CORTEZ – Fans who packed The Jungle on Tuesday night to watch their hometown Panthers tip off the hoops season left buzzing from Montezuma-Cortez High School’s electrifying performance. As the orange-and-black faithful exited smiling on opening night, one question lingered:
How high is this team’s ceiling?
M-CHS opened its ambitious season with a commanding 86-26 win over visiting Aztec, showcasing not only returning talent but also head coach Mike Hall’s deep bench.
The Panthers remain a “young team,” with only three seniors on the roster and a large part of the rotation coming from the Class of ’27. Among that junior talent, Trey Hall anchors the offense and can score from anywhere.
His alley-oop dunk on the game’s opening possession set the tone for a 21-0 run to start the game, part of a 41-9 first-quarter explosion that erased any hope the Tigers (0-4) had for their first win.
The real impression came after the first-quarter blitz. Every time Hall brought in a reinforcement, the “next man up” injected fresh energy.
Nine Panthers scored, four in double figures. Hall and sophomore Ah-dae Lang shared game-high honors with 18 points apiece, and M-CHS’s defensive pressure produced countless steals in half- and full-court presses.
“Once we’re able to get going, we’re hard to stop,” said Hall after the win. “We played together all summer, and we were able to build a lot of trust in one another.”
Senior Trace Hartsoe combined well with the other Panther posts for an interior passing clinic that yielded layup after layup. Junior Kaleb Schmitt posted a career-high 11 points to complement Hartsoe’s dozen, while sophomore Justin Bane cleaned up misses for eight points in his varsity debut.
“I like how our guys hustle. They bring a lot of energy to the court,” added Hall, praising the bench’s contributions.
Sophomore Royce Watts tallied five points and several pinpoint assists while running the point.
Hall, the team’s returning leader in scoring, rebounding and steals, spent the offseason developing another part of his game. “I’ve been working on my passing and how I see the court,” said the junior. “My focus is to get my teammates in the best spots to get good looks at the basket.”
The 86 points matched the program’s highest output since February 2022 in a win against Alamosa, an early warning sign that opposing defenses better be ready when M-CHS steps on the court.
The Panthers know the road will get rockier in the coming weeks, with meetings against out-of-state challengers San Juan (home, Dec. 9) and Rehoboth Christian (road, Dec. 12) before their first Colorado matchup in Grand Junction for three contests Dec. 18-20.
