It was a great moment for a statement win. Jefferson High’s football squad was opening its 2024 campaign at Florence-Carlton, arguably the only school with greater success over the last three years. In that time, the Panthers have been to three straight state Class B semifinals — but the Falcons have won back-to-back-to-back championships. Last August, Florence-Carlton smacked Jefferson, 27-0, on its way to a dominant 13-0 season.
But not this year. On a perfect Friday evening before a stunned Florence crowd, the Panthers won, 21-14, with a strong overall performance and a last-minute dash to the end zone by quarterback Tyzer Zody.
Sophomore Zody, who took over Jefferson’s offense mid-last season after Luke Oxarart went down with injuries, started this game at quarterback, with Oxarart moving to running back. The shift paid off nicely for Coach Clint Layng: Oxarart pounded the Florence-Carlton line and outran its secondary, galloping for 116 yards on the night. And Zody was 5 for 12 passing for 100 yards in the air.
It was Oxarart who put the Panthers on the scoreboard first, with a 3-yard run into the end zone to cap Jefferson’s first drive of the game. Hunter Stevens’ kick was good, and the Panthers were quickly up 7-0.
The Panther defense frustrated Florence-Carlton for the rest of the half, regularly bringing pressure to Mason Arlington, last year’s all-conference quarterback. Oxarart, who has committed to Montana State to play safety next year, racked up 15 tackles in the game; Brady Armstrong had 12, and Werner 10.
As the second half opened, Jefferson was still up by a touchdown. Florence answered with a short run by Arlington to open the third quarter, but its PAT attempt was blocked by Brady Armstrong, leaving the Panthers with a 7-6 lead.
Cooper Mikesell came up with a huge interception to stop another Florence drive. Then Ben Werner’s runs gave the Panthers good field position, and Oxarart dashed 31 yards into the end zone for a 14-6 lead with 3:04 left in the third.
But the Falcons broke through again with 5:55 left in the game, then ran for two to tie the game at 14. This one looked like it was going down to the wire.
That’s exactly how it ended. With 9.9 seconds left, Tyzer Zody followed a block by Oxarart, cut to his left, and outran a swarm of Falcon defenders into the end zone. The kick was good, and the Panthers nailed down a huge non-conference road win.
Jefferson hosts Cut Bank this Friday, then travels to Malta on Sept. 13 and Thompson Falls on Sept. 20.
Volleyball cruises
The Lady Panthers launched their season at home against a strong Columbus squad and came away with a hard-fought three-set win, 25-17, 25-21, 27-25.
Cameron Toney’s hard kill tied the first set at 2, and the Panthers went up 4-2. From there, the teams put on a crowd pleasing display, tying at 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. Toney continued to power over the ball, but Columbus did not go down easily and kept answering. Finally, another toney kill gave the Panthers some breathing room at 14-10. A sneak kill by Brooklyn Miller made it 21-13, Ryan Eveland made it 22-13 and the Panthers went on to take the set.
In set two, Columbus held a 5-1 lead before the Panthers came back with a run. Eveland’s block kill gave Jefferson a 9-5 lead, Miller made it 12-7, and a pair of service aces by Avery Popp brought the score to 20-13. Another block by Eveland made it 24-21, and an ace by Toney finished off the set.
The teams were tied 5-5 in the third before the Panthers surged again. Maia Walters made it 13-9, and Popp’s ace took it to 14-11. But Columbus took a 19-17 lead and the teams were tied at 24 and 25 before Jefferson finally took the set and the win 27-25.
The Panthers host Lone Peak on Thursday, then travel to Manhattan on Sept. 12 and to Broadwater on Sept. 14.
Cross Country hosts opener
Jefferson’s cross country team hosted its annual season-opening meet Friday in Boulder. It’s always a great race, held on one of the most picture-perfect courses in Montana.
The varsity boys took third in this year’s event. McKenon Boyd finished first in 17:32, while Marshall Jensen was 9th, 18:48, Dominic Hurlbert 25th, 21:17, Adam Sherlock 26th, 21:17, and Bridger Marks 33rd, 23:12. Manhattan won the boys title with 26 points, and Helena Capital placed second with 43.
For the varsity girls, Peyton Stearns finished 2nd in 20:47, Isabella Warren was 12th, 22:24, and Natalie Russ 27th, 25:52. Helena Capital took the meet with 24 points; Manhattan was 2nd with 38 and Three Forks 3rd at 75.
Among the Panther JV boys, Colin Gallagher took 11th in 21:52, Thomas Johnson was 14th, 22:17, Pierce Ward 19th, 22:41, and Zander Swenson 33rd, 34:06. In the JV girls race, Rebeka Warren finished 2nd in 22:42 minutes, McKinLeigh Doherty 3rd, 22:48, Brinna Barry 4th, 22:49, Lily Oelkers 10th, 24:55, Addie Holman 16th, 29:10, and Sidni French 17th, 29:45.
