Oakwood Panthers. (Brandon Ogden/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

ARLINGTON — Sitting at 2-5 in late October, there was no certainty for the Oakwood Panthers regarding results of future games.

But a team that was 2-4 in 2023 and won four of its next five games to go two rounds deep in the playoffs and finish with a 6-6 record, head coach J.J. Johnson was certain his team was going to fight.

The Panthers went on to win their next seven games, including a fourth-round playoff victory over Oglesby (54-51), which ended Oakwood’s season in 2023, to earn a spot in the Class 1A Division II Championship game.

However, going up against an undefeated Jayton team, which had 45-point mercy rule victories in 13 of its 14 games before the state championship — the only exception was a 90-48 semifinal victory over Klondike — Oakwood suffered a 54-8 loss in a game that ended at halftime on Thursday afternoon at AT&T Stadium.

“First of all, hats off to Jayton and Coach (Josh) Stanaland for an awesome job, an awesome year and a great team,” Johnson said. “Everything you’re trying to do, they had a counter to it.

“I think our guys were very resilient. They didn’t ever get down. We were 2-5 at one time. Even with the adjustments we made, they still stuck with it, and they saw progress. I thought when we went into the playoffs, we just kept getting better and better every week. Today doesn’t show it, but I’m just very proud of this group.”

Oakwood won the coin toss and elected to receive. The Panthers were forced to punt, and the kick went off of an Oakwood player’s helmet for a 15-yard loss. Jayton’s Bode Ham fumbled on his attempt to score, but Colt Gentry recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown for the Jaybirds for a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the game with 10-minute quarters.

Oakwood used a 44-yard pass from Dayden Velasquez to Gavin Wilbanks down to the Jayton 3-yard line, but two plays later, Gentry recovered a fumble and took it 73 yards for a touchdown to make the score 16-0.

With 42 seconds left in the first quarter, Sean Stanaland connected with Gentry for a 16-yard touchdown to make the score 22-0.

Jayton then built its lead to 30-0 with a 2-yard pass from Stanaland to Ham with 6:37 left in the second quarter.

Oakwood fumbled on the ensuing possession. It was forced by Gentry and recovered by Ham. Wilbanks then forced a fumble for Oakwood, but Jayton recovered and went on to score on a 37-yard run by Bode to make it 38-0 with 4:50 on the clock.

Oakwood got on the board 13 seconds later with a 60-yard completion from Velasquez to Brady Harrison to cut the score to 38-8.

Jayton added touchdown runs of 13 and 15 yards by Stanaland to put the finishing touches on a state championship victory.

Stanaland was 7 of 8 passing for 102 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran for 28 yards and two scores to earn Offensive MVP honors. Gentry had four tackles, a forced fumble, a defensive fumble recovery for a touchdown and an offensive fumble recovery for a touchdown, earning Defensive MVP honors. Offensively, Gentry had two catches for 24 yards and two offensive touchdowns.

Jayton won the state basketball championship last school year in Class 1A. Gentry was the tournament MVP, and Stanaland has been all-tournament at the state tournament the past two years.

Ham added six carries for 65 yards and a touchdown, along with a receiving touchdown for Jayton (14-1).

Velasquez was 7 of 18 passing for 135 yards and a touchdown for Oakwood (9-6). The Panthers were held to 13 yards rushing. Harrison had 60 yards receiving, and Wilbanks had 44 yards receiving. Velasquez led the way defensively with six tackles and a forced fumble.

Despite the ending, nothing will take away from what the Panthers accomplished in the 2024 football season.

“I thought it was great,” Wilbanks said. “I loved being here. I wish it couldn’t have ended off a bit better. I love my community and I’m sorry that we couldn’t put on a show for them.”

“It was great,” junior Micah Reed said. “Every one of us knew we had what it takes to get here and possibly play for a state championship. Even being 2-5, we still had camaraderie between each other, and we believed in each other. Once we hit district, we just really started to click with each other.

“We were just hungry for it this year. I know we weren’t able to reach the ultimate goal, but next year, we are going to come back even hungrier.”

Oakwood’s team members are sophomore Dayden Velasquez, sophomore Eli Pettiette, freshman Tank Andrews, freshman Zach Harris, senior Kevin Alatorre, sophomore Brady Harrison, senior Eddy Ramirez, junior Darreion Thomas, senior Tirrec Jackson, senior Gavin Wilbanks, sophomore Erin Feil, freshman Joseph Landa-Miller, freshman Jaxon Flowers, junior Nick Strickland, junior Josh Callahan and junior Micah Reed.

“The future is bright,” Johnson said. “These guys are setting the tone and paving the way. Oakwood has a chance to be pretty good in the coming years. We can do it. We definitely will miss Gavin next year, but we’ve still got a bunch of pieces coming back. I think the guys now truly believe we can play with some of the best teams in the state. I think this was a good experience for us.”