Durango had every chance to pack it in and call it a night Friday.
It was a bad start. The rain caused uncharacteristic problems for the quarterback. A very questionable call led to a two-score deficit late in the game. However, the Demons wouldn’t give in.
After giving up 14 unanswered points in the second half and going down 35-26 inside 10 minutes left in the game, Durango went back to work.
A mythodical seven-minute drive led to Lawrence Mayberry’s third touchdown of the game, a one-yard run that cut the deficit to 35-33 with 2 minutes, 55 seconds to play.
Mayberry then recovered an onside kick, and the comeback was there for the taking.
The Demons didn’t panic. They went right down the field and set up senior place kicker Nick Jernigan to be the hero. The former soccer player knew what to do and buried a 20-yard field goal with five seconds to play to complete the improbable 36-35 comeback win for Durango, snapping a four game losing streak to Montrose (3-2) and extending the Demons’ perfect record to 5-0.
“I’m so proud of these guys and I told them this is a win for past teams at Durango High. This is a win that will go down in the history books for the Durango program,” said Demons head coach David Vogt. “I just told them to believe in the system and nobody hung their heads they just kept running plays and wearing the other team down. I couldn’t be happier for these kids.”
Mayberry led the way for the Demons’ offense and ran for two touchdowns and caught one. Quarterback Terrence Trujillo threw three touchdown passes and two interceptions.
It was a tough start for the Demons, as Montrose’s Jakob Siegel took the opening kickoff right down the middle of the field 95 yards for a touchdown. On the next drive, Montrose running back Dalton Wright’s two-yard run put the Demons in a 14-0 hole halfway through the first quarter.
Trujillo marched the team down the field and found his go-to-guy, Lucas Baken, on a go route for a 43-yard touchdown. Jernigan’s extra point cut the deficit with three minutes left in a high-scoring first quarter.
On the first play of the ensuing Montrose possession, the Indians fumbled the snap, and the Durango defense pounced on it. The turnover led to a three-yard touchdown pass from Trujillo to Kyle Duran on fourth-and-goal from the three. Jernigan’s extra point sailed wide, but he made up for it later.
After a defensive stop, the Demons were in business again inside the Indians’ red zone, but a tipped pass by Montrose defensive lineman Mark Beshoar was returned 85 yards for a Montrose touchdown.
After a muffed punt by Montrose with just over a minute left in the first half, Trujillo threw his third touchdown pass of the half when he found Mayberry in the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the three. It was the second time in the half the Demons offense converted on fourth-and-goal and trimmed the Indians’ lead to 21-19 at halftime.
Durango took its first lead of the night on the first drive of the third when Mayberry finished off an impressive drive with a one-yard touchdown run to give the Demons a 26-21 lead.
Montrose answered early in the fourth on Royal Haulman’s six-yard touchdown run. The rain began to fall, and Trujillo, who has been accurate and reliable with the ball all season, threw his second interception.
The turnover led to another Montrose score. Things looked grim for the the Demons but they didn’t let up. Down 35-26, they completed a memorable comeback.
“Whether we’re up big or down big, we don’t take any days off,” Vogt said. “For Lawrence to come up with the onside kick when we needed it and Jernigan to do what he did, it just goes to show that there’s no quit in any of these kids. They have a winning mentality, and they always believe they can get the job done.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
