Cafe Rio Game Night Live player of the game: Woods Cross' Sam Bahr

WOODS CROSS — After jumping out to a 20-0 halftime lead, Woods Cross' football team thought there might be some smooth sailing ahead during its Week 2 classic with West Field.

Sam Bahr even admitted as much.

"I thought it was easy rolling in the first half," he told the Game Night Live broadcast team. "And then we came out in the second half and weren't on the horse like we were in the first half. We just had to get it back together, and keep going."

The Longhorns, too, had other ideas. Easton Eilertson threw two touchdown passes during a 21-0 run, including an 80-yard long ball to Gavin Ortegon with 7:26 left that gave the Longhorns a 21-20 lead.

Consider the Wildcats officially punched — and down, being without leading rusher Ryan Miller, who rumbled for 117 yards on 19 carries to power Woods Cross to a 27-26 win over Syracuse the week prior.

The hosts needed someone to step up.

Bahr was that someone.

The senior fullback finished off a clinical drive with 1:10 remaining, powering in for a 5-yard touchdown to help Woods Cross escape with a 26-21 victory and a 2-0 start to the season.

For stepping into a much-needed spot and powering through, Bahr was named the Cafe Rio Game Night Live player of the game.

"We definitely felt his absence tonight," Bahr said of Miller. "But when a good player like that goes down, you got to have guys who step up. I had that opportunity tonight, and I stepped up — Bronson Martin stepped up and had a great game as well.

"We step up."

Martin added a 21-yard touchdown run in the first half for Woods Cross, one of four rushing touchdowns from head coach Brody Benson's iconic triple-option setup.

That helped overcome Eilertson's 288 yards through the air, led by the twin terrors of Ortegon's 126 yards on six receptions and 103 yards on five catches from Phoenix Sandoval.

The Longhorns punched back before falling to 0-2.

But Bahr wasn't about to go down without a fight, either.

"We don't have a lot of depth; we have a lot of guys going both ways," he said. "It just really shows how tough of kids we are."

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