The Wolverines venture away from home for the first time this week, and the matchup is one of the most intriguing of the season for Bayfield.
Colorado’s Class 2A second-ranked Bayfield High School football team (2-0) will face a winless but dangerous Aztec Tigers (0-2) at 7 p.m. Friday at Fred Cook Memorial Stadium in Aztec.
Through two games this season, Bayfield’s defense has yet to allow a point. A year ago, Aztec quarterback Cody Smith threw for three touchdowns at Bayfield, but the Wolverines won 34-21 behind three passing touchdowns of their own and the power running of David Hawkins.
“It’s going to be a battle,” BHS quarterback Hayden Farmer said of the matchup after the team’s 52-0 blowout of Bloomfield.
“We gotta go to work. It’s going to be a good game, but I’m very confident in our abilities.”
Farmer has reason to be especially confident in his abilities one week removed from setting the single-game passing TD record for Bayfield with six in the rout of Bloomfield.
On the other sideline will stand an Aztec team looking for answers after a 35-14 loss last week at Durango. Smith threw four interceptions in the game while passing for 216 yards and one touchdown and running for 94 yards.
“Turnovers were an issue, but it was a byproduct of the way we played versus Durango,” Aztec head coach Matt Steinfeldt said. “We played soft physically, and Durango played incredibly physical, and we didn’t match that intensity on the field. That led to turnovers. We spent a lot of time this week discussing the kind of team we want to be.”
For Smith to have any success against the Wolverines this week, he will have to get better protection from the offensive line than he did a year ago in Bayfield, when the Wolverines totaled nine sacks. The Wolverines already have 12 sacks as a team this year, led by Ryan Phelps with six and Cole Wood with four.
“I get excited when I know that the quarterback passes a lot,” Phelps said. “I know Aztec’s quarterback passes and scrambles a lot. I’m excited for our D-line to get some pressure on him.”
Steinfeldt said Aztec’s offensive line has improved greatly since last year, when the Tigers were missing several players with injuries. With three starters back from last year’s team, he believes they have the experience needed to mitigate the Wolverines’ pass rush.
Aztec’s defense has struggled to stop opposing rushing attacks this year, and that’s good news for the Bayfield running game that boasts Hawkins along with skilled playmakers such as Carl Heide, Hunter Killough and Keyon Prior. The Wolverines average 274 rushing yards per game, and Aztec allowed 280 rushing yards to the Demons last week.
“If you look at our record here, stopping the run is something we have to prioritize,” Steinfeldt said. “We’re trying to adjust the defense to help with that a bit. Bayfield has a number of talented running backs, highlighted by the Hawkins kid. We have to stop that before we can worry about their passing game.”
Bayfield is doing it behind a potent offensive line featuring five seniors, making the Wolverines a truly complete football team.
“I love all those dudes,” Farmer said of the team’s linemen. “I call them our hogs. They’re hogs in there getting after it.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
If you go
Who: Bayfield at Aztec
What: High school football
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Fred Cook Memorial Stadium, Aztec
Listen Live: KLJH 107.1 FM
Twitter: @jlivi2
