To be sure, in the near future a clash between the boys' varsity soccer teams at Bloomfield and Bayfield will be worth watching. Both underclassman-heavy teams will have grown up before most of the same parental eyes which witnessed the action Saturday, Oct. 13.
Each side unofficially fired 15 shots inside the Coloradoans' Wolverine Country Stadium, but the home team put 11 tries on frame while the visitors located just six, with the Wolverine stopping a month-long, eight-match slide with a 4-0 triumph.
"Starting last game - at Ridgway - we said, 'Let's not worry about the score,'" said senior Dylan Doskocil, alluding to the Oct. 12 7-0 road loss. "'Everyone relax and let's get practice for Alamosa since they're a league game - let's get the passing down!'"
Italian exchange student Mattia DiBello, classified as a senior on Bayfield's roster along with Doskocil and goalkeeper Bailee Blakeslee, burned Bobcat keeper Logan Kinslow with a second-minute breakaway, and doubled the advantage finishing an Aiden Waddell set-up from 18 yards out in the tenth.
Coming into the match owning a 2-3-0 in NMAA Dist. 1-4A play, Bloomfield attempted to keep pace early, with sophomore Kaleb Coponiti clanging an eighth-minute threat off Blakeslee's near post.
Blakeslee then denied sophomore Luis Gonzalez's low, near-post attempt - probably Bloomfield's best shot of the match - in the 18th with a spectacular dive and fully outstretched left hand.
"That was a hell of a save," Doskocil declared. "I was so happy. Bailee's put in so much work. I didn't how good he was going to do, but he's put in the work, and every game I see him improve."
Blakeslee unofficially finished with five saves, and Kinslow, a junior on a Bloomfield roster showing zero seniors, did likewise. After Johnny-on-the-spot junior Larenz Wilbourn converted a deflected DiBello shot in the 40th minute, increasing the Wolverines' lead to 3-0 just before intermission, DiBello looked for his hat trick roughly 15 minutes into the second half, but saw his shot over Kinslow's right shoulder hit off the inside of the back post and not completely clear the goal line.
DiBello received a yellow card trying to plead his case, but nearly made amends in the 72nd with a blast just grazing the top of the crossbar.
Still, Bayfield would give their supporters, dubbed "The Brigade," one final home highlight.
And fittingly Doskocil, currently BHS' only four-year player, provided it with a successful penalty kick low to Kinslow's left in the 76th.
It was a "perfect" way to cap off the afternoon, as head coach Chris Zoltowski described.
"It was a bad loss yesterday, but part of being a good team is you've got to shrug it off and keep moving forward," said Doskocil. "I love the improvement I've seen in this team, and I'm happy to get a win after all the hard work we've put in."
The Bobcats dropped to 4-11-1 overall, while the Wolverines improved to 2-12-0. Now 1-10-0 versus the entire 3A/2A Southwestern (a.k.a. Intermountain) League and still 1-4-0 against its 3A members, Bayfield will wrap up the 2018 campaign Saturday, Oct. 20, at Alamosa.
"We've got to prepare for that," Doskocil said. "They're a good team, going to bring their best, and we're going to bring our best. It's going to be a really great game."
The Mean Moose will first visit Montezuma-Cortez on Friday, with a win securing them the 3A SWL crown.
