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Southwest best slay northeast beasts

Wolverines travel to Sterling, trounce Tigers 41-0 in state quarterfinals

STERLING - Even Tiger Field's DJ, whoever he or she was, seemed to have given up any hope of a comeback once the hometown heroes trudged back to the locker room trailing at halftime.

Survivor's "Eye Of The Tiger" had fittingly anchored the pregame selections, but the bite-less Bengals limped into intermission hearing Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" (and the jeers accompanying it) when Queen/David Bowie's "Under Pressure" would have been more appropriate.

It was like that for the Class 2A state football playoffs' fourth-seeded squad Saturday afternoon, Nov. 12.

"We were ready for what they were going to send us," Bayfield senior defensive end Macoy Michaeli said. "We were studying them every day last week, and we were ready for it."

"We knew what we had to do and traveled well," added senior quarterback/linebacker Josh Westbrook.

Virtually unable to gain yardage on the ground and only minimally so through the air - via several swiftly-stopped, Sterling was silenced and #5 BHS barreled full-speed into the semifinals, 41 to 0.

Sterling gained some yards via short-length "bubble screens," while their guests ran and passed the ball at pretty much their own discretion,

"It will be a war," sophomore quarterback Hayden Farmer predicted of this Saturday's semifinal game in La Junta. Farmer's two pass attempts yielded devastating scores and started CHSAA's "mercy rule" running-clock scenario only 2 minutes, 48 seconds apart in the fourth quarter.

"We're ready," Farmer said. "It'll be a good game and I think we'll come out on top once again."

Opposing BHS (now 9-2 overall) in the postseason's third round will be none other than their opponent in last year's third round. The La Junta Tigers are ranked #1 in the bracket - having improved to 11-0 via a 41-7 drubbing of 9-seed Denver D'Evelyn (8-3) on Nov. 12.

Kickoff time has been set for 1 p.m. Saturday at LJHS' Tiger Stadium. The stakes couldn't be higher for the Wolverines, who can clinch hosting duties for the 2016 Class 2A state championship on Nov. 26 thanks to #6 Englewood Kent Denver's 27-24 upset of #3 Colorado Springs The Classical Academy and 10-seed Delta's 23-8 elimination of 2-seed Loveland Resurrection Christian.

"I really haven't thought about it too much yet," said Westbrook, who burned Sterling (7-4) for two touchdowns passing and one rushing. "We're just going to focus on one game at a time, a big rematch from last year, so we'll see how it goes down in (La Junta's) house. Hopefully it has the same result!"

Another 47-0 shellacking would be right in line with the Wolverines' recent work. Sterling became Bayfield's third shutout victim in as many weeks, while BHS registered 40 points or more for the fifth time in six outings on the strength of a power running game which was impressive as ever.

Against an enemy blessed with five interior linemen listed at 250 pounds or better, perhaps it was even more so. Of 36 first-half plays, 33 were runs - including the Wolverines' first 28 snaps before Westbrook hit senior Brian Mashak streaking up the Tigers' sideline for a 47-yard TD with 4:41 left before halftime.

Mashak's point-after kick put the guests ahead 14-0, and BHS' defense then forced its first turnover-on-downs after pressing SHS into punts. Senior Austin Burkholder, the Tigers' regular punter, was shaken up on his first kick - ending its previous three series.

Sterling's best hope for a reversal of fortune came quickly, when Bayfield sophomore David Hawkins jogged off the field after his 15th carry (and 64 yards already) with his right arm hanging from an ailing shoulder.

But junior Hunter Killough promptly ran for 17 yards to the SHS 48-yard line on the next play, senior Jesse Westbrook trucked the ball for 16 more down to the 32 three snaps later. After a pass-interference penalty went against the Tigers - putting the ball at the 19 - sophomore Keyon Prior made an acrobatic catch behind defensive back Tyler Graber, Jr., of Westbrook's throw to the end zone with only 12 ticks left before intermission.

Farmer's two-point conversion run failed, but with BHS up 20-0 and showing few signs of slowing, the black jerseys left the field already displaying a demeanor indicating they were also losing the mental battle.

"I wasn't surprised; we just have a good team," said Josh Westbrook. "I was for a little bit, but then it kind of clicked and, I wasn't."

"We have the best O-line in the state," Killough declared, "and it's easy to run behind those boys! It's nice running behind them. So we didn't have a necessity to pass; it was just all 'RUN.'"

While Sterling's 6'6" junior Bodie Hume tried for 25 passes, Westbrook and Farmer combined for just eight. An attempted receiver-option pass by Mashak upped BHS' count to nine - and completed six, with four going for touchdowns. But it was an incompletion which may have demoralized SHS the most.

After the teams swapped punts starting the third quarter, the Wolverines went from their own 39 to the Tigers' 40 in three plays and a pair of offsetting penalties. But Westbrook then overthrew Killough down the middle of the field, and an alert defender leapt to grab the gift.

Even more alertly, however, Killough whirled around, switching from target to hunter, and prevented an interception with a crunching tackle.

"You've just got to figure something out to not give them the ball back," he said. "So you do whatever you can to stop 'em, I guess! It was just instincts."

Four snaps later, Westbrook (4-of-6, 85 yards; 15-91 rushing) hit Prior (3-67 receiving) for a seven-yard gain down to the Sterling 4. The Tigers were granted one last lifeline when a botched play to the left side resulted in Prior falling on the ball and taking a 20-yard loss with 5:10 left in the third.

But two plays and 59 seconds later, Mashak somehow came out of a pileup with the ball at the 44, and Bayfield was through making mistakes.

Helped by a 12-yard Westbrook pass to junior Ryan Phelps, Jesse Westbrook (11-52 rushing) completed the ensuing four-play drive following a Phelps block for a four-yard TD with 2:22 left. Mashak's PAT was true, and it wouldn't take long for the Wolverines' offense to resume work.

After SHS returned Daniel Westbrook's kickoff to the Bayfield 37 with 2:12 left, Killough camped under Hume's first-down throw and picked it off at the 29 only five seconds later.

"Big momentum swing, huge help for us," said Westbrook. "As a quarterback you just love to see your defense do that, because it sparks everything - helps your offense out even though they're not on the field."

"This whole season we've been winning the turnover ratio," Farmer said, "and we kept the baby - the ball - in our hands."

BHS then ran the ball six consecutive times down to the Sterling 14 before Farmer (2-of-2, 52 yards) zipped a touchdown to junior Carl Heide with 11:30 left in the young fourth quarter.

Heide had carried for 31 yards on the preceding play, and two plays into the Tigers' next series found himself going long-distance again after intercepting Hume. His return deep into Sterling territory was virtually wiped out by an illegal-block penalty, but Bayfield nonetheless would profit - going 51 yards in four plays and just 1:55. Farmer found a wide-open Prior for a 38-yard score, and thus one last Mashak PAT.

"Me and Josh were just looking downfield and were able to hit the guys that were open," said Farmer. "But it's because our running attempts were causing their safeties to come up, so we were hitting them deep."

"All the credit to our O-line. They kick butt every week and they get better every week - I love it!"

"I owe it to the four guys on the line next to me," said senior center Sam Westbrook. "We got an amazing push. It wasn't every play, but consistently we were dominating the line of scrimmage. A few of us got breathing hard after, you know, some long runs or drives or whatever, but it wasn't bad. For an O-line, we're in pretty good shape!"

Sterling's final possession proved to be their best, and the Tigers used short play after short play to reach the Wolverines' 24. But Prior deflected a Hume pass on third down, and a toss to senior Braedon Kloberdanz gained only four yards on fourth - giving Bayfield the ball at the 20 with 1:06 left, which evaporated with junior Jake Sandrey carrying for two yards and BHS not needing to line up for another play.

Heide logged 52 yards on only two carries, while Killough totaled 43 on five and Prior netted 27 on six.

Hume unofficially totaled just 97 yards passing on 12 completions for Sterling.

"We have better athletes," Josh Westbrook said. "That's all there is to it."

TALE OF THE TAPE: Bayfield will go into La Junta now averaging 31.4 points per game while allowing only 6.4 defensively. LJHS' norms are better - 38.2 ppg for, 4.9 against - but it won't worry the Wolverines.

"We're going to go at it the same way we have every week," Sam Westbrook said. "We're going to go watch our film, going to see how we could have improved this game, and then figure out what their weaknesses are. We're going to go out and do the same thing we did every week!"