Bayfield was 7 minutes away from hosting the state championship. La Junta made sure the Wolverines wouldn’t get that chance.
It took a late flurry and a completely broken play to beat the defending state champion Bayfield High School football team. But, with an undefeated season on the line on their home field, the No. 1 La Junta Tigers found a way to rally past the Wolverines for a 14-13 win to advance to the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 2A State Football Playoffs championship game and end Bayfield’s season.
“It’s devastating,” said BHS senior Brian Mashak, who had his team’s two offensive touchdowns as well as an interception on defense. “We gave it our all. We came out on the wrong side. The ending was definitely strange.”
La Junta (12-0) will host next week’s state title game against No. 6 Kent Denver (11-1). Kent Denver beat No. 10 Delta 21-14 in the other semifinal.
Leading 13-0 late in the second half, Bayfield saw its lead evaporate on La Junta’s final two drives of the game. Tigers sophomore quarterback Jon Nuschy led two incredible drives and found Appela Furtado-Tom on a 19-yard score with 8 minutes to play. But the snap on the extra point was high, helping BHS maintain a seven-point lead at 13-7.
The Wolverines drove the ball into La Junta territory on their next drive, but a fourth-and-11 pass was intercepted, as intended receiver Ryan Phelps was hit hard as he tried to make the catch. The ball found the hands of La Junta safety Izaiah Petique, who gave the ball back to La Junta on its 28-yard line with plenty of time to work.
Nuschy came up with a big run into Bayfield territory, and a reverse play of 29 yards set the Tigers up on Bayfield’s 18.
A few runs gave La Junta first-and-goal from the BHS 4. On second down, Nuschy hit Matthew Espinoza for a score that cut Bayfield’s lead to only one, pending the extra point. La Junta perfectly disguised the play, a fade to a wide open Espinzoa.
La Junta was flagged for illegal procedure before the extra point attempt, backing the Tigers up to the 7-yard line. The Tigers ran a swinging-gate formation with the line outside the left hashes. The play was busted early as the wrong La Junta player took the handoff. That player was Furtado-Tom, who rolled out, dropped the ball, recovered it without allowing his knee to touch the ground and then threw a jump ball into the end zone.
Surrounded by Wolverines, big tight end Kain DiRezza came down with the ball to complete a 2-point conversion in the back of the end zone to give La Junta a 14-13 lead with 2:17 to play.
“The guy fumbled the ball, rolled right, went down to pick it up, and we had a bunch of guys there,” BHS head coach Gary Heide said. “Then the guy made a fabulous catch to go up and get it. It was one of those plays where it went their way.”
On the ensuing kickoff, La Junta squibbed the kick, and the ball hit a Bayfield up-man. La Junta jumped on the loose ball and recovered it to deny Bayfield a chance to drive and win the game.
“It’s a crushing blow,” Heide said. “We can walk away with it knowing how proud we are to play that game. We played like champions.”
Bayfield’s two touchdowns came on deep passes from Josh Westbrook to Brian Mashak. The first was an 84-yarder in the second quarter. After sprinting down the field for the score, Mashak had a tough turnaround to kick the team’s extra point. The PAT was no good, keeping the BHS lead at 6-0 going into halftime.
Mashak and Westbrook hooked up again in the final minute of the third quarter, this time on a 60-yard TD. Mashak made the PAT, and Bayfield led 13-0 going into the fourth quarter.
“I can’t take any credit,” Mashak said. “My quarterback gave me two good balls, the O-line gave him time. I was just at the right place at the right time.”
Running the ball was difficult for both teams. BHS was unable to run outside, as the speedy La Junta defense blew up three or four runs outside the tackles. The Wolverines, who averaged more than 250 rushing yards per game entering Saturday, were held to 61 rushing yards.
Josh Westbrook finished the game 6-of-12 passing for 164 yards. Mashak hauled in three passes for 154 yards for the majority of the BHS offense.
Defensively, the Wolverines were punishing. Sam Westbrook recorded three consecutive sacks, and Cole Wood also had three sacks in the game. Nuschy was under pressure all game by the BHS front.
Nuschy finished with 59 rushing yards on 26 carries, and he was 10-of-21 passing for 153 yards.
Led by its dominant defense all season, the Wolverines pushed back to the semifinals in a rematch with La Junta. BHS hosted the Tigers a year ago and won 47-7 on the way to winning the state title game. This time, it was La Junta’s year.
After starting 2-2, it was never certain the Wolverines would advance to the final four again. But seniors such as Mashak and the Westbrooks took command of the team and helped them write their own chapter.
“I’m extremely proud of these seniors,” Mashak said. “We gave it our all. Everyone from the seniors to the freshmen. We couldn’t be prouder.
“This team means the world to me. I love them with all my heart. It’s a great bunch of kids who will do great things with their lives.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
