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Bayfield football loses to San Juan, first loss since 2014

San Juan shuts down the Bayfield offense

Coming back to reality was hard for the Bayfield High School football team Friday night,as the Wolverines had more than a slow start to the 2016 season.

Hoping the sloppy first-half play would dissipate, head coach Gary Heide couldn’t get more out of his Bayfield offense. San Juan scored first and held the Wolverine scoring machine at bay, as the Broncos came away with the 19-0 shutout victory.

“We have a long way to go. We’re disappointed we lost, but our attitude is good,” Heide said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “I think there was too much talk of undefeated state championships. The kids are optimistic, though. We were just out of sync offensively.”

It was rocky from the beginning for Bayfield (0-1), as senior quarterback Josh Westbrook fumbled on Bayfield’s first series for the game’s first turnover. San Juan (1-1) scored two plays later on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Blake to Jaxon Lee. The Bayfield offense punted four consecutive times plus a four-and-out on its following five possessions.

Bayfield had multiple chances to make this game close, but, every time the Wolverines converted a first down, the San Juan defense stifled their drives.

“We made some bad calls,” Heide said. “We were really close on some big plays, but we just never got that confidence or that one big play.”

By game’s end, Bayfield had an uncharacteristic four turnovers, and between dropped balls, turnovers and penalties, the Wolverines seemed lost at times. The result was Bayfield’s first loss since 2014.

“We couldn’t overcome adversity tonight; we have to bear down and be able to do that,” said Heide.

Down only 7-0 at halftime, Bayfield allowed an 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by San Juan’s Dylan Ivins. Any hope of a momentum swing was diminished instantly, and Bayfield started the second half just as it started the game.

Westbrook’s inconsistency was a factor for Bayfield. Midway through the fourth quarter, sophomore Hayden Farmer came in for relief but had a similar result when he fumbled the ball in the fourth quarter.

The defense did its job by shutting down San Juan running back Kavika Su’esu’e, who was relatively a non-factor. While all eyes were focused on Su’esu’e, San Juan’s passing attack surprised Bayfield’s defense.

“The defense played stellar,” said Heide. “We didn’t help our defense out at all. Our special teams was phenomenal, too.”

Bayfield’s special teams did its best to help keep the Wolverines in the game by blocking two San Juan punts plus a San Juan extra point.

“(The Broncos) made big plays, they were aggressive and tackled well,” said Heide. “Hats off to them, they’re a fine football team. Monty Lee has a fine football program. They just played really well.”

The Broncos milked the clock when they knew the Wolverines weren’t moving the ball on offense. Just before the game ended, Lee scored again on a 30-yard pass from Blake with 40 seconds left in the game to push it out of reach.

Bayfield will have a chance to rebound as the Wolverines travel to Bloomfield next Friday at Bloomfield, New Mexico.

jmentzer@durangoherald.com

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