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DELTA force: Wolverines pound Panthers 23-7

Bhs holds hyped running back to fewer than 50 rushing yards

DELTA - Lured by the possibility of drilling the enemy's signal-caller, Bayfield's Kirk Malone suddenly spun about as an apparent Delta blocker turned safety-valve receiver and dashed into open grass.

The Wolverine junior knew he'd been had.

But what Delta senior quarterback Kole Roberts didn't know was that Malone had backup.

Roberts was about to be had. And at a most inopportune moment in one of Class 2A's most-anticipated meetings yet in the 2016 season.

Lucky to be trailing the visitors from La Plata County by just a touchdown through three quarters, and with his team's vaunted run game virtually vanquished, Roberts' sneaky first-down pass attempt was undercut by BHS' Jesse Westbrook and returned an untouched 21 yards for a decisive score in what would end up a 23-7 road win.

"I saw the guy come out of the backfield uncovered, and I just went over there-didn't think I was going to even touch the ball-and it stuck to my hand!" the senior recalled afterwards. "So I was like, 'I'll take it in!'"

"I had that pick-six called back in Gunnison," he noted, "so it's redemption for me!"

"Our defense is great," junior Carl Heide said. "We stopped Number 22, then they tried to go long and our secondary stopped them. So we did a great job on defense."

'Number 22' was Panther senior Damon Jensen, a Division 1 prospect who had reportedly already rushed for almost 1,500 yards before the showdown between fifth-ranked DHS and #7 BHS. Against undoubtedly one of the classification's swiftest all-around defenses, he managed just 30 yards (unofficially) on 16 carries and was for the most part a non-factor.

"We adjusted, we shifted over every time to their heavy side so they didn't have more people than us at the point of attack," junior Ryan Phelps said, "and it worked out."

Following Westbrook's interception and senior Brian Mashak's third point-after kick in as many tries, Bayfield made another essential stop when Heide nearly picked off Roberts' fourth-down pass from the Wolverine 36, killing Delta's promising counterattack on its 10th play with only 7:49 left in the battle.

"They had a lot of those curls on me, and I started to read that," he explained. "They couldn't get that deep ball-I thought that was a key part of the game, really."

"Coach (Gary) Heide.and Coach (Mike) Wnorowski, they really watched a lot of film, studying what they do," added Mashak. "We just had to come out and execute what they said: Shut down their receivers."

BHS' ensuing series, however, ended with a Phelps punt on its seventh snap. Fortunately, just like his previous kick-which had been downed after 42 yards at the Panther 16, preceding Westbrook's takeaway-it was a good one, permitting no return and stopping at DHS' 9 with 4:13 remaining.

Disaster then greeted Delta on first down. Attacking the right side of the offensive line from his defensive end position, Phelps stormed into the backfield almost unblocked and dropped Roberts a yard deep in the end zone for a morale-crushing safety.

"I give that punt to my team; I know that they're going to block for me. I know I have plenty of time, thanks to them," Phelps said. "And defensively, Coach just made the right call and it worked out!"

Sophomore Keyon Prior took the free kick back to the Bayfield 49, sending the Wolverine offense back out to sap the final 3:58 off the Panther Stadium scoreboard clock.

And with four runs by sophomore David Hawkins, one by senior quarterback Josh Westbrook, and yet another unreturnable Phelps punt-kicked as sky-high as possible to kill precious seconds-down to the Delta 20, BHS left the stunned locals only 27.4 ticks with which to produce a highlight.

A six-yard Roberts-to-Jensen connection was all they'd get, and the clock then mercifully expired.

"I was as happy as I could be," Jesse Westbrook said. "Absolutely amazing...awesome, a good team win."

The first quarter was basically uneventful for the Wolverines. Prior had a 36-yard sprint on Bayfield's second snap, and junior Hunter Killough made a 37-yard catch on the third snap. Scoring got underway for Delta when Roberts (12-of-26, 79 yards) found favorite target Beau Byers from 11 yards out with 10:26 left in the second, capping a 16-play march which ate an impressive 6:49 worth of clock.

But after Phelps pinned the Panthers (5-3, 3-1 Intermountain) at their 13 with his second of six punts, and BHS' defense pushed Delta back to their 3-forcing a punt which put the Wolverines at the DHS 38-Bayfield pulled even when Josh Westbrook found Mashak streaking along the home sideline for the tying touchdown (and PAT) with 5:10 left in the half.

"We just ran a quick, little stop route," Mashak recalled. "I've got to give it to my quarterback. He's a good thrower and I just had to make a play."

The team then followed more and more, and the second quarter ended with Hawkins smothering a fumble on Delta's ensuing series. Mashak intercepted a Roberts long-bomb bid-one play after his own 22-yard field goal-with only 9.9 seconds left.

Bayfield (6-2, 4-0) would take the lead-for good, ultimately-when Josh Westbrook dove over senior center Sam Westbrook for a one-yard TD, ending a nine-play, 65-yard drive to authoritatively begin the second half.

"We really needed this game," said Mashak, whose PAT made the score 14-7 with 7:39 left in the third quarter. "It's a big game, and we're glad we could win it."

Josh Westbrook finished unofficially 11-of-17 for 182 yards passing, with Killough grabbing four passes for 95 yards and Mashak three for 76. On the ground, Prior unofficially totaled 52 yards on three totes and Hawkins added 40 on 14 for the victors.

In the post-game huddle, there were congratulations aplenty from the bosses, but also reminders that with Alamosa coming to town for the Oct. 29 regular-season finale, there was still work to be done.

"It's a chapter," Wnorowski said, echoing part of Gary Heide's address, "but it's not the book."

"It's definitely a different story," Carl Heide quipped, reflecting on the fact that the 2016 Wolverines-bumped up on Monday to #5 in the rankings while Delta dipped to #7-are thriving on their own unique merit, and not that of last year's state championship-winning roster (though a great many starred on it).

"We've had some bumps," Heide said, referring to two losses earlier in the season. "But I think we can go far this season, so it's good!"

And to whatever postseason destination they may be sent, they know they'll have to get through the Mean Moose (5-3, 3-1) first to receive the smoothest possible road.

"Go get that league championship! That's all we can do," stated Phelps.

"Work our butts off," Jesse Westbrook declared, "and finish with a bang!"

CHSAANOW.COM CLASS 2A FOOTBALL POLL (issued 10/24): 1.La Junta, 2.Loveland Resurrection Christian, 3.Colorado Springs The Classical Academy, 4.Englewood Kent Denver, 5.BAYFIELD, 6.Sterling, 7.Delta, 8.Denver D'Evelyn, 9.Keenesburg Weld Central, 10.Manitou Springs.