Bayfield High School head football coach Gary Heide called it a privilege to coach Aubry Brown, Zane Phelps and Zane Westbrook.

All three were named to the CHSAA Class 2A All-State second team announced Tuesday.

“It’s a tribute to our team, our coaching staff, and, obviously, those players,” Heide said. “It just shows that those young men are highly respected. I’m glad to have had an opportunity to coach those fellas.”

Brown and Westbrook were senior linemen that played on both sides of the ball for BHS.

On the defensive side, Westbrook led the team with 88 tackles and was second with five quarterback sacks.

Both players also contributed to an offensive line that paved the way for more than 2,300 yards rushing.

“They were reliable. They were great team leaders,” Heide said of his seniors. “They expected themselves to be great, and they expected the others around them to follow suit.”

Phelps, on the other hand, was the primary beneficiary of the sturdy blocking.

He ran for 1,195 yards and 12 touchdowns with five 100-yard rushing games in the 5-5 BHS season.

Phelps also led the team with 18 catches for 211 yards and an additional three scores.

“I was actually really surprised,” said Phelps, son of Dion and Koel Phelps. “I don’t feel like the state gave our town much credit this year. It was cool to see three guys get recognized.”

He ranked third in the Western Slope-South league in rushing yards and was ninth in Class 2A.

His six sacks on defense led the league and were seventh in Class 2A.

“It’s a little bit of a culmination of two years of being a top ballcarrier in terms of the weight that he’s carried and the yards that he’s earned,” Heide said. “It’s great to have somebody like that coming back of that caliber to continue great things and take a step forward, also.”

kgrabowski@durangoherald.com