The post-season is here — and Jefferson High’s Panthers appear to be more than ready.
The football team put on a dominant performance in their first-round match-up, whipping Joliet, 55-10, on Saturday in Boulder.
Luke Oxarart, who had another lights-out game with 130 yards on the ground and four touchdowns, punched in Jefferson’s first score with 7:44 left in the first quarter, then added another just two minutes later. Hunter Stevens’ kicks both were good and the Panthers were up 14-0.
Cooper Mikesell eluded the J-Hawk offense for a sack, an early sign of the constant harassment the Panther defense would inflict on Joliet. The sack killed off that J-Hawk drive, but after a few possession changes, Joliet completed a pass to the Panther 19 and, a few seconds into the second quarter, kicked a field goal to make it 14-3.
That was as close as Joliet would come. It was, in fact, their last score until the final drive of the game. The rest was all Panthers.
Oxarart and Jefferson’s running game led the way. Brady Armstrong had a 24-yard run to bring the Panthers to the 36, Tyzer Zody brought it to the 25, Ben Werner ran to the 6 and Oxarart took it into the end zone for a 21-3 lead with 7:47 left in the half.
A 72-yard pass play from Zody to Caleb Morris put 6 more points on the board, and Oxarart intercepted a J-Hawk pass and ran it in for another touchdown.
That brought the score to 41-3 at the half, and allowed Jefferson to bring in younger players the rest of the game. They didn’t ease up: A pass to Morris for 64 yards made it 48-3, Werner ran 14 yards for a score, and the Panthers went on to win the game 55-10.
The Panther win moves them into a game with Florence-Carlton, which beat Fairfield, 56-20, this Saturday in Florence. Florence has defeated Jefferson the last two times the teams met in the playoffs — but the Panthers won their regular season game this year, 21-14. Good luck Panthers!
In other first-round games, Red Lodge defeated Townsend 35-17, Missoula Loyola took Conrad, 21-12, Manhattan ran over Baker, 47-8, Malta rolled past Thompson Falls 45-8, Three Forks whipped Huntley Project, 43-6, Malta beat Thompson Falls, 45-8, Eureka nailed Glasgow 35-14, and Missoula Loyola defeated Conrad 21-12.
Volleyball
In Manhattan, Jefferson’s volleyball squad continued its winning ways, taking the District 5B championship without dropping a set.
In their opener, the Panthers beat Three Forks in three, 25-10, 25-17, 25-14. Next up was their old rival, Broadwater. This match was a much tougher affair, going to five sets and a nail-biter finish— but Jefferson pulled it out, 23-25, 25-17, 25-14, 18-25, 15-13.
That put the Panthers in the final — only to once more face Broadwater, which won its consolation bracket match. This time, though, Jefferson won in straight sets, 25-21, 25-14, 25-16. Toney had 3 aces, 9 kills, 4½ blocks, and 12 digs. Shields had 2 kills, 12 assists, and 15 digs; Miller 6 kills, ½ block, and 6 digs; Eveland 5 kills, 7½ blocks, and 3 digs; Averill 20 digs; Avery Popp, 5 assists and 15 digs; Grace Quigley 1 kill, 3 ½ blocks, and 1 dig; Maia Walters 6 digs, Aubrey Rosenbaum 1 dig, Parker Layng 1 assist, and Jaida Jurenka 4 digs.
The volleyball team heads to Colstrip this week for the South Division tournament, opening at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday against Columbus, the second place team out of District 4B. Good luck Lady Panthers.
