Playing its most direct soccer of the season brought the Durango High School boys team to the brink of a league championship.
The Demons beat Grand Junction 4-1 on Saturday at Riverview Sports Complex to all but clinch the Southwestern League championship and a string of home playoff games to open the postseason.
Montrose still has two league games left, so nothing is official, yet, but Durango’s margin of victory made it all but certain.
“This will be our seventh straight win. We get better every time we play,” DHS head coach Dalon Parker said. “Going into the playoffs off of seven straight wins, if that doesn’t tell the committee something, I don’t know what does.”
DHS (12-2-1, 7-1 SWL) has scored three or more goals in six of those seven games, and freshman Eli Fenton put the Demons on the board early in the fifth minute.
“It lifts us and gives us a more positive style of play, so we can relax a little,” said Fenton, son of Mike and Wendy Fenton. “We’re not really needing a goal since we already got one early.”
Grand Junction (5-8-1, 3-3-1 SWL) mounted sustained pressure after conceding, and the Tigers hit the post on a rocket shot from outside the box.
Senior Tony Williams settled DHS with a goal in the 34th minute to put the Demons up 2-0 at halftime.
The Demons came out of the half with more pace, and Fenton found Williams with a low crossing ball that Williams blasted into the back of the net for his second goal of the game.
“That was a lot due to my forwards. I got the ball from Eli and started running at the center back,” said Williams, son of Claudia and David Williams. “Nick (Jernigan) made a great run and took the center back out of position and bought me enough time to hit it.”
Cole Barton put the Tigers on the board in the 65th minute.
“I told them, ‘Keep our attacking focus; keep what we’re doing in mind,’” Grand Junction head coach Stephen Latta said. “I think it helps create faith in our attacking ideas.”
The Demons wanted another goal of their own after that.
Parker reinserted Durango’s starters into the game, and Jernigan scored on a pass from Dylan McClain. Senior Aidan Aggeler nearly added a fifth goal for DHS in the game’s dying moments, but his shot sailed just over the crossbar.
DHS honored its nine seniors after the game, but they did so fully acknowledging that the team likely will play at home again in the postseason.
“It’s nice to know that we’re going to get this league title, but that’s not the final goal,” Williams said. “We’re just going to put our heads down, practice hard and get ready for our playoff game. Hopefully it’s at home.”
kgrabowski@ durangoherald.com
DHS Demons
Durango High School
Boys Soccer
Senior Day
Saturday, Oct. 11
Nate Curmano
Logan Graham
Jacob Kaplon
Dylan McClain
Chris Petty
Roberto Razo
Evan Schertz
Lars Schwaebe
Tony Williams
Durango Herald
