Recipient of the second-half kickoff Friday night, Bayfield would begin a total of five drives after halftime. Four of those commenced on the opponent’s side of midfield. Zero resulted in the Wolverines scoring as they fell 23-14 at home to Alamosa.
Alamosa improved to 3-2 and 1-0 in the 2A Intermountain League with the win. Bayfield fell to 3-2 overall and 0-1 in the 2A Intermountain League with the loss.
“We have just got to find out how to score points on offense,” BHS head coach Glenn Wallace said. “We got a punt-return fumble recovery and were down on their five-yard line, and did not capitalize on that – a major momentum shift for Alamosa against us. So we’ve got to figure out how to score points; fourteen’s not enough.”
Nearly intercepting the football with his right hand, AHS senior Brayden Moeller leaped and batted down BHS sophomore quarterback Cole McWhirter’s last-ditch launch – targeting junior Estevan Gonzales inside Alamosa’s 10-yard line – to allow the guests’ offensive unit to then milk the final 3:06 off the clock and log a vital road victory.
“We just depended on the run game, tried to bleed down the clock,” said Alamosa head coach Drew Sandlin, “and then lean on our defense – and they held out for us. This is a really tough league; from bottom to top there’s good football …. So no letdowns; we’ve got to keep working and get better each week.”
Unable to score on their game-opening series after back-to-back sacks of Woodward by Wolverines Justin Westbrook and Kaiden Witte forced a punt, and stopped on their second series by a Witte interception, the Mean Moose at last were first to get on the scoreboard when, two snaps after Witte’s pick set Bayfield up at their own 6 with 1:41 left in the first quarter, Zane Zook sacked McWhirter in the end zone for a seven-yard safety with 0:54 to go.
Alamosa then drove 58 yards in 10 plays and finished with a one-yard Woodward carry. Senior Ryan Higareda’s point-after kick was good, increasing AHS’ lead to 9-0 with 8:41 left in the second quarter.
Having barely had enough possession time to even warm up their own guns, the Wolverines then struck back with two touchdowns coming only eight seconds apart. The first score, a 32-yard McWhirter pass to Williams, completed a 7-play, 63-yard drive using 3:26 and punctuated by a Williams two-point run on a faked PAT try.
Trailing 9-8, Bayfield then caught a break when left-footed Carter Connon booted a low kickoff which not only drilled an Alamosa up-back square in his back, but ricocheted directly back to Connon, who covered the ball at AHS’ 43 with 5:12 left until intermission. Wasting next to no time, McWhirter again went aerial and hit Witte for a first-down touchdown.
Zook, regained the Mean Moose a measure of momentum when he then sacked McWhirter on the ensuing conversion attempt – leaving the score standing Bayfield 14, Alamosa 9 with 5:04 to go. Although AHS’ next series died on downs at Bayfield’s 45, Woodward & Co. quickly resumed work after Higareda intercepted McWhirter’s second-down throw along AHS’ sideline at the 50.
Using 1:06 of the remaining 1:39, Alamosa made the Wolverines pay as Woodward spotted senior Kevin Gonzales in single coverage deep on the right side of AHS’ formation, and fired a 34-yard TD pass. Higareda tacked on the PAT, putting the Mean Moose up 16-14 at halftime – but only after the quick-strike Wolverines were unable to respond from AHS’ 23 after moving 44 yards in 19 ticks.
Set up at AHS’ 37 after a short punt, the Wolverines would have to punt from the 36 and Williams angled his kick toward the goal line nearest BHS’ sideline. Higareda made an ill-advised scoop of the bouncing ball and was separated from it, allowing Bayfield freshman Mason Valencia to make a diving recovery at the Alamosa 9 with 5:45 left.
One play and a holding penalty later, Zook strip-sacked McWhirter and recovered the fumble at AHS’ 21 with 4:44 to go. Eight straight runs then marched the ball to BHS’ 13 before Bayfield burned a timeout trying to slow the roll. But on the ninth snap, Woodward broke free for a 13-yard TD, and Higareda’s PAT put the Mean Moose up 23-14 with 49 seconds left in the third.
Woodward would total (unofficially) 100 yards on 21 carries, while Zook racked up 132 on 19.
For Bayfield, Williams caught seven passes for 87 yards as McWhirter completed 13 throws for 150, but was held to just 21 yards rushing on five carries. Witte totaled three receptions for 56 yards, while Logan Valencia rushed 13 times for 50.
Up next, BHS will head to Pagosa Springs (4-1, 1-0) on Friday while AHS hosts Gunnison (0-5, 0-1).
