MISSOULA — The Malta football team, known for its traditional powerful rushing attack that even predates head coach Nick Oxarart, has expanded its passing offense the past couple years to accentuate the skills of star quarterback Stockton Oxarart.
“He’s like a coach on the field. He knows our offense every bit as good as any of our coaches,” coach Oxarart said of his QB during a phone interview with MTN Sports. “He’s one of the most accurate kids I’ve ever seen on the football field. He hits guys in stride and just gives guys opportunities to score when they get the ball.”
But if the Mustangs are to get where they want to go in the ongoing playoffs — winning the program’s fourth Class B state championship and first since 2006 — Stockton and his teammates best be prepared to win in windy conditions.
Weather cannot be trusted to cooperate in November on the Hi-Line.
“Thanksgiving two years ago (after) we beat (Malta) in the quarterfinals, that was basically all the talk, was how we beat them and the wind played a factor and all that stuff,” Luke Oxarart said with just a hint of sarcasm. Luke, a standout running back and linebacker at Jefferson, is Nick’s nephew and Stockton’s second cousin.
Nick is brothers with Luke's dad, Aaron, and first cousins with Stockton's dad, Dennis.
When the Oxarart clan gets together, football is the focus, and Luke and Stockton — now seniors — have a history that goes back to the youth gridiron. Luke was born in Helena, where he spent the early years of his childhood before moving to Malta in elementary school.
“Flag football starts in third grade, and that’s the year that I moved up there, and we got lucky enough that we were picked on the same team,” said Luke, whose grandpa Greg is brothers with Stockton’s grandpa Bim. “And Dennis was our coach, and it was just pretty cool and family just reunited, I guess. And then fourth-grade football, basketball, we just always won up there.”
And though Luke moved back to Helena after fourth grade and has gone to Jefferson in nearby Boulder for his high school career, the winning hasn’t stopped for either cousin.
As the starting quarterback, Stockton has led Malta to the playoffs in the 2022, 2023 and now 2024 seasons. The Mustangs won the Northern division this season and bring an unblemished 10-0 record into Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup against Three Forks after rolling to a 45-8 win over Thompson Falls in the first round.
Jefferson, with Luke playing a starring role, has reached the semifinal round each of the past two seasons, including in 2022 when the Panthers got a 48-14 quarterfinal win over the Mustangs in Malta. This season, Jefferson (8-2) is the second seed from the Southern division, one of its losses coming to Malta, a 31-17 game back in September.
The Panthers opened the playoffs with a 55-10 win over Joliet and will face three-time reigning state champion Florence in the quarterfinals.
“Oh, as an Oxarart, I think it just comes as a family,” Stockton said. “I feel like every Oxarart has a unique set of skills and ability, so I think it just runs through the family.”
Stockton is on a short list of the best quarterbacks in Class B. He’s thrown for 2,084 yards, 30 touchdowns and just three interceptions this season, while adding another 281 yards and five TDs rushing.
Defensively, he has four interceptions this season and a Malta-record 17 for his career.
“Stockton is really good at avoiding pressure and scrambling,” said Jefferson coach Clint Layng, also noting Stockton’s accuracy and arm strength. “So, if you don’t get him down and also he breaks the pocket or something, then it causes all kinds of problems with your coverage and having to come up — like some guys (think) do I come up and go for the quarterback or do I stay in coverage? So, his mobility really causes problems.”
“I’ve played football my whole life, and it’s almost everything I think about,” said Stockton, who is drawing college interest from NAIA programs. “On offense, I feel like I’m the best quarterback in the state. And also on defense, I’m such an asset and really good athlete out there trying to make plays to help our team get the win.”
Luke has proven to be one of the best high school players in Montana regardless of classification, and has committed to play at Montana State. This season, he has 1,599 rushing yards on 195 carries (8.2 yards per carry), 221 receiving yards and 22 total touchdowns.
On defense, he has 101 tackles and six interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown.
“When he was younger, he was actually a Mustang ... and couldn’t quite keep him, even though I told my brother I got an extra room. He could have stayed with me” at Malta, Nick said. “He’s a hard downhill runner. He’s also tough, watches a lot of film, knows where the ball’s going to be, and he’ll hit you hard, knock-your-teeth-out type of kid, and he’ll run over you, as well.”
“He is so tough as far as playing the game and how physically he plays both running the ball and on defense, because he’s not easy to tackle with his power and his strength. And then you add his speed into it and it just adds a whole new dimension,” Layng said.
“And then on defense, he can cover so much ground and he’s so physical and he loves to hit. I mean, he’s super aggressive. I think you combine all those things like toughness, speed and athleticism, that’s a pretty powerful combination.”
Jefferson and Malta have met three times during the cousins’ high school careers — Luke and the Panthers have a 2-1 head-to-head advantage — but the most high-stakes game could be next week.
If both teams win Saturday, they will meet in a semifinal game with the winner advancing to the championship and the loser ending its season.
“We got to keep grinding and hopefully see Malta again if we beat Florence, which I’m hoping we do,” Luke said. “Those are some of my best friends (at Malta), so I just got to look at them as opponents and not friends, and then after the game as friends again.”
“We’ve talked about it a lot. We went to a Cats game together, and that’s all we pretty much talked about, is playing against each other and how awesome our seasons are going and how we can make it in the playoffs,” Stockton said. “Hopefully we can see each other in the semifinal round.”
Imagine, then, the Thanksgiving conversation.
