It was a packed weekend for Jefferson High sports, with some fine performances that provided a glimpse into how the looming post-season could play out.
Cross Country
At Friday’s Headwaters Invitational meet in Three Forks, the Panther boys placed second as a team, and several runners had their best times of the year.
Dominic Hurlbert led the Panthers, finishing third in 16:56, just off the winning pace. Logan Hornung was right on his heels, crossing in 16:58, and Luke Mest was fifth at 16:59. Dylan Mikesell finished at 18:49, Matthew Zelenka at 20:03, Mack Boyd at 20:11, Bridger Marks at 22:37, and Lane Phillips at 25:42.
For the lady “hoofers,” Hanna Stevens ran the course in 21:25, good for third place. Izzy Morris finished at 23:40, Meredith Rieder at 23:41, Michaela Morris at 24:07, and Austie May in 25:12.
This Thursday, the Panthers will be at Helena, running the Capital City 7 of 7 race at Bill Roberts golf course. The meet is set up as seven races, with runners grouped by their best times of the year.
Football
Jefferson got a big win Friday, taking down Sweet Grass County, 19-14. The two teams had been tied in conference play coming into the game, and this year it looks like every win will be important in determining who makes it to the playoffs.
Sweet Grass scored first with 5:36 left in the first, but Jace Oxarart blocked the PAT attempt. The Panthers answered with big runs by Dylan Root to the Herder 34, then to the 27, and finally into the end zone. His PAT kick was good and the Panthers led 7-6.
The Herders added another touchdown in the second quarter, going up 14-7 at the half. Both teams struggled to get much going in the third, and as the clock ran down the score was still 14-7, Herders.
Then came the Panther rally. Zach Zody put seven points on the board on a keeper with 7:46 left in the game, but the Panthers fumbled on the PAT attempt, leaving them down by one. It was a defensive battle the rest of the way, but Root — who had a huge night with 131 yards on 20 carries — scored the final points to give the Panthers a much-needed win.
The Panthers will travel to Manhattan this Friday night, then take on Columbus on October 14 and Three Forks on October 21 to end the regular season. Currently, Broadwater is leading the district, with Jefferson second, and Sweet Grass County third. Whitehall, Manhattan, Columbus, and Three Forks follow. Jefferson will host a first-round playoff game if it finishes second in the regular season. Go Panthers!
Volleyball
Jefferson hosted a large tournament on Saturday, featuring many schools that they’ll see in the post-season — including Huntley Project, Shepherd, Choteau, Florence, Joliet, Colstrip, Red Lodge and Shelby. In this competition, teams played just one game to 22 points, with a 30-minute maximum per game.
The Panthers’ first match was with Florence-Carlton. Jefferson scored first but found itself down 4-7 before fighting back. Cameron Toney slammed down a kill to put the Panthers up 14-10, then another kill and an ace made it 16-13. Arena Faler put over three kills to keep the Panthers up 21-14 and they took the win 22-16.
Next up was powerhouse Huntley Project, which took an early lead of 12-7. The Panthers came back but ended up losing 13-22. Shelby came next — and the Panthers flexed their muscles, taking a 22-13 win.
Then came Shepherd. This was a close match all the way: A kill by Clara Genger gave the Panthers a 8-7 lead, and the teams were tied at 8, 9, 10 and 11. Shepherd went up 14-12 with an ace that hit the net and flopped over for a point. The Panthers tied it at 14 and took a 15-14 lead, but then Shepherd put down the next 4 points to go up 18-15. Emma McCauley made it 16-18 and a hard kill by Toney made it 18-21 but Shepherd went on to win 22-19.
Toney started the match with Joliet with an ace, then MacKenzie Layng snuck over a point and Ryian Eveland made it 7-6 with a kill. Eveland smacked another very hard kill to put the Panthers up 16-8, and Jefferson went on to win 22-14.
Colstrip was next and it went up 4-0 to start. Genger put over an ace to make it 3-4, but it was all Colstrip the rest of the way, and the Fillies took the 22-12. Against Red Lodge, the Panthers went up 4-0 and the teams stayed close, but Red Lodge pulled it out, 22-17. The last match for the Panthers was with Choteau. The Panthers stayed close in the early going but ended up losing 22-18.
The long day was a great experience for the young Panthers, who have just three seniors. They’ll travel to Townsend on Thursday, and to Big Timber on Saturday.
