Malad’s Friday night football game under the lights had a different look in their final game of the season played October 31.  Competing for a spot in the 3A post-season playoffs, the Dragons were pitted against the West Jefferson Panthers, playing a late night matchup in the ICCU Minidome at ISU.  

The game proved to be a thrilling matchup, both teams contending for the victory until the very end of the game.  Coming up short by just one point, the Dragons trailed 20-21 as the final buzzer sounded, ending their season.  While the sting of such a loss was felt, the amazing experience as a whole is something the MHS team will never forget.  

Malad opened the game receiving the kickoff, making good progress down the field, largely due to the Dragons’ running backs that continued to drive the ball towards the endzone.  But the Panthers put an abrupt stop to the drive as they picked off a deep pass before stepping out of bounds.  On their first play, West Jefferson flicked back the pitch, their ball carrier taking off through the MHS defense, dodging tackles to find his way across the goal line.  With an unsuccessful PAT, the Panthers were up 6-0.

Shaking off the West J score, the Malad offense took the field, starting their drive at the 38 yard line.  In a series of gains up the middle by Drake Morrison, Ky Willie, and Holdan Tubbs, the Dragons found their way into the red zone, charged and ready to push the final 14 yards into the endzone.  

West Jefferson was determined to hold them back, allowing only minimal progress.  On third and three, Easton Green handed off to Tubbs, following Morrison who drilled a hole through the defense for the MHS running back to get the first down they needed.  The Panthers thwarted their first attempt at first goal, standing Tubbs up as he attempted to go wide around the left sideline.  Taking the ball up through the middle on the second down, Tubbs was finally able to break through, scoring Malad’s first touchdown of the night.  With Matt Briscoe adding a PAT field goal, the Dragons took the lead 7-6. 

Playing into the second quarter, the Dragon defense was tasked with holding back the Panthers from the endzone.  Their coverage and anticipation of the play did well to keep their progress insignificant, but occasionally West Jefferson would make the first down, moving the chains down the field.  Pushing the piled up ball carrier the final yard across the goal line, the Panthers punched in a second touchdown and field goal with three minutes remaining in the first half.

The MHS offense felt the pressure of the clock, knowing they needed to make quick progress if they were to score before the half ended.  Quarterback Green made use of his playbook, sending Tubbs down the right side with the ball, connecting with Willie for a 20 yard pass despite the defense on his heels, another long pass to Chase Martin with the diving catch, and even a quarterback keep to get the first down when he was all out of options. Unfortunately as they continued to make their down field, the Panthers picked off a second pass, ending their drive and the half with the score 13-7.

Coming into the third quarter, West Jefferson had the opening drive, marching their way along.  The MHS defense was determined to make a stop, and turned up the intensity.  Their tackles were solid, the D-line broke down the offensive wall in front of them and the backfield covered the receivers in frustrating ways.  The Panthers were forced to punt, putting the Dragon offense back on the field.

Just like they had before, the MHS team slowly and steadily moved the chains down the field.  Despite the resistance he met, Morrison continued to break through the middle to make significant gains for Malad.  It wasn’t until the first minutes of the fourth quarter that the Dragons punched the final yard into the endzone to score, Green snapping the ball and pushing ahead for the touchdown to tie the game at 13.

The Dragon defense harassed the Panthers as they attempted their following drive.  Kurt Ward, Justin Toone, and Tubbs had a massive stop on the West J first down.  On the next play Toone forced a hurried pass as he was a second away from sacking the West Jefferson quarterback.  An incomplete pass on the third down forced the Panthers to punt once again.

Starting at the Malad 45 yard line, it was up to the Dragon offense to turn their drive into a scoring opportunity while West Jefferson was equally as determined to stop them.  On fourth and short, it looked like the Panthers might have ended the MHS drive, but instead Martin found a way to not only make the first down but carried the ball down to the 25 yard line.

Suffering a penalty, the Dragons were on third and 13.  Pulling out a surprise for the Panthers, Green pitched the ball back to Tubbs who took the ball towards the right sideline, handing off to Martin who swept around the left side for a gain of 8.   

Now on fourth down and five to go at the 20 yard line, Green called for the ball and pitched to Tubbs on his right.  Sprinting around the outside, Tubbs kept running as his blockers kept the Panther defense from coming up on him, clearing the path all the way to the endzone for another MHS touchdown.  Briscoe capped off the score with another field goal to put Malad up 20-13.

With the clock ticking down, there was only time enough for one final drive, an opportunity West Jefferson took full advantage of.  Finally succeeding where their previous drives had come up short, they continued to convert on downs to move down the field.  And with just over a minute remaining in the game, they too punched in a final touchdown, now down 19-20.  Going for the riskier 2 point PAT, the Panthers pushed through the middle to successfully cross the goal line, taking the lead and winning the game 21-20.   

Malad ended the game with 239 total rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns as well as 42 yards passing.  Tubbs led in rushing with 103 yards and 2 TDs.  Morrison added another 78 yards rushing and 7 yards receiving.  Willie tallied the most yards receiving at 20 with Martin adding 15.  Defensively, Tubbs and Braxden Kaufman led with 12 Tackles each.

Despite the sting of such a loss, Head Coach Brady Price had nothing but pride and praise for his team.  He shared, “What an awesome experience the team had to play in the ICCU “Mini” Dome. I thought our team played great, we had a few mistakes in the 1st half, but really came out in the 2nd half.” 

He continued, “Offensively we were moving the ball on them, I loved the way our O-Line opened holes for our running backs. Defensively we played really well against a team that has been averaging almost 40 points a game. In the end we needed one more stop and couldn't get it.” 

Looking back over the 2025 season, Coach Price shared, “In the end I am so proud of my players and their performance. This year our team has taken steps forward and it has been through the leadership of our seniors. They have helped to start a new standard that the underclassmen will build upon. I want to thank them for the work they have put in the last 4 years.”