How good is this year’s Jefferson High volleyball team? Well, they’re not invincible—but they’re pretty darned good.
Last weekend, the Panthers won the Butte Central Blockbuster Classic, besting a large field of mostly Class-A schools from across the state over two days.
Friday was a long day, starting at 9:40 a.m. and stretching to an 8:20 p.m. nightcap. The Panthers lost to Havre in their opener, 30-28, but came back to defeat East Helena 30-14, and Stevensville 30-23, before falling to Billings Central 30-25. They closed out the day with wins over Florence, 30-20; Butte Central, 30-20; Whitefish, 30-13; and Ronan, 30-12.
That showing was good for third place, putting Jefferson into Saturday’s championship bracket. There, the Panthers defeated Corvallis, 25-16, 21-25, 15-12; Hardin, 25-15, 25-16; and Havre, 25-15, 25-21. And in the championship match, they took revenge on Billings Central, winning 25-19, 25-19.
It was a great weekend for the Panthers. And it followed Thursday evening’s four-set defeat of the Whitehall Trojans in the Jefferson gym.
In that one, Whitehall put the first 2 points on the board, but the Panthers responded with the next 6: Rachel Van Blaricom put over a sneak kill to make it 11-6, and from there, Jefferson went on a 14-2 run, capped by a hard kill by Dakota Edmisten to take the win, 25-8.
Set two stayed close in the early going, 8-6, but back-to-back kills by Baylee Toney gave the Panthers a 12-7 lead, and an ace by Gracie Leiva made it 16-9. Opposing teams are so used to Edmisten and Van Blaricom slamming over kills at the speed of a bullet that it really takes them by surprise when they tap over a kill, and two of them by Van Blaricom made it 20-11, helping the Panthers to a 25-13 win.
Coach Mike Majors played lots of the subs in the third set, and the Trojans put over the first 4 points. An ace by Kennedy Winstead pulled Jefferson to 7-8, and a kill by Kaydence Lingle tied the score at 9. It was 13-15 after a kill by Arena Faler, but Whitehall closed out the game with a 10-3 run to take the 25-16 win.
The starters came back in the fourth set and took a little time getting back into their stride. Edmisten’s hard kill gave the Panthers a 6-3 lead but the Trojans fought back to take a 12-9 edge. Digs by Emma McCauley kept the Panthers in the game, and a pair of aces by Baylee Toney put them up 18-15. Sydney Mace’s ace made it 24-18 and Edmisten’s kill sealed the deal, 25-18.
Edmisten led Jefferson with 19 kills and four aces. Van Blaricom added 14 kills, Mace made 18 assists, McCauley had 15 digs and Toney made five blocks.
This week, Jefferson hosts Manhattan on Oct. 21, to close the regular season. Oct. 21 is Senior Night, so fan support is encouraged. The district tournament is in Manhattan on Oct. 28 and 29; divisionals are at Huntley Project Nov. 4–6, and the state championship is at Bozeman Nov. 11-13.
Football
With the regular season winding down, Jefferson put the hurt on the Manhattan Tigers, with a big first half sparking a 29-12 win.
Much like last week, the Panthers scored early. A booming, 68-yard punt by Caleb Smartnick left Manhattan on its own 3-yard line. That kick was huge; it really set the tone for the game. And on the next play, Dylan Root caught a Manhattan runner in the end zone for a safety. Just like that, it was 2-0, Panthers.
Manhattan’s punt after the safety went out of bounds on the Panther 47. Quarterback Braden Morris ran to the 32, Root drove to the 24, and a pass from Morris to Root took it to the 7. From there, it was Morris on keeper for a touchdown. Root’s extra-point kick made it 9-0 with 4:53 left in the first.
Smartnick’s kickoff went deep, and the Tigers started on their own 21. Four plays later, they turned over possession on a fourth-down attempt—and Tom Meyer’s spectacular grab of a Morris pass in the end zone made it 16-0.
With 11:32 left in the second quarter, Morris connected with Jake Genger for a 51-yard touchdown. The kick was wide right, leaving the score 22-0. The Panthers added another touchdown with 5:56 left in the half, as Luke Oxarart split through the line to make it 29-0.
Manhattan scored its first touchdown as time ran out in the half, and then the Panthers came out a little flat in the second. Manhattan scored again, closing the gap to 29-12, and neither team scored in the final period.
Morris passed for 160 yards, with two touchdown passes as well as a touchdown run. Genger made one catch for 61 yards, and Meyer had three for 61 yards. Root had 13 carries for 72 yards, and made three of four extra-point kicks. On defense, Genger and Morris both had interceptions.
With the win, the Panthers improved to 3-1 in District play, and 5-2 overall. Broadwater leads District 5B with a 4-0 league record, 6-1 overall, and Columbus is second, 3-1, and 6-1 overall. The top four schools advance to the post-season. The Panthers have clinched a playoff spot, and if they beat Broadwater by 13 points or more this Friday night, they’ll end the regular season in first place.
Cross-country
The Jefferson High cross-country “hoofers” completed their regular season last Saturday at the Townsend cross-country meet at Old Baldy golf course. Logan Gillmore was the first Panther to cross the finish line in 18:10, a very respectable time given that the wind almost always greets the runners on this course. Logan Hornung was not far behind 18:18.20, with Dominick Hurlbert finishing in 18:44, Luke Mest in 18:45, Dylan Mikesell in 19:05, Christian Gillmore in 19:42, Mike Emter in 22:03 and Matt Zelenka in 22:04. Two lady Panthers competed: Izzy Morris finished in 26:27, and Austie May in 27:30.
Jefferson’s runners will be in Missoula this Saturday for the state championship cross-country meet at the University of Montana golf course. Class B boys run at 1:10 p.m., and Class B girls at 2:10 p.m. Good luck at state, Panthers.
