During an era of spread offenses and potent passing attacks across all levels of football, Saturday’s matchup at Wolverine Country Stadium will feel like a throwback.
The Bloomfield High School Bobcats of New Mexico will bus into Bayfield High School (1-0) to meet the Wolverines at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The Bobcats (0-1) bring the old Wing-T formation on offense with three boys in the backfield lined up behind or next to the quarterback.
The Wing-T relies on a quarterback to make proper reads and involves plenty of counters and misdirection to keep a defense guessing. Bayfield’s defense guesses right more often than not.
“Our defensive line is playing well and ready for the task of executing their assignments,” Bayfield head coach Gary Heide said. “Our defensive coordinator Mike Wnorowski is a great mind and pays attention to detail and takes nothing for granted. What we have on defense is 11 great athletes who excel at their positions.”
In last week’s season opener, Bayfield’s defense staggered the San Juan Broncos of Blanding, Utah. The Wolverines intercepted three passes and forced and recovered one fumble while holding the Broncos to 82 total rushing yards on 30 attempts.
Hunter Killough led the defense with 16 tackles, while Ryan Phelps was an all-around force at defensive end with three sacks, three pass deflections and an interception. Cole Wood also had two sacks, and Wyatt Killinen dropped the QB once.
Offensively, Bayfield used the quick-strike ability of slash backs Carl Heide and Keyon Prior early and rode the shoulders of big David Hawkins in the third quarter. Hawkins rushed for 111 yards on 17 carries. Prior had 96 yards of total offense with one receiving touchdown and another rushing score, and Heide rushed for 55 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries.
The passing game struggled in the opening quarter behind the adrenaline of the first week of the season. Junior QB Hayden Farmer settled into a groove and threw for 129 yards and one touchdown to go with a pair of interceptions. He also ran for 21 yards.
Though Bayfield is trying to be a more-balanced attack offensively this year, coach Heide knows the identity is still of a power team behind five seniors on the offensive line and the tough running of Hawkins.
“The plan to be diverse this year is coming into play,” coach Heide said. “But we know we want to be a power team. Everything derives from that offensive line that coach (Frank) Hawkins does such a great job with.”
Bloomfield is coming off a 28-6 home loss to Belen, New Mexico. Belen rushed for 263 yards in the game, so Bayfield can expect to be able to run against the Bobcats defense.
Last season, Bayfield beat Bloomfield 35-0 on the road. Hawkins ran for 151 yards and four touchdowns in the win.
“Bloomfield is a formidable opponent,” coach Heide said. “Even with last week’s loss to Belen, we got some tape and saw they played tough. They have good linebackers that can make really good tackles along with a big D-line.
“They’ve got that deceptive offense and a quick, mobile quarterback who is tough to contain outside if he gets loose. We will have to stay sharp.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
If you go
Who: Bloomfield (NM) at Bayfield
What: High school football
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Where: Wolverine Country Stadium, Bayfield
Listen Live: KLJH 107.1 FM
Twitter: @jlivi2
