Pagosa Springs gave the Bayfield High School football team its biggest scare in a league game at home since 2014, but the Pirates didn’t have enough firepower to end the Wolverines’ record home winning streak.
Bayfield (7-0, 3-0 3A Intermountain League) defeated Pagosa Springs 21-3 on Friday night at Wolverine Country Stadium in Bayfield. It was the 17th consecutive home win for the Wolverines dating back to Oct. 14, 2014, in a win against none other than the Pirates. The 17 consecutive home wins are a new program record for BHS, which surpassed the previous mark set from 2011-13.
“What I think about when it comes to the home wins is winning in front of our crowd and how it feels with all the excitement,” BHS head coach Gary Heide said. “It’s a number for other people to keep track of, but it is great for our fans in this community who support us so much.”
Dylan Hilliker returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a BHS touchdown. It was the only score of the first half for the Wolverines, as the typically explosive offense was limited by a tough Pirates defense. The Wolverines ran only thee runs outside the tackles in the first half and had only marginal success running up the middle. Junior quarterback Hayden Farmer also struggled to get going against a strong pass rush and wasn’t helped by four dropped passes in the first half.
A 28-yard field goal by Keaton Anderson got the Pirates on the board in the first quarter and cut the BHS lead to 7-3 with 4 minutes, 10 seconds to go in the first quarter.
The Wolverines rebounded in the second half thanks to a defense that again refused to budge. A short punt by Pagosa when it was backed up deep in its own territory because of an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty gave BHS the ball on the Pagosa 35-yard line late in the third quarter.
Three plays later, BHS was in the end zone on a 17-yard TD run by Carl Heide.
The Wolverines added to their lead on a 13-yard TD run by David Hawkins with a little more than 8 minutes to play in the game.
It was Hawkins’ fourth carry of the series, his first back on offense since a knee injury suffered Sept. 8 in a win at Aztec. Hawkins finished with 52 rushing yards on six carries.
Coach Heide said the team will continue to work the big junior back into the offense slowly with fullback Hunter Killough also playing well in the backfield.
“Dave’s a powerhouse,” BHS senior Cole Wood said.
“We’re glad to have him back, and we can’t wait to see what he does the rest of the season.”
Bayfield rushed for 174 yards in the game, led by Killough’s 69 yards, and held Pagosa Springs to less than 40 yards rushing thanks largely to seven quarterback sacks.
The Pirates rushed for 47 yards in the first half with Cade Cown at QB running the triple option with some success.
Isaiah Griego entered at QB midway through the third quarter after the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. With Griego a better passer, the Wolverines knew they could blitz and cause problems,
Carl Heide intercepted Griego twice, and Kirk Malone recovered a fumble by the Pirates that helped set up Hawkins’ touchdown.
Wood had three sacks in the game and now has 10 on the season. Ryan Phelps extended his state lead in sacks with another to get to 12, and Wyatt Killinen had two sacks. Michael Kirk also recored a sack.
Killinen and Wood both said they loved getting a chance to stop a running attack in the first half and a passing threat in the second.
“It was all assignment football coming in,” Killinen said.
“We knew we what we had to do to take that option away.”
Killinen also got a chance to run the ball for BHS from the guard position on offense. It was the same play BHS ran to Wood in last week’s win at Montezuma-Cortez with a guard sweep, giving the linemen a rare chance to run with the ball.
“It’s the most fun ever,” Killinen said. “They said my name and I said, ‘Oh my goodness, here I come. Don’t drop the ball.’”
Pagosa Springs fell to 4-3 and 2-1 in the IML but not without putting up a strong effort.
“Pagosa is a good team, big turnaround for them,” coach Heide said.
“Kudos to coach (Myron) Stretton over there. They’ve had a remarkable turnaround from what we’ve seen from then the last two years.”
BHS is now alone in first place of the IML with a home game at 7 p.m. Friday against Delta before a roadtrip to Alamosa the following week to close out the regular season.
With BHS and Pagosa both 2-0 in league entering Friday’s game, Killinen said the playoffs started Friday night for the Wolverines.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
