Under the bright lights and before one of the largest Wolverine Country Stadium crowds observed in recent memory, there was unfortunately nowhere Alden Adams could hide.
Whether hollering for the home side or voicing up the visitors, any fan had to feel for the Montezuma-Cortez sophomore. Twice he stepped to the penalty spot inside the match's penultimate three minutes, and twice he was denied with the guests not only on the verge of soiling the local's clean sheet, but suddenly threatening to position themselves for a miracle as stoppage time began ticking away.
Guarding the goal line, Bayfield senior Chad Winkler had faced quite a few penalty kicks already this season, but hadn't had much success in the 1-v-1 scenarios until Tuesday night.
"I was definitely expecting corners!" Winkler said, explaining where he thought the Panther would aim. "That was very surprising when they were both straight."
Adams' shots were traight, fast, low along the dew-dampened grass, not a bad idea, considering Winkler was ready to spring to either side. It was only a matter of which split-second action would occur first: a leap by the keeper, or the ball coming off the shooter's foot.
And in both the 79th and 81st minutes of 3A Intermountain League play, Winkler had just enough time to recognize that both unchallenged attempts had no angle, left or right, then drop down and smother both-preserving and securing a 3-0 shutout.
"You know, it takes 11 players to build a team, and I think every time we had 11 players on the field we were working one hundred percent," senior Tilden Berriman said, before leaving the pitch to an appreciative mob of fans at the ground's north end. "People say that the goalie only makes the saves, but this time I think our goalie made the game for us!"
Amazingly, Winkler's best save had stopped M-CHS' best shot at scoring midway through the first half.
Standing near the edge of the 18-yard box in anticipation of scooping an over-paced Panther pass into space, Winkler was luckily in direct line with the ball when wing-back Jason Schneider, whether mis-hitting a clearance attempt or trying to hurry the ball to his keeper before an orange jersey could catch up, nearly zipped the ball into BHS' goal.
"It was coming at me, and suddenly it came at me a lot faster," grinned Winkler. "And I just managed to stick my foot out, barely! Just turned the toe and I don't even know how I made it!"
After the play was pushed to safety, Berriman capitalized at the other end and drilled a shot past Montezuma-Cortez sophomore Teagan Whiteskunk in the 21st minute for a momentum-reversing 1-0 lead. Berriman then converted a deflected Dylan Doskocil try high to Whiteskunk's right in the 34th, completing a dominant first half. The Panthers didn't even record an off-line shot until the 39th minute.
And had it not been for Whiteskunk's own alertness, the Wolverines (7-3, 5-3 IML) would have won the battle long before it truly became such midway through the second half.
"Our possession really wore out their team in the first half," junior Berman Abdallah-Boehm said, alluding to the fact Bayfield unofficially outshot M-CHS 20-1 before intermission, with a 12-0 shots-on-goal advantage. "That led us to keep the ball and make some plays happen. Although we had a little rough spot in the second half, we pulled it off."
Mashing home with his head a perfect Berriman cross in the 67th from about ten yards out, Abdallah-Boehm's high-rise conversion sent the squad's supporters into a hair-raising frenzy as he dog-piled Berriman in celebration, without really breaking stride upon landing.
"Couldn't have done it without my team getting the ball down there," he stated, "but we've practiced, and I guess that's what comes out of it!"
Still, with Whiteskunk needing to make just one real save in the second half-most of the Wolverines' ten shots were off-target. Montezuma-Cortez's attack, driven by seniors Kolby Waltman and Jelson Yanez, intensified later in the match as Winkler needed to save six of the Panthers' eight total shots. Action was guaranteed until the final whistle came in the 83rd minute.
"I'm not even sure exactly what to say," Winkler said, still absorbing the moment. "I think late at night, we're tired, they're tired of losing. We maybe let off a little bit, played more defensive, but we did manage."
Up next, BHS will visit Alamosa (5-5-1, 5-4-1) on Saturday, Oct. 7, for another 7 p.m. kickoff, before hosting Pagosa Springs-which tied AHS 2-2 Tuesday afternoon on Oct. 10, with the start again set for 7.
"We're very motivated this year," Abdallah-Boehm said. "We're pretty confident, and.hungry for more!"
"A lot more excitement, lot more crowds, and hopefully two more wins!" added Winkler.
Despite Whiteskunk totaling, unofficially, 11 saves to Winkler's seven, Montezuma-Cortez dropped to 0-9-0, 0-7-0 before traveling to Telluride on Thursday afternoon.
