CORTEZ – For programs with staying power in high school football, the old saying goes, “they don’t rebuild, they reload.”
Add Montezuma-Cortez to that list of programs.
Friday night’s season opener against Crownpoint showcased both the present and the future of Panthers football as M-CHS cruised to a 48-0 win over the Eagles. While their defense of the Intermountain League title won’t officially begin until early October, M-CHS validated the early season buzz around Panther Stadium that another special season is in the making.
Six of the Panthers’ seven touchdowns came from their senior class, with do-everything tailback, defensive safety and punt returner Parker Conrad accounting for three of those scores. He bookended the first half with a 64-yard dash to open the scoring before striking on a 50-yard punt return to cap off a dominant first half with M-CHS in front, 35-0.
Conrad tallied more than 100 yards rushing and added an interception to his performance before handing the baton to the Panthers’ second unit for much of the second half. Classmate Rusty Snyder added two scores of his own, including a 7-yard reception from junior quarterback Cody Case for the first of two passing scores for M-CHS Friday night.
Snyder also shared an interception with classmate Cooper Sopha – the duo combined for one of the four interceptions for the M-CHS secondary as M-CHS blanked Crownpoint for the second straight year. Senior Kallan Wirth tallied another takeaway, while junior Jude Overton snuffed out the only Eagles threat with an interception.
It made for a three-phase victory for second-year head coach Tyler Worley and the Panthers – with domination from the offense, defense and special teams lifting the homestanding Panthers to their third home-opening victory in the past five years.
“If you’ve got good kids, it goes a long way,” said Worley. “We’ve been building the kids up through our camps and summer programs – if they believe in each other, they can do some great things.”
Among the many storylines for Panthers fans to watch this upcoming season was clear Friday night – the Class of 2028 is something special. The starting defensive line in the Panthers’ 3-4 defense included three sophomores: Zebulun LeBlanc, Nathan Brown and team captain Zane Coffey, who took charge from the opening snap.
“I’m excited to see those sophomores grow,” said Worley. “They’ve stepped into some big roles on this team, and they’re just going to keep getting better.”
Their efforts made life difficult for the Eagles’ run-first offense, opening gaps for the linebackers to roam freely in the Crownpoint backfield, limiting the Eagles to just two first downs before the game entered the running-clock mercy rule phase.
Fellow sophomore Kendrick MacPherson scored the first of two second-half touchdowns, while senior Wyatt Oliver caught two long completions from Case, the second of which found the end zone to solidify the final score.
“I liked how involved everyone was on the sideline,” said Worley, as the Panthers were able to see virtually everyone who dressed in a varsity uniform get playing time. “And I’m appreciative of that depth on both sides of the ball.”
The difficulty level amps up over the next two weekends for M-CHS, as the Panthers travel to Class 2A top-10 opponent Strasburg on Saturday, Sept. 6, at 11 a.m., before returning home to face state runner-up Wellington on Sept. 13 at 11 a.m. at Panther Stadium.
“We believe that we can compete with these teams from up north,” said Worley of the tough road ahead. “And we want our guys to know that we’re part of an elite conference, too, and they can play with the top dogs in our classification.”
