The lights haven’t been turned on for a Friday night football game at Wolverine Country Stadium since Oct. 23, 2015. Five games later, Bayfield claimed a state title. Now, the community is ready to welcome back the purple and gold clad defending champions.
After opening the 2016 campaign with two consecutive road games, Bayfield High School will face out-of-state opponent Aztec in the home opener at 7 p.m. Friday. The Class 2A Wolverines and New Mexico Class 5A Tigers enter with identical 1-1 records.
“Last year was something very special and dear to our hearts,” Bayfield head coach Gary Heide said. “But it’s a new year, and we have to create our own identity. People aren’t coming to see last year’s championship team, they are coming to see what Bayfield has this year. We want to show our fans, friends and relatives that we’ve been working hard and that this team has merit as well.”
After the offense was shutout in a 19-0 loss at San Juan High in Blanding, Utah, to open the season, the Wolverines rode David Hawkins into the end zone for four touchdowns in a 35-0 win at Bloomfield, New Mexico, last week. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound sophomore running back busted the Bobcats’ defense for 143 yards on 28 carries. He only rushed the ball once a week before in Blanding.
“We’re really confident in him, but we gotta be careful,” Heide said of his young star. “He’s still a youngster, so we have to be able to ave other people take on the load. It’s a long season, and teams are aiming to stop him. We have to be ready for that.”
Through two games, senior quarterback Josh Westbrook is 5-of-17 passing for 68 yards and two interceptions. Sophomore quarterback Hayden Farmer is 5-of-10 for 88 yards and one touchdown to fellow sophomore Keyon Prior in the win against Bloomfield.
“We have to be more balanced and find ways to take what the defense give us,” Heide said. “Last week we implemented our power game and were successful, but we have to be able to do a lot more to beat a team like Aztec.”
Bayfield’s defense smothered Bloomfield last week, holding the Bobcats to 25 passing and 36 rushing yards. The unit also held its ground in the loss to San Juan but was set up in bad positions because of turnovers.
This week, the Wolverines face an even tougher test against a spread offense that throws the ball 70 percent of plays.
“Aztec is a very sophisticated and well-executed passing offense,” Heide said. “We have to be ready to go with a new phase of defense, because I don’t think we’ve ever gone against a team that passes it so much.”
After being torched by University of Michigan commit O’Maury Samuels in the season-opening loss to Los Lunas, Aztec bounced back with a 14-13 point win against Durango High School a week ago. Now, the Tigers are looking to make it back-to-back wins against La Plata County foes.
“When you get pounded the way we did the first week, kids start asking questions of themselves,” Aztec head coach Matt Steinfeldt said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald.
“When you beat a quality team like Durango, it put things in perspective for us. Now, we’re getting ready for a challenging team like Bayfield.”
Though the Wolverines lost several key pieces to last year’s state championship team, Steinfeldt still sees plenty of weapons on the Bayfield roster.
Bayfield’s fans are ready to see for themselves.
Durango (1-1) at Piedra Vista, N.M. (2-0)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Hutchison Stadium, Farmington, New Mexico
Listen Live: KKDG 99.7 FM
Twitter: @The7thFreezer
More Info: After losing by one point last week at Aztec, the Durango Demons are eager to get back to their winning ways in a big out-of-state showdown with Piedra Vista in Farmington.
Durango saw its 13-7 fourth-quarter lead evaporate after lightning brought on a lengthy delay early in the third quarter.
A late interception and a missed extra point proved costly and sent the Demons to 1-1 after a season-opening win against Delta.
Now, Gavin Mestas, Peyton Woolverton and a strong Durango defense will try to tame the Panthers, who are coming off a dramatic 31-28 come-from-behind win on the road at Goddard, a perennial New Mexico powerhouse out of Roswell.
It was the second big week in a row for Piedra Vista, which beat cross-town rival Farmington 20-0 in the season opener.
Durango will have its hands full with senior quarterback Elijah Gamboa and senior wide receiver Jason Compton.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
If you go
Who:
Aztec at Bayfield
What:
High school football
When:
7 p.m. Friday
Where:
Wolverine Country Stadium, Bayfield High School
Radio:
KLJH 107.1 FM
Twitter:
@jlivi2
