With the 2025 high school fall sports season on the horizon, now is a good time to take one last look at last year’s fall season and the most memorable individual performances from each team during that season.
Each team will have one winner and one runner-up performance based on available statistics, surrounding circumstances and significance of games or races.
Football: Lincoln Williams’ performance against Gunnison
Bayfield’s now-graduated senior star was a very productive player on offense, defense and special teams. His incredible performance against Gunnison on Oct. 26 saw him contributing on all three fronts in a heartbreaking 28-27 loss (a missed extra point after a miracle touchdown with under a minute left cost BHS a chance to win in overtime).
Against Gunnison, Williams racked up an incredible 295 total yards (his team as a whole had 459) and three touchdowns between offense, defense and special teams. Williams had 10 rushes for 68 yards and six catches for 144 receiving yards and two touchdowns on offense. On defense, he had two interceptions (returning one for a touchdown), a team-leading 16 tackles and 50 interception return yards. He added 33 kick return yards on special teams, showing his versatility.
Williams had a few other stat-sheet-stuffing performances, but none on this level. Contributing in so many ways in such a close game earns this performance the top spot. His versatility and ability to make plays on offense and defense were on full display.
The senior’s efforts on the season as a wide receiver and defensive back earned him a Colorado High School Activities Association 2A all-state second team spot. The Wolverines finished the season 4-5 and 1-4 (last) in the 2A Intermountain League.
Runner-up: Cole McWhirter’s performance against Aztec
As just a sophomore, McWhirter had a very solid season at quarterback for Bayfield. His best performance of the season by far came against Aztec in the season opener on Sept. 9.
In a dominating 41-7 win, McWhirter had a game that most quarterbacks can only dream of. He completed 14 of his 18 passes for 355 passing yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. However, his performance was special for a reason beyond just the strong statistics.
Passer rating is a metric used to put a number on a quarterback’s performance. It takes into account completion percentage, yards per attempt, percentage of attempts that resulted in touchdowns and percentage of attempts that resulted in interceptions. Based on the metric, McWhirter earned a 158.3, a perfect rating. He had a statistically perfect game.
A perfect passer rating is an amazing performance that deserves to be acknowledged. However, this performance takes the runner-up and not the top spot because Aztec was not a good team. It posted an 0-9 record and gave up an average of 40 points per game.
Nearly every quarterback that played against Aztec had their best performance of the season. Therefore, while McWhirter’s performance should be recognized, it does not take the top spot.
Boys soccer: Ayden Casillas’ performance against Bloomfield
The junior forward was an offensive force for the Wolverines, scoring almost half the team’s points on the season (a player is awarded two points for a goal and one for an assist). He averaged 1.8 goals per game across a 16-game season.
Casillas’ scoring ability was on full display in the season opener against Bloomfield, when he scored four goals, all in the first half. BHS won 4-2.
This performance earns the top spot because of the sheer dominance that it displays against a Bloomfield team that finished the season with a decent 10-10 record. Casillas had a few other notable performances, but none that saw him playing at this level against a respectable team. Scoring four goals in the first half and cruising to a win showed another level of talent.
Bayfield soccer finished the season 8-7-1 and 4-2 in the 3A Intermountain league, good for second. The Wolverines qualified for the state playoffs but lost 7-1 to Coal Ridge. Casillas was awarded a CHSAA All-State honorable mention on the season.
Runner-up: Orion Botsford’s performance against Pagosa
Bayfield’s junior goalkeeper had a very respectable season in the net. However, his performance against Pagosa Springs on Oct. 1 saw him step up in a huge way.
The Wolverines came into Pagosa Springs on a two-game losing streak. PSHS had lost one game at that point in the season (four wins, one loss, three ties).
In a huge matchup between the two best teams in the 3A Intermountain League, Botsford shut out a very strong Pagosa squad as the Wolverines won 2-0. It was one of his two shutouts the entire season.
Botsford’s performance was massive for two reasons. The first is that Bayfield handed Pagosa one of its three losses on the season and its only league loss, making this a very significant win for the entire team. Botsford’s performance in particular was important because the Pirates were an exceptional defensive team, allowing only 11 goals the entire year. Making a comeback against them would have been extremely difficult. This makes Botsford posting a shutout vital in securing the win.
Cross country: Porter Sutherlin’s performance at the Bayfield XC Invitational
Defending home turf is essential in any sport and cross country is no different. Sutherlin had a decent junior season for Bayfield, but nearly always finished behind now-graduated senior Sawyer Flinders. However, with Flinders in a slump and needing to defend his home course, Sutherlin stepped up and had his best race of the season.
Sutherlin ran 20 minutes, 43.48 seconds to finish fifth out of 84 runners at the Bayfield XC Invitational, leading Bayfield to a second-place team finish.
This performance takes the number one spot because of how Sutherlin stepped up. Flinders, the clear-cut number one runner for most of the season, was not racing well. He finished 81st in the 84-strong field. This left Bayfield with a need for a top runner. Sutherlin’s effort allowed Bayfield to get tantalizingly close to the team title.
Runner-up: Sawyer Flinders’ performance at regionals
Flinders’ slump only lasted two races. In the biggest race of Bayfield’s season, he stepped up to lead his team and earn a strong finish in a competitive regionals field.
At the CHSAA Class 3A Region 2 race in Colorado Springs, Flinders ran his second-fastest time of the season with an 18:33.94. He finished 28th in an 88-runner field, which was the highest placement of any BHS runner at regionals, boys or girls.
This performance earns the runner-up spot because it was the most prestigious placement of a Bayfield runner for the entire season, as neither team qualified for state. Placing in the top 30 at regionals is a solid performance, especially as it saw Flinders fully get over the wall that he hit midway through the season (placing in the bottom four in two races). He showed that he was Bayfield’s top boys runner with a very respectable end to his high school cross country career.
Girls volleyball: Tanna Owens’ performance against Doherty
Tanna Owens was Bayfield volleyball’s best player last year and the now-graduated senior showed it against Doherty during a Nov. 2 tournament match.
Bayfield’s senior setter showed why she deserved the CHSAA 3A volleyball honorable mention that she was awarded with a ridiculous 41 assists in a 3-1 victory. She averaged 10.3 assists per set, which more than doubled her season average of 5.1 assists per set. Owens also posted a very solid 23 digs, or 5.8 per set. Her season average was 3.3 digs per set.
Doubling her season average for assists per set was incredible and shows a very high level of awareness and game control. Plus, her performance helped her team to a good win in a tournament environment.
Runner-up: Evelette Hollibaugh’s performance vs. Doherty
Hollibaugh had a very respectable junior season as an outside and middle hitter for Bayfield and will be an asset for the Wolverines as a senior. She flashed her full potential against Doherty, the same opponent that Owens had her brilliant performance against.
Against Doherty, Hollibaugh posted the team’s season-high in kills, with a whopping 15, or 3.8 kills per set. She averaged 2.2 kills per set on the season, meaning she was close to doubling her season average for kills per set. Her performance was a key reason that Bayfield was able to dominate the final two sets of the match and close it out.
ajbonanno@durangoherald.com
