite running just 12 plays from scrimmage to 42 for the Wildcats.

West countered Powe's 79-yard touchdown with a 16-play, 73-yard drive. Josh Lacombe covered the final 6 yards for a touchdown, but the extra point kick was wide and BHS led 7-6.

A Jake McCowan hit on Holtz forced a fumble recovered by West's Cody White at the BHS 10-yard line in the second quarter.

Two plays later, Lacombe scored from 5 yards out. Lacombe's rush for the two-point conversion was turned away by Holtz and Chris Jameson.

Holtz forced a West fumble later in the second quarter that was recovered by teammate Jacob Welker. The Raiders quickly capitalized with a 31-yard touchdown pass from Holtz to Dustin Kelly.

"The way we handled the ball, the way we blocked was just outstanding. We were able to thump them after they hit us," said Lacombe, who ran for 124 yards on 29 attempts. "Yeah, more points should have been scored (by West). I don't think momentum was really lost. We just gave up big plays."

BHS took control quickly in the second half. A 37-yard Powe run set up a 13-yard TD toss from Holtz to Mitchell Jordan over the middle at the 10:21 mark of the third quarter for a 20-12 Raiders' lead.

"The receivers did an outstanding job focusing on the ball, pulling it in and running after the catch," Schmelzer said. "Holtz did a nice job, too."

Powe extended the BHS advantage to 27-12 by hurdling a West defender on his way to an eye-popping 48-yard touchdown run.

"We worked hard all this week and it paid off tonight. I keep giving credit to the offensive line, but I think I ran hard and we keep progressing every game," Powe said. "I think they were keying on me. I think they actually had a linebacker following me everywhere I go. But I continue to keep running hard and use my strength and speed to get through guys."

The final points came with 2:15 remaining as Holtz connected with Josh Mitchell for a 13-yard scoring strike.

"This is huge for us," said Mitchell, who also intercepted a pass. "We passed just enough. We tried to balance it out as much as we could."

Fullback Jordan Flex added 80 yards rushing on 17 carries for West. Quarterback Andrew Dicken completed 4 of 14 for 42 yards.

"They made adjustments and had fewer breakdowns than we did," Hess said. "We just have to move on. We're playing for November just like Bloomington is. Maybe the conference championship is not in our picture, but the playoffs are. So we need to refocus."

BHS played without senior defensive end, tight end and long snapper Ryan Kernes, who will miss the rest of the season, according to Schmelzer, after having arthroscopic knee surgery this week.