HAXTUN – While officially the state semifinal, the energy and anticipation of the meeting between Mancos and Haxtun had all the makings of a state championship game.
Meeting for the fifth time in the past four years, the state’s two most prolific scoring offenses faced off with the two stingiest defenses.
The game lived up to the hype, as Mancos and Haxtun traded body blows in a vibrant atmosphere in Colorado’s northeast corner on Saturday afternoon. After Mancos held a slim halftime advantage, Haxtun posted a second-half rally to knock out the Jays, 28-8, to end the Mancos ambitions of back-to-back state titles.
After giving up a score of Haxtun’s first possession, where senior quarterback Ryland Wolff broke free for an 80-yard dash, the Mancos defense tightened on the Fightin’ Bulldogs.
Energized by a muffed punt recovery and a stop on fourth-and-short, the Mancos offense possessed the ball in Haxtun territory for significant chunks of the first half, trying to erase the 6-0 deficit. However, the Haxtun defense held the vaunted Mancos running game in check, limiting the Jays to multiple three-and-outs.
Looking for a spark right before halftime, the Jays defense forced another Bulldogs punt, and Mancos began a drive on the Haxtun side of midfield. The Bluejays converted multiple fourth downs as they marched into the red zone, but with time ticking down the Bluejays were left with one second on the clock and the ball at the Haxtun seven yard line.
Mancos senior quarterback Brandon Vannest scrambled back to the 20 yard line, eluding a pair of would-be sacks before launching a pass across the field to the corner of the end zone to a leaping sophomore Michael Resner. The receiver enduring a crushing hit as a fell to the ground, but maintained possession for the touchdown. Vannest ran in the conversion, and the Bluejays surged off the field at halftime with an 8-6 lead.
Haxtun received the second half opening kickoff, determined the wrestle the momentum back into their camp. Behind a ground game that had been largely ineffective in the first half, Haxtun found some traction, pushing the ball into Bluejays territory, before Wolff broke free on his second big run – a 33-yarder that restored the Haxtun advantage at 12-8.
On the ensuing possession, Mancos earned a first down on a Vannest run, but the Bulldogs pressure stopped Mancos from any further progress, forcing another Bluejays punt late in the third quarter. From there, the hosts dealt a massive blow to the Mancos hopes, as Wolff connected with junior Zach Statz for a 62-yard catch-and-run to expand the lead to 20-8.
Facing the added urgency of time running out, Mancos was forced to go to become one-dimensional in the fourth quarter, and Haxtun took advantage – the Bulldogs intercepted three Mancos passes, including a game-sealing pick-six in the final minutes.
Haxtun ran out the clock to advance to their third title game in four years, where they will meet No. 3 Akron in Pueblo next Friday evening.
“I thought our defense played the best game that they had all season,” said seventh-year head coach Josh Gardner after the defeat. No team prior to Mancos had held the Bulldogs under 30 points all season.
The Jays lamented their difficulties establishing the run, with the Bulldog defense holding Mancos to their lowest scoring output of the season. “We tried everything in the playbook, but sometimes you just have those days,” said Gardner.
The Bluejays saw another fantastic season end one week short of their goal, and with it, the high school careers of four influential seniors. Seniors Seth Oakes and Tilden Begay made their mark on defense, while Vannest and Kaiden Wyatt enjoyed incredible careers while playing just about every position imaginable on both sides of the ball. Over the past four years – all of which including the Jays making it to the state semis or further – Mancos enjoyed a record of 41-7 in that span.
“Each of our seniors stepped up this year,” said Gardner, “and they each brought something different – they’ve been a great group.”
