BAYFIELD – Florence mounted a 15-play drive and threatened to take an early lead. Two Bayfield sacks and a missed field goal later, and the Wolverines took over.
No. 5 Bayfield opened the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 2A State Football Playoffs with a 41-0 beatdown of No. 12 Florence on Saturday at Wolverine Country Stadium in Bayfield.
Saturday’s game was all about one big defensive stand for the Wolverines (8-2). The Huskies (5-5) marched for 15 plays and converted three times on fourth down to get inside the Bayfield 10-yard line. The first quarter expired, giving BHS time to regroup. Out of the break, Bayfield’s Cole Wood and David Hawkins recorded consecutive sacks of Florence quarterback Alec Lucero, forcing the Huskies into a 30-yard field goal attempt. The kick came up short, and it was all Wolverines from there.
“Really a great defensive stand,” said BHS head coach Gary Heide. “We didn’t have our proper assignments on the option they were using. I thought about taking a timeout, but (defensive coordinator Mike Wnorowski) said wait until the quarter. We changed it at the quarter break, got to the quarterback real quick twice in a row and took away their momentum right there.”
BHS answered in a hurry, as a six-play, 80-yard drive ended with a 55-yard touchdown pass from senior QB Josh Westbrook to junior slot player Carl Heide, who made a nice adjustment to haul in the pass over his right shoulder while running down the left sideline.
“Outstanding catch,” Westbrook said. “I watched Carl’s guy come up in coverage, and I knew Carl would catch it.”
After the BHS defense forced a Florence three-and-out, the Wolverines struck again on a 48-yard TD pass from Westbrook to senior wide receiver Brian Mashak to end a quick four-play, 58-yard drive.
“It was the most beautiful ball ever,” Mashak said of Westbrook’s pass. “Coach called the right play, and my quarterback delivered.”
With Lucero feeling more pressure to throw, a BHS lineman got his hand on a short pass and tipped it into the air and into the waiting arms of Bayfield senior linebacker Jesse Westbrook for an interception at a key point in the game with a little more than 2 minutes to go in the first half.
With a short field, BHS went 28 yards and scored on a 1-yard Josh Westbrook dive into the end zone to take a commanding 21-0 lead at halftime.
That was plenty for the BHS defense, which racked up six sacks and put the final stamp on the game with a Keyon Prior interception.
“We were firing off the ball and doing everything we could,” said BHS defensive tackle Ryan Phelps, who teamed up with Kirk Malone and Hawkins to earn a pair of half-sacks, giving him 10 total sacks this season.
BHS got the ball back first out of halftime, and a 61-yard run by Hawkins set up Hunter Killough for an 11-yard TD run. Prior also scored on a 1-yard run in the second half on a drive the offensive line dominated, as Jesse Westbrook ran seven times for 42 yards on that drive alone.
The Wolverines totaled 256 rushing yards while holding the Huskies to less than 50 rushing yards and 70 passing yards.
Josh Westbrook was 3-of-6 passing for 117 yards, two TDs and a last-second first-half interception as BHS attempted a Hail Mary.
The win helped BHS avenge a 2011 loss to Florence in the state championship game. That loss was 34-0, and a few fans cheered when the Wolverines took a 34-0 lead on the Huskies in the third quarter.
BHS will now face the longest road trip in team history for the quarterfinals, as the Wolverines will take on No. 4 Sterling. The Sterling Tigers (7-3) beat No. 13 Manitou Springs 52-22 after going into halftime tied at 22 on Saturday.
It is a similar trip to last year’s quarterfinals when BHS went to Brush. At 441 miles from BHS, Sterling is 38 miles further than Brush.
The team will stay in the same hotel as a year ago and hope for similar results. Coach Heide said he doesn’t think the trip will bother his team at all.
“Defense travels,” linebacker Kirk Malone said after a 1½ sack performance Saturday.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
