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.
