Frequently this season, a chant has emanated from the Bayfield student section, also known as the Rowdy Crowd:
"OUR TEAM'S HOTTER!" followed by clap, clap, clap-clap-clap.
And though it may not directly refer to the Wolverines' on-court play, it certainly would have at last Saturday's Palmer Ridge Invitational.
Just how hot was Coach Terene Foutz's team?
Ghost chili pepper scalding.
If their undefeated 10-0 run through the Intermountain League wasn't enough to warrant regional-hosting duty, their 4-0 match mark out in Monument was the equivalent of kicking open CHSAA's doors in Aurora and forcibly demanding the honor.
Well, they got it.
Now 20-3 overall, the Wolverines will host the 3A-Region V Championships, with Parachute Grand Valley (14-9, 6-3 Western Slope - third) and Buena Vista (12-10, 9-3 Tri-Peaks - third) both venturing to BHS Gymnasium to test their mettle. Action begins tomorrow at 9 a.m. with BHS battling Grand Valley, who most recently come to town in 2014 when Bayfield hosted Region III.
David Walck's Cardinals will then tangle with Jamie Page's Demons in a battle for bragging rights after splitting two tests at last weekend's BVHS Invite. Grand Valley took one best-of-three (25-23, 26-24) before Buena Vista bounced back and claimed (25-20, 17-25, 15-13) the other.
The third and final match will pit Bayfield against BVHS, with both teams hoping to be in the mix to represent the regional at next weekend's Class 3A State Championships in Denver.
Having already downed both 4A PRHS (25-21, 25-21) and 5A Fort Collins Poudre (25-15, 22-25, 25-15) in pool-play last weekend, the Wolverines earned a spot in the Invitational's 'Gold' championship match by defeating 4A Colorado Springs Air Academy 25-20, 27-25, 25-17.
Opposing them was 5A Colorado Springs Coronado. After escaping two tense games with the upper hand in the best-of-five, the Wolverines followed up their 25-23 and 31-29 wins with a dominating 25-12 conquest to complete the sweep and depart El Paso County atop the pile for the very first time.
"The entire team contributed," an exhausted yet elated Foutz stated, "and defense was crucial in the win."
Against the Cougars, BHS bashed 36 kills at an awesome .345 rate, having committed only seven attack errors. Juniors Kylee McCoy (10 kills, .444) and Ashley Mottin (nine, .400) led the way through the middle, while classmate Sydney Gabbard notched seven spikes on the outside.
Junior setter Courtney Bayles distributed 32 assists and also was in on four total blocks.
Along with her team-high 18 digs, senior Maddi Foutz downed five kills as did junior Jade Pascale, with the former hitting .333 and the latter .308. Pascale also came up with five digs and totaled three blocks to match McCoy (Mottin headed the category with six).
Senior defensive specialist Miranda Talbot's 13 digs and senior libero Emily Bauer's 14 also proved vital, as did Gabbard's eight.
Having edged 4A Longmont Silver Creek in a taxing five-gamer prior to encountering Bayfield, Coronado slipped to 16-7 overall entering 5A-Region XII play this weekend.
