On Oct. 2, 1936, Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig combined for five hits and Lefty Gomez earned the win as the New York Yankees beat the New York Giants in Game 2 of the 1936 World Series.
Roughly 2,000 miles away, the Bayfield and Durango High School football teams played their last game against each other. Eighty years later, they’re lining up for the first time since.
“We’re extremely honored to have this opportunity,” Bayfield head coach Gary Heide said. “It’ll be a great experience for our players, coaches and fans. It’s a big game in a new stadium, and I’m sure both towns will be well-represented in the stands if they all can fit.”
Historical significance aside, it’s a huge game for both teams in this 2016 season. Durango brings a 2-2 record into the contest after hanging on to beat Farmington 32-26 last week to snap a two-game skid.
The Demons opened the season with a 21-20 win at Delta, which is currently ranked No. 5 in Bayfield’s Class 2A in the Colorado High School Coaches Association poll, one spot ahead of the sixth-ranked Wolverines. Bayfield is No. 2 in the Associated Press poll behind consensus No. 1 Kent Denver.
Durango followed the win at Delta with two consecutive losses before getting back on track last Friday behind sophomore running back Dawson Marcum’s 197-yard, two-touchdown performance along with Gavin Mestas’ two scores.
Now, the Demons can shift their full focus to homecoming week and a game nearly a century in the making.
“The boys have been waiting for this for awhile, and it’s been circled on the calendar since it was announced,” Durango head coach David Vogt said. “It’s homecoming too for us, so it’ll just fire everyone up even more.”
The combination of Marcum and Mestas is key for the Demons offense. The duo has combined for seven of the team’s 10 touchdowns this season, and Mestas scored all 21 points in the win against Delta.
“We’ve played some good teams this year that executed well and were very well-coached, and Bayfield is no different,” said Mestas, son of Gary and Malaika Mestas. “It’s going to be hard to stop David Hawkins, so we really have to key in on their playbook, study the film and get ready to go. I know they’ll be ready.”
After going undefeated and winning the CHSAA 2A state title last year, Bayfield dropped its opening game to San Juan High School of Blanding, Utah, but rebounded to win the last two games.
Mestas and most of Bayfield’s opponents know that if you want to stop Wolverines’ pistol offense, Hawkins is the guy to key in on. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound bruiser has back-to-back 100-plus rushing yard games. His 29 carries and 151 yards led BHS to a 35-0 rout of Bloomfield (N.M.), and the sophomore followed up with 30 carries for 133 yards and a touchdown in a 34-21 win against Aztec, which beat Durango 13-12 earlier this season.
Hawkins’ 339 yards to date is sixth in all of the 2A classification.
“It all starts with the running game,” Heide said. “Our offensive line is one of our strengths, but we’re going to mix it up, try to keep them off-balance and take our shots downfield when we can.”
Successful shots downfield with BHS quarterback Josh Westbrook and Demons’ Peyton Woolverton have been few and far between this year. Bayfield’s passing attack averages 96 yards per game, and Durango’s isn’t much more productive at 118 yards per game. With two offenses that lean heavy on the power running game and physical defenses that make opponents fight for every yard, it just might seem like 1936 again.
Pagosa Springs (0-3) at Ignacio (2-1)
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Bobcat Stadium, Ignacio High School
Listen Live: KSUT 91.3 FM
What to watch: Ignacio will look to build on its early-season success Friday against Pagosa Springs.
When the Bobcats appear in front of their hometown faithful for the first time this season, the team and fans will have a lot to be proud of.
Ignacio (2-1) snapped a three-year-long, 14-game losing streak in their second game this season with a 42-0 blowout win against Crownpoint, New Mexico. They followed the relieving win with another one last week, a 37-12 homecoming spoiler at Montezuma-Cortez.
In the victory against the Panthers, Ignacio quarterback Zach Weinreich racked up 332 passing yards and four touchdowns. Running back Lorenzo Peña had 11 catches out of the backfield for 119 yards, and sophomore Lawrence Valdez led the team with 123 receiving yards and a touchdown on five receptions.
Unlike the Bobcats, Pagosa Springs had the luxury of playing its first three games of the season at home. Unfortunately for the Pirates, they’ve come away winless against Salida, Centauri and Monte Vista to start the season 0-3.
jfries@durangoherald.com
If you go
Who:
Bayfield at Durango
What:
High school football
WHEN:
7 p.m. Friday
WHERE:
Durango High School
Listen Live:
KKDG 99.7 FM, KLJH 107.1 FM
Twitter:
@The7thFreezer, @jlivi2
More info:
Durango High School will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony before the game. They will bring the cannon down from Fort Lewis College to fire a celebratory first shot to officially open the new DHS stadium.
