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Kadets are an Academy through the Air

DHS will host state’s most prolific passing offense

Farewell to one of the state’s most potent rushing attacks; hello to the state’s most high-flying offense.

Durango High School (3-5, 1-2 Pikes Peak League) is set to host its final home football game of the regular season at 6 p.m. Friday, when the Air Academy Kadets (2-6, 0-3 PPL) come to town.

The Kadets feature quarterback Adam Brown, who was 35-of-54 passing for seven touchdowns and a new state record 589 yards against Sand Creek on Sept. 19. The seven touchdowns were just one short of matching the state record. The 589 yards surpassed the previous record of 571, set by Smoky Hill’s Robert Felberg in 2007.

“They’re going to air the ball out,” DHS head coach David Vogt said after last week’s 56-0 loss to No. 1 Pine Creek. “They’ve been scoring 50 points every game, so it will be a good test for our defense.”

Air Academy has averaged 370 passing yards per game to just 77 yards rushing; 32 of the Kadets’ 45 touchdowns have come through the air.

Brown should surpass the 3,000 yards passing mark this season Friday night in Durango, as he currently sits at 2,946. He has completed 57 percent of his passes and has 32 touchdowns to 13 interceptions this year.

“It is going to be a fun challenge,” said DHS senior defensive back Matthew Lavengood, son of Steve and Tamra Lavengood. “It is fun when people try to throw it all over on you.”

Lavengood stepped in front of a pass last week for an interception, one of five passes picked off by the Demons this year.

Though Air Academy can sling the ball around the field with the best of them, it hasn’t translated to wins. The Kadets have allowed opponents to score an average of 51.75 points per game this season, and they are coming off an 88-54 road loss at Palmer Ridge.

Palmer Ridge defeated the Demons 45-2 two weeks ago.

The run defense of Air Academy has been susceptible to giving up big chunks of yardage to opposing running backs. The same game Brown set his passing yardage record, the Kadets were burned by Sand Creek’s Daniel Quin for 553 yards on 64 carries. Those 553 yards are the third most in a single game in state history.

That should be good news for DHS junior running back Lawrence Mayberry, who struggled to find any running lanes against the Pine Creek defense a week ago.

“We definitely have a lot of things to do offensively, but I think we’re working and getting better,” Mayberry, son of George and Tonya Mayberry, said after last week’s game. “It was good to see a defense like (Pine Creek). It’s about time, because now we know what the real competition is like. It’s good for us to see stuff like that.”

Vogt is excited to see what his team can do against the Kadets after hosting Class 4A defending champion, top-ranked and undefeated Pine Creek, especially in the home finale before a season finale Oct. 31 at Rampart in Colorado Springs.

“It will be nice to see a different style of throwing the ball instead of running like we saw from (Pine Creek) and Montrose,” he said. “Our secondary will get tested and hopefully come through.”

Three games into the new Pikes Peak League, Vogt said the travel for road games has been hard with seven-hour trips to Colorado Springs and Monument, but he said the team does like the level of competition faced so far.

“The travel is tough, but we look forward to the competition every week,” he said. “It’s given our kids a great opportunity to see what the level of play is up there, and I think we will be up to the challenge the next few weeks.”

jlivingston@durangoherald.com

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