As the horn sounded and tensions eased, it was all over and another title was claimed; no drama in Bayfield as the Wolverines won convincingly to claim the 2A Western Slope South League title with a 41-7 win against Alamosa.
It was a near perfect night for the Bayfield High School football team (7-0, 4-0), toppling the Alamosa Mean Moose (3-5, 3-1) at home on senior night behind senior Zane Phelps’ three scores and a 65-yard interception return by fellow senior wide receiver and corner back Taed Heydinger, who also scored a rushing touchdown.
“This win means we get to play at home for the first round of the playoffs,” said Phelps, son of Dion and Koel Phelps. “A lot of us have been playing all four years here. Actually, we’ve been playing here since we were little kids. I know we get to come back here, but it’s sad that it’s the last time under the lights. Our coaches have prepared us and the boys in the trenches did it. It’s a big win for us.”
On the biggest stage of his career, Phelps didn’t disappoint, finishing the night with 171 yards on 21 carries. But all the stats in the world don’t mean as much as that “W”.
“It’s something we’ve all dreamed about since we were little kids,” said Phelps. “This is huge for us to leave our mark here and set our foundation at Wolverine Country Stadium.”
In a game that seemed to drag on – the 3rd quarter alone took close to 40 minutes – Bayfield seized the moment and came out of the gates on fire.
“To be able to win the league championship on senior night means a lot to them,” Bayfield head coach Gary Heide said. “Those seniors, the 2015 Wolverines, have put in so much time and effort offseason to playing football, so this is just a tribute to them. Sometimes I just sit back in awe at the plays they make. They are playmakers.”
Heide added what separates this Wolverine football team and other teams he has coached in the past is the amount of playmakers on the roster.
“They have a certain amount of confidence; they’re all ready to go and that was proven (Friday),” Heide said. “They came out fast, but we were able to score when we had the opportunity and take care of business.”
The Wolverines started the game by scoring the game’s first touchdown three plays into the contest. Phelps took the opening handoff 20 yards up the left side of the field, then took the ball for another nice run down the field on the next play for a 34-yard gain. Heydinger scored the following play from 10 yards out.
After exchanging punts, Bayfield came back and rode the legs of Phelps to an eight-play drive that saw Phelps carry the ball five times and score from two yards out.
Before Alamosa could blink, the Mean Moose were already down 14-0. Some confusion came about on Alamosa’s end on the following drive. Mean Moose quarterback Clayton Brubacher threw a pass to wide receiver Angelo Ramirez, who then tried to lateral the ball to Marco Garcia, but as Garcia mismanaged the ball, a loose ball ensued and it looked like a fumble.
With Bayfield recovering the ball, it should have been Wolverine football; however, the referees decided the play was dead because of an inadvertent whistle and the ball was rewarded back to Alamosa. The play wouldn’t matter in the end since Bayfield forced Alamosa to punt and quickly saw Phelps score five plays later.
On its following possession, Alamosa drove again. The Mean Moose, with their backs against the wall, began forcing plays, and, on one play in particular, Heydinger intercepted a Brubacher pass and took it back 65 yards for a touchdown.
“I told coach (Mike Wnorowski) if we ran a cover-2 where I stayed under and (Alamosa) runs a little out-route, then I’d pick it off, and they did it and I took it back,” said Heydinger, son of Chris and Tim Heydinger.
Bayfield put a hurting on Alamosa in the second quarter, putting the ball in the end zone for 20 points in the quarter alone. Bayfield has averaged 20 points in the second quarter of its games this season.
“We were fired up at the beginning. We knew this would be the last Friday night,” Heydinger said. “We wanted to come fired up and hit hard and came out and blasted them.”
Along with Phelps and Heydinger, Bayfield’s seniors are Noah Loutherback, Cam Seivert, Clyde Leonard, Kyle Killough, Austin Baughman, Brody Mcghehey, Cash Snooks, James Vance, Kelton McCoy, Frankie Turner and Wyatt Freier.
Bayfield will travel to Pagosa Springs next week to finish up the 2015 regular season.
jmentzer@durangoherald.com
