Blue Devils take down Bloomfield to claim District title
WYNOT — When two of the state’s top-rated football D2 teams meet, you can expect a real dogfight.
The matchup on Friday night between the 7-0 Wynot Blue Devils and the 6-1 Bloomfield Bees did not disappoint.
The Blue Devils were able to score in the final minute of the game to earn the 36-30 win and District title and keep their undefeated season alive.
Wynot’s offense was led by Dylan Heine, who rushed for two touchdowns and passed for two more scores.
Heine threw for 112 yards and ran for 120 yards in an outstanding performance.
Bloomfield was paced by Layne Warrior, who had three catches for 60 yards and two touchdowns,and Wiley Ziegler rushed for 153 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, the Blue Devils got 13 tackles and a fumble recovery from Andrew Haberman and 10 tackles from Zack Foxhoven.
The Bees’ defense was paced by Brock Jeannoutot with nine tackles, while Ziegler finished with eight tackles and Braeden Guenther had eight stops and an interception return for a touchdown.
The two defensive units controlled the scoreless first quarter.
Wynot mounted a drive late in the opening quarter and finished it on its first possession of the second quarter. Foxhoven took an option pitch around the right side for the four-yard touchdown run.
Heine ran in the two-point conversion to give the Blue Devils an 8-0 lead early in the second period.
Both defenses remained stingy early in the game. Wynot added to its totals late in second frame.Heine was finding success up the middle on his quarterback runs as the Blue Devils pushed deep into the Bees’ territory.
Heine hit Carson Wieseler on a tight crossing pattern for the eight-yard catch-and-run. The two-point conversion run was stopped, but the Blue Devils were still able to increase their lead to 14-0.
The hard running of Ziegler, helped by an interference call, moved Bloomfield quickly down the field.
Guenther connected with Warrior on a 13-yard scoring toss with just 14 seconds left in the half. A Warrior catch added the two-point conversion as the teams went to halftime with Wynot clinging to a 14-8 lead.
While defense set the tone in the first half, both teams settled in on offense in the second half despite worsening weather conditions.
The Blue Devils got a short field to work with when Haberman, a Wynot linebacker, pounced on a fumble by the Bees at their own 31-yard line.
A 16-yard catch-and-run by Wieseler put the Blue Devils in the red zone and Heine’s nine-yard sweep around the right side put another TD on the board for Wynot. Foxhoven added the two-point conversion to give Wynot a 22- 8 lead.
Wynot’s defense had Bloomfield pinned deep on its next series, but it got out of trouble when the Bees’ punter unleashed a 72-yard kick down to the Blue Devils’twoyard line.
Wynot was able to get a couple of first downs to move out of the shadow of the end zone, but fumbled the ball at the 31-yard line and Jeannoutot recovered it for the Bees.
Guenther connected with Warrior for the 25-yard touchdown pass. Warrior also caught the two-point conversion and Bloomfield had cut Wynot’s lead to 22-16.
A 20-yard catch-and-run by Foxhoven and a facemask call helped the Blue Devils answer quickly.
Heine powered in from three yards out to cap the drive. The two-point conversion run was stopped, but Wynot was now up 28-16.
On Bloomfield’s next series, the Bees’ quarterback gave into the heavy pressure and threw one up for grabs that Warrior was able to snag for a key first down. Aided by another facemask call, Bloomfield drove the ball to Wynot’s two-yard line. A procedure call moved the ball back five yards, and the Blue Devils’ defense held on fourth down.
Wynot gave the ball right back on a pick-six by Guenther, who scored the four-yard touchdown run. Jeannoutot snagged the two-point conversion pass to cut the deficit to 28-24 going into the final frame.
Weather conditions continued to deteriorate in the final quarter. The two defensive units continued to trade blows.
At the 2:01 mark, Ziegler zig-zagged his way through the Blue Devils for a 46-yard touchdown run. The twopoint conversion run was stopped and the Bees took their first lead of the game at 30-28.
The Bees left too much time on the clock as Wynot went to its two-minute drill. A good kickoff return put the ball on the 39-yard line to start the final drive.
First-down runs by Foxhoven and Heine moved the ball deep into Bees territory. With just 54 seconds left, Heine connected with Chase Schroeder on a one-handed catch in the left corner of the end zone to retake the lead for the Blue Devils.
Foxhoven ran in the two-point converstion to give Wynot the 36-30 lead.
The Blue Devils’ defense ran out the clock as they celebrated the hardfought win.
Wynot will host 5-3 Silver Lake at
2:30 p.m. Thursday in the first round of the playoffs.
Bloomfield 0 8 8 Wynot 0 14 14 14-30
8-36 Rushing Passing Ttl. yds. Wynot
49-200
9-22-112
312 40-177
10-13-97
274 PASSING
Bloomfield - Braeden Guenther, 4-70; Wynot - Dylan Heine, 9-112.
RUSHING
Wynot - Dylan Heine, 27-120; Zack Foxhoven, 19-60. Bloomfield - Wiley Ziegler, 18-107; Braeden Guenther, 14--
59. RECEIVING
Zack Foxhoven, 3-28; Joesph Sudbeck
1-19. Bloomfield - Layne Warrior, 3-60; Wiley Ziegler 3-49.
TACKLES
Wynot - Andrew Haberman 13; Zack Foxhoven, 10; Carson Wieseler 8; Chase Schroeder 5. Bloomfield - Brock Jeannoutot, 9; Wiley Ziegler 8; Braeden Guenther 8; Casey Jeannoutot 7.