Coming into the 2022 season, Broadwater High promised to be one the teams to beat in Class B volleyball. The Bulldogs returned all but one player from the squad that took third place at last year’s state championship, and they hadn’t lost a set yet this fall.
In fact, as it demonstrated in a straight-set win Sept. 8 in Boulder, Broadwater is a strong team. But the young Jefferson High Lady Panthers showed they could compete with the best.
In the first game, the score was tied four times in the early going, with a kill by Emma McCauley making it 6-8 and a block by Arena Faler keeping things close. The Bulldogs pulled ahead 19-12, but a slam kill by Clara Genger brought the Panthers into striking range, and Cameron Toney’s kill and an ace by Erica Shields made it 17-19. But the Bulldogs cruised from there to take the win, 25-19.
The second game was not as close: the Panthers scored first and hung tight up to 4-6, but Broadwater went on a big run and cruised to a 25-8. In the third, Toney was slamming them down hard, powering the Panthers to a 11-6 lead. Jefferson was up 16-15 before the Bulldogs closed it out with a 10-0 run to win the game, 25-16, and the match in three.
On Saturday night, the Sweet Grass County Herders came to town. They took a quick 3-1 lead and were up 7-6 before the Panthers started clicking. A block by Faler tied the score at 8, sparking a run that put Jefferson up 17-11. Genger’s block made it 18-12, a great dig by Haleigh Henschel made it 20-12, and the Panthers went on to win 25-16.
In the second, Jefferson jumped out to a quick 8-4 lead on an ace serve by MacKenzie Layng, a block by freshman Ryian Eveland made it 13-4, and the Panthers cruised, 25-13. With subs playing in the third, Jefferson fell behind early. A block by Maria Mest made it 8-10, but the Herders went on to win the game, 25-12.
Back came the starters in the fourth. Toney’s early kill set the pace, and the Panthers went on an 8-0 run. Four more hard kills by Toney put the game out of reach, 19-10, and the Panthers went on to win the game, 25-15, and the match in four.
Toney and Faler led the team with 14 kills each against Sweet Grass. Faler and Genger had five blocks each. In her 2022 season debut as libero, McCauley racked up 26 digs, while Layng had 22 sets and one ace.
This week the volleyball teams travel to Manhattan on Thursday and to Whitehall on Saturday. The Panthers look strong so far in this early season and are a fun group to watch.
Football
The Panther football team traveled to Whitehall last Friday for their first conference game of the season. Whitehall had started the fall with an impressive win over Fairfield, so a good game was certainly expected between the Jefferson County rivals.
But the contest turned out not to be so close. The Panthers started the game with two quick touchdowns to go up 14-0 at the half. In the third period, they padded the lead to 35-0 before the running mercy clock starting to wind down. Final: Jefferson 42, Whitehall 7.
The Panthers look forward to traveling to Florence this Friday to take on last year’s state champions on their home field. Florence-Carlton defeated Jefferson, 51-7, in the 2021 Class B semifinals; although it lost several key players to graduation, it still boasts one of the top quarterbacks in the state, senior Patrick Duchien.
In other South Division games last weekend, Broadwater beat Three Forks 35-6, Manhattan topped Columbus 36-14, and Sweet Grass County outscored Colstrip 58-34. In the North, Bigfork overcame Conrad 55-6, Eureka beat Fairfield 34-16, Florence-Carlton shut out Cut Bank 32-0, and Glasgow beat Baker 18-6. It was Malta over Red Lodge 20-0, Shepherd over Thompson Falls, 20-0, and Wolf Point over Roundup, 48-6.
Cross Country
Jefferson’s cross country team ran in the nighttime “Goats in the Dark” race in the hills west of Helena. Results of cross country were not available at press time. This Saturday, the “hoofers” travel to Missoula for the Mountain West Classic.
Additional reporting by Eliza McLaughlin
