(Brock Laue/CHSAANow.com)
KERSEY — Bayfield knew the Class 2A football state championship game at Platte Valley would be claimed by whoever won the battle of the trenches.
“Our offensive line has been stellar all year long,” Bayfield coach Gary Heide said. “We’ve gotten big yardage from our running backs and we’ve gotten great protection for Kelton (McCoy). We knew coming into this game that this was the strongest line, on both sides of the ball, that we had seen all year. We all knew the line had to step up and they did.”
Bayfield, the No. 1 seed in the bracket, closed out a perfect 12-0 season with a 28-20 victory over No. 3 Platte Valley (11-2) thanks in large part to the big guys up front. The Wolverines claimed their second state championship in football, their first since beating Meeker 14-0 in 1996. Bayfield lost to Florence in the 2A finals in 2011.
For the Wolverines, with seemingly the entire town making the 372 mile trip to Kersey, an undefeated season could only be completed with help from the offensive and defensive lineman paving the way on the frozen tundra.
“We have a lot of threats and a lot of people that can do things with the ball, but the reason we are successful offensively is our O-Line. Our O-Line is what did it for us today,” senior running back Zane Phelps, who finished the game with 30 carries for 127 yards and a touchdown, said.
The offensive line opened up holes early and often for the 6-foot-3 and 215 pound Phelps to plow through. 6-foot-4 and 200 pound quarterback McCoy, another member of that special senior group, also carried the ball eight times for 23 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, Bayfield put enough pressure on Platte Valley to hold them to only three points in the first half as they took a 14-3 lead into the break. McCoy found Wyatt Freier for a touchdown on 4th and goal from the 8 on the game’s first possession. McCoy snuck in from two yards out early in the second for the other Wolverine touchdown.
In a bend and not break style most of the game, the Bayfield defense gave up a 57-yard catch to Sterling Moralez as he took it all the way to the 10-yard line midway through the third quarter. But, with the Wolverines up 21-3 after a 4-yard touchdown plunge by Phelps early in the second half, the visitors held Platte Valley to another field goal with 2:34 to go in the third.
Bayfield led 21-6 headed into the final 12 minutes. But, the Broncos, as they’ve been known to do time and again this season, started mounting a comeback.
McCoy dove in from four yards out to push the lead to 28-6 with only 6:48 remaining, but Matthew Hoffman torched Bayfield for a 92-yard catch and score with 6:27 to go to cut the deficit to 28-13. The Platte Valley defense got the ball back for the Broncos, who proceeded to punch in a Tanner Schwindt QB sneak to make it a one-score game, 28-20, with 2:14 to go.
In the end, it wasn’t enough as McCoy recovered the Platte Valley onside kick that would’ve given the Broncos a chance to send the game into overtime.
“Coach Heide actually just drew that hands team up like five seconds before that,” McCoy said. “Ball came my way and I knew it was do or die.”
For all the plays Platte Valley made, especially in the second half, Bayfield just seemed to have a little too much firepower for anyone in 2A this season. Whether it was McCoy passing or throwing the ball — he had three total touchdowns Saturday, 24 total this season — Phelps running over and around defenders (over 1,600 yards and 23 touchdowns on the ground), or shifty Brody McGhehey (4 catches, 56 yards in title game) and Wyatt Freier doing damage in the passing game, the Wolverines had too many answers and weapons for anyone in their path.
“You have to go back to the quarterback,” Heide said. “He’s the guy handling the ball all the time. I’ve seen development in him not only during his career, but also this season and into the playoffs. Of course, Zane has always been our workhorse. He came up big today. Our offensive line, our receivers, and then our defense, other than two big plays, was stellar.”
Bayfield racked up 38.4 points per game, only gave up 7.5 per game, and while they do graduate an amazing group of seniors, they will return a lot of talent.
For those seniors, winning the state title was a special way to cap off a special era for a group from the town of a little over 2,000 people.
“We’ve been together our whole lives,” Phelps said. “We were playing football in the playground in kindergarten. We’ve worked so hard for this and this is an awesome feeling.”
“I’ve only been here four years, but I knew the 1996 team had gone down in history for Bayfield,” Heide added. “We kind of used motivation from the ’96 team and the times Bayfield had gotten close since. We got one for the whole community of Bayfield.”
The Wolverines also took out No. 16 Manitou Springs 40-0, No. 9 Brush, the defending state champions, 28-14, and No. 4 La Junta 47-7 in the playoffs.
Platte Valley, now a football powerhouse appearing in its fifth state championship game in school history, all since 2006, was denied their third title despite 236 passing yards by Schwindt. The Patriot League Champions are also expected to be very strong in 2016 with a number of returners themselves. Leading rusher Austin Hill, a dynamic little tailback, is only a junior. The Broncos thumped No. 14 Gunnison 42-0, handled No. 11 Strasburg 56-28, and had a come-from-behind win against Kent Denver 29-23 in the semifinals.