A dream season keeps going for Montezuma Cortez High School.

In their opening-round bout Saturday with No. 6 Elizabeth, the Panthers rallied from a first-half deficit to win their first playoff game in eight years, stunning the Cardinals 21-7.

No. 11 Montezuma-Cortez (7-3) scored three second-half touchdowns, a pair of rushing TDs from Jake Blackmer and Dorrian Hilliard, and an interception return for a score from Tay Wheat to overturn a 7-0 intermission score line.

In the victory, the Panthers contained a vaunted Elizabeth (8-2) ground game, before their offense gained full traction after the half.

“In the second half, we cleaned things up offensively,” said Mack, after a penalty-laden first half kept the Panthers off the scoreboard, “but defensively, we were solid in both halves.”

The Cardinals brought a balanced attack of several different capable ball carriers to the matchup with the Panthers, but M-CHS set the edges well to keep the runners in check.

“We knew that we were going to need to contain them,” said Mack, “and the boys were able to follow through with it.”

After a tough final two weeks of the regular season, the Panthers put together an effort that looked more like the team that had dominated opponents during the middle portion of the schedule.

“The coaching staff did a great job making sure everybody was in the right mindset heading into the game,” said Mack, “but the boys are ones who executed out on the field.”

M-CHS has earned the right to host a quarterfinal in the 2A bracket, as the Panthers will face off against No. 14 Rifle, which upset No. 3 Florence 14-7. It will be the second time this season that the Panthers and Bears meet on the gridiron, as Rifle topped M-CHS 33-26 in Week 2.

“We've always felt that we could get to this point,” Mack added, “but it feels incredible to actually see it through.”

Official game time is still to be determined, but the contest will be held at Panther Stadium for a berth in the state semifinals.