Class 2A State Championship Breakdown
#1 Bayfield (11-0) at #3 Platte Valley (11-1) Saturday 1:00pm
We are finally here to the end of the season and we have two teams that have proven they are the best in the state now the fight begins to see who the best team in Class 2A is. On my predictions at the start of the playoffs I had these two teams battling against each other and I picked a nearly perfect 2A bracket. My only miss was in the first round and that was Strasburg upsetting Alameda so that puts my bracket at 13 out of 14 for 92.9% correct and now to the breakdown.
Bayfield storms into the playoffs after blasting one of the best defenses in 2A. They beat La Junta 47 to 7 which is the most points allowed by La Junta all year. Once against Bayfield’s offense was very balanced. They threw for 192 yards on 11 of 18 passing for 4 touchdowns and rushed for 209 yards on 47 carries and 3 touchdowns. Their passing attack has really picked up since the playoffs have started throwing for 532 yards which is nearly half of his total passing yards for the entire season. The passing attack has been the x factor for this Bayfield team. Their rushing attack is led by Zane Phelps and has been the work horse for their offense rushing for 1511 yards and 22 touchdowns on the season and 343 yards and 4 touchdowns in the playoffs. On the defensive side of the ball Bayfield was stout holding La Junta to only 7 points and forcing 2 INTS and 2 fumbles.
Platte Valley pulled a monster upset of previously unbeaten and #2 Kent Denver. The game did not look good for Platte Valley at halftime they were losing 23 to 7 and were in need of something big. In the third quarter they came out to play scoring 14 points and holding Kent Denver to 0 and that made it a 21 to 23 ball game. Platte Valley then scoring one more time in the fourth quarter to take the lead and win the game 29 to 23. In the victory Platte Valley offense was also balanced. They ran for 170 yards and 3 touchdowns on 44 carries and threw for 228 yards and 1 touchdown on 17 of 28 passing but they also threw 3 INTS. Their passing attack is led by Tanner Schwindt who has thrown for 1696 yards on the season but in the playoffs has thrown for 431 yards, turnovers have been a problem though throwing 6 INTS. Platte Valley rushing attack is led by Austin Hill who has rushed for 914 yards on the season but has been limited in the playoffs to only 264 yards and 1 touchdown. On defense Platte Valley stepped up huge in the second half after giving up 23 points in the first half they didn’t give up another score the rest of the game. They also forced 4 turnovers 2 INTS and 2 Fumbles.
This figures to be a great game between two teams who are peaking at the right time. Bayfield and Platte Valley have two common opponents. They both played Gunnison and Brush and both won. Bayfield beat Gunnison 27 to 7 and Brush 28 to 14 and Platte Valley beat Gunnison 42 to 0 and Brush 37 to 0. If you only look at scores you would say Platte Valley is the favorite but Bayfield sports the one of the best defenses in 2A. For Bayfield to win they are going to need their defense to come up big again like they did against La Junta and also keep a good balance between run and pass on offense. Bayfield will need to control the clock against a high powered Platte Valley offense. For Platte Valley to win they are going to need their QB to limit turnovers and control the game with their rushing attack. They also will need the same defense that came to play in the second half of their game against Kent Denver. This should be a great game and I think will come down the second half. Both teams have played better in the second half of games in the playoffs and this won’t be any different. Bayfield is the favorite due to seeding but it’s a toss-up on actual favorites. I am going with Bayfield as the winners and have them winning by 7 points.
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