It was sweet revenge for a bitterly cold game the Bayfield Wolverines would rather forget.
In 2011, they journeyed to Denver in December to play in a blizzard in the state 2A championship against the Florence Huskies, losing 34-0.
On Saturday, they struck back with their own shutout, defeating the Huskies 41-0 in the first round of the state 2A playoffs. It was a resounding win for the fifth seed over the 12th-ranked team in the state.
Next up, the Wolverines will travel 440 miles to Sterling to play in the quarterfinals. Sterling, ranked 13th in 2A action, defeated Manitou Springs 55-22 to advance to play Bayfield.
Florence mounted a 15-play drive and threatened to take an early lead in the Saturday game. Two Bayfield sacks and a missed field goal later, the Wolverines took over, never really giving Florence a chance after that to even score. Quarterback Josh Westbrook threw two long first-half touchdowns to Carl Heide and Brian Mashak, and he ran for a 1-yard score to help give BHS a 21-0 halftime lead.
Hunter Killough ran for an 11-yard TD on Bayfield’s opening drive of the second half, and Keyon Prior added a 1-yard TD run to give the Wolverines a 34-0 advantage.
A Prior interception set up Bayfield’s final score, a Ryan Nava run into the endzone.
The game clock started running without stopping in the fourth quarter when the Wolverines led by more than 40 points.
The BHS defense came up with six sacks and two interceptions, as Jesse Westbrook also had a first-half interception that set up the late Josh Westbrook rushing score. Cole Wood made two of Bayfield’s sacks.
With the win, the defending champion Wolverines improved to 8-2 overall and advanced to the second round. BHS will face No. 4 Sterling on the road next Saturday. The trip will be the longest road trip in school history, further than the team’s quarterfinal game at Brush last season.
“Defense travels,” Bayfield linebacker Kirk Malone said.
Herald writer John Livingston contributed to this report.
