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Durango Herald Game of the Week: Aztec at Durango

Aztec, Durango set for clash
Durango High School senior quarterback Terrence Trujillo and the rest of the Demons will don their all-red uniforms Friday night in the first home game of the season against the Aztec Tigers.

The Aztec-Durango high school football rivalry is set to return to Durango’s stadium for the first time since 2010.

The 2010 edition was a game nobody will soon forget, with Durango’s Joe Keresey passing for 396 yards, with 325 of those going to Easton Garcia, including two touchdowns.

On the other sideline, it was Brycson King passing for 521 yards in a remarkable 30-of-38 passing performance that included three touchdowns of his own. He helped Aztec claim victory that night in a game that displayed high tension on both sidelines.

Emotions continued to boil over into 2011. After that game in Aztec, the rivalry needed to take a break, going on a hiatus until 2014, when Durango visited the Tigers to claim a 34-28 win.

Both teams have gone through coaching changes since then, experiencing a culture change to go with it. There is more respect shared between the two sides now, but the rivalry remains.

“We’ve been playing these guys in seven-on-sevens all year, so we know these guys and have a nice rivalry with them,” DHS head coach David Vogt said.

The rivalry also has a special meaning to Aztec head coach Matt Steinfeldt, who is embarking on his fourth season leading the Tigers. Steinfeldt, who lives in Durango and commutes to Aztec every day, previously was an assistant coach at Fort Lewis College before taking the job less than 40 miles south of Durango.

“It’s always great to come up to Durango and coach there. It adds to the rivalry for me because I have a lot of friends up there and have worked with a lot of the guys in the football community there,” Steinfeldt said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “It’s always fun.”

Friday’s game is the second consecutive rivalry matchup for New Mexico Class 5A Aztec (0-1) after falling to Bloomfield, New Mexico, 48-28 in Week 1.

Durango claimed a big season-opening 33-7 win against Colorado Class 3A Lutheran on a neutral field at Adams State University in Alamosa.

Now, back for the first of only four home contests this season, the Demons are ready to defend their turf.

“It’s huge. We really think our fans here are great, and the guys getting to play in front of their family is great,” Vogt said. “We’ve stressed the last two years to protect home court here.”

After going down 7-0 early last week, the Demons’ defensive line set the tone for the rest of the game, led by 11 tackles from senior defensive end Laitham Johnson. Johnson also is the anchor of the offensive line at left tackle, and he helped pave the way for two big Lawrence Mayberry touchdown runs that totaled 114 yards on consecutive possessions.

Durango’s passing game also got going behind senior quarterback Terrence Trujillo and senior receiver Lucas Baken. Trujillo was 8-of-15 passing for 103 yards and three touchdowns, while Baken had two touchdowns and 89 yards on four receptions.

Vogt hopes the momentum gained during the second and third quarters translates into a powerful performance this week but added his team has to move on and focus on the task at hand.

“It was a great victory, but it came against a 3A school,” Vogt said. “We can’t take anybody lightly, and we have to concentrate on this week.”

Aztec’s offense flows though sophomore quarterback Cody Smith, who was 12-of-27 for 253 yards and two passing touchdowns to go with a rushing score in the loss to Bloomfield.

“They pass about 65 percent of the time, so we have to be prepared for that,” Vogt said. “Their coach is an ex-college guy, and he knows what he’s doing with that offense.”

The running game was led by senior Derek Baca’s 122 yards on 12 carries, while Dylan Sutherland rushed for 36 yards and a touchdown on three carries. Sutherland also led the team with five receptions for 75 yards.

The Tigers’ offense averaged nine yards per offensive play in the loss, but Steinfeldt said the team simply didn’t have the ball enough.

“We’re still trying to put together all three phases of football. We struggled in all three at times last week,” he said. “I’m a big believer in the biggest growth of your team coming from the first competition to the second. We hope to see a lot of growth this week after learning from last week’s mistakes.”

Steinfeldt said Durango has talented athletes who are well-coached. He said his team will have to match Durango’s physical brand of play to win.

“It’s always going to be a huge rivalry. Durango is very well-coached, and I like what they do up there,” Steinfeldt said. “They have strong, active kids, and they pose a great threat.”

jlivingston@durangoherald.com

If you go

Who: Aztec at Durango

What: High school football

When: 7 p.m. today

Where: Durango High School

Listen Live: KKDG 99.7 FM

Twitter: @jlivi2

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