CORTEZ – The bittersweet feeling that accompanies every Senior Night carries both grief and gratitude. It is a celebration of years of dedication from another departing class and the lingering question of what might happen with just one more month.
For a Montezuma-Cortez team at full speed, the burgeoning potential has fans wondering how much higher the Panthers might climb with more time together. Instead, like teams across the state wishing to flip the hourglass back, the season now breaks into one-game segments as the playoffs arrive next weekend.
In the meantime, Montezuma-Cortez soaked in the cheers in The Jungle for the final time this winter, sending off its trio of seniors in style. Sariah Jackson, Kiera Hayes and Siana Elliott were honored after the Panthers defeated Bayfield 65-24 on Friday night, securing their third straight win and fourth in five games.
The late-season surge lifted Montezuma-Cortez into the low 20s in the 4A CHSAA Seeding and Selection Index, ensuring the Panthers their third straight playoff appearance and second double-digit win season in three years.
M-CHS (11-12, 5-7 4A/3A IML) erased any ambitions the visiting Wolverines might have had of an upset, closing on a 23-2 run over the final six minutes of the first quarter to take a 26-5 lead.
Seniors paved the way early, with Jackson, Hayes and Elliott accounting for 21 of their combined 33 points during the decisive burst.
Freshman Raya Hall added a dozen points, while sophomore Mia Glazner and junior Shoshawna Washburn combined for another 12 on a night when nine Panthers scored.
“We moved the ball around like we do in practice,” Jackson said. “And we wanted to get them tired on defense, because we know how hard it is to play defense for a long time.”
Bayfield junior Kimball Anderson scored all 12 of her team-high points in the first half, but M-CHS held the Wolverines (3-19, 0-11 4A/3A IML) to one third-quarter field goal while pushing the lead to 54-18. The margin allowed first-year head coach M.E. Haley to pull each senior for a curtain call in the closing minutes.
For Jackson, the week served as a reminder of how close her career came to ending. After tearing her ACL midway through her junior season, she spent countless hours in rehab with athletic trainer Mitch Taffe. On Tuesday, during the Panthers’ 38-32 win over Monte Vista, Jackson honored Taffe in a pregame ceremony.
“He (Mitch) pushed me through my rehab, challenged me to take the next steps in my recovery,” Jackson said. “And the journey may have been a blessing in disguise … it’s allowed me to show others that just because you have a bad injury, it doesn’t have to tear you down … it makes you a whole new person.”
M-CHS heads into its third straight playoff trip on Friday. For Jackson, that includes building for the next season too.
“We (the seniors) want to help our younger girls build and have the confidence that this is something they’re going to want to have going forward in their careers,” Jackson said.
