MALTA — A top-five showdown between No. 1 Jefferson and No. 4 Malta — and cousins Luke Oxarart of Jefferson and Stockton Oxarart of Malta — lived up to the billing Friday night on the Hi-Line.
Stockton Oxarart got the last laugh, scoring two touchdowns and snagging a crucial interception, as Malta rallied from a 14-0 deficit and scored 24 unanswered points en route to a 31-17 win.
Jefferson looked the part of the top-ranked team in the early going, with Luke Oxarart running in two touchdowns in the game's first eight minutes to build a 14-0 lead the Panthers would take into the second quarter.
They looked poised to add to their lead early in the second, but a huge defensive play by the Mustangs swung the momentum. With the Panthers nearing the red zone and facing a third-and-inches play, Malta forced a fumble that Dawson Hammond recovered and returned 70 yards for a touchdown. That brought the Mustangs within 14-7.
The next possession, Jefferson again got deep into Malta territory, getting all the way to the 4-yard line. But a false start on fourth down pushed the Panthers back 5 yards, and they settled for the short field goal to go up 17-7.
As rain began to fall, Malta forced and recovered another Jefferson fumble late in the second quarter. Mustangs quarterback Stockton Oxarart connected with Blaine Downing and Hammond to move the ball into scoring position. But Malta couldn't find the end zone and booted a field goal to end the half and go into the break trailing 17-10.
Jefferson's Brady Armstrong, the reigning Class B-C state wrestling champion at 205 pounds, had three sacks in the first half.
On its first possession of the second half, Malta quickly moved the ball down the field behind Stockton Oxarart, Treyton Wilkie and Downing. Wilkie took a pass to the 1-yard line, and Stockton Oxarart ran in the touchdown. The point-after attempt was missed, though, allowing Jefferson to take a 17-16 lead to the fourth quarter.
Trooper Stiles and Stockton Oxarart both caught interceptions for the Mustangs in the third quarter, and Malta capitalized off Stockton Oxarart's pick, which thwarted a Jefferson drive at the Malta 6-yard line. The Mustangs drove the ball 94 yards, capping the possession early in the fourth with another Stockton Oxarart touchdown run to give the Mustangs their first lead at 24-17.
Malta added an insurance touchdown from Downing later in the period to secure the 31-17 win.
Elsewhere in Class B ...
No. 2 Manhattan 38, Thompson Falls 16
No. 3 Eureka 55, Cut Bank 18
No. 5 Florence 38, Huntley Project 0
Fairfield 38, Wolf Point 14
Glasgow 20, Columbus 13
Joliet 46, Baker 0
Missoula Loyola 40, Big Timber 0
Red Lodge 56, Colstrip 0
Shepherd 44, Roundup 6
