Changes are inevitable at all levels of sport in the offseason, but Durango High School’s football fans are going to notice more than the typical shake-up this time around.

The Demons will be playing on a brand new field, in a different conference and classification of teams, and with a new core of players who hope to build upon the best season at DHS in more than a decade. When fans show up for the highly-anticipated first home game, Sept. 23 against Bayfield, they’ll be impressed with the aesthetics­ – and the team looks pretty good, too.

The renovations to the DHS football field and track are almost complete, and the artificial turf has been set, but the changes only begin there.

The Colorado High School Activities Association has Durango ranked 12th in its new 3A classification. The Demons are now in the 3A South Central League with defending state champion and preseason No. 1 Pueblo East. Joining them in the South Central League are Colorado Springs schools Harrison and Sierra as well as Pueblo Central and Pueblo County.

Though it would be reasonable to think a drop in classification would lead to an easier schedule, that’s hardly the case for DHS.

The Demons will open against Delta, which lost in the 3A semifinal last season and is ranked No. 4 in 2A. DHS will play two defending state champions in Bayfield and Pueblo East. Five teams on the Demons’ schedule received top-10 votes in their class.

“I think the turf will be good for us because speed is a strength of this team,” Demons quarterback Peyton Woolverton said. “We’ll need to be fast because our schedule is tough. If anyone thought it would be easier in 3A they were definitely wrong.”

As always, changes will be prevalent on the field as well.

It will be hard to replace the talent and leadership of Lucas Baken, Laitham Johnson, Lawrence Mayberry, Terrence Trujillo and the rest of the seniors who moved on. However, DHS head football coach David Vogt hasn’t been afraid to play his young guys, and there are a number of retuning players who played major roles in last year’s success.

“We have guys who are able to step right in, and I feel like we really have a program now,” Vogt said. “The only real change for them is understanding their new roles, but the leaders are stepping up and taking control.”

Woolverton saw spotty playing time last year, mostly when the games were out of hand, but proved he can get the job done.

The 6-foot-2, 175 pounder gets rid of the ball in a hurry and has a great respect for the nuances that come with learning the quarterback position. He won’t be out there slinging the ball around, he’ll be running and executing a well-thought out gameplan.

“I’m already familiar with the system we run, so that’s been a great advantage for me,” said Woolverton, son of Kathleen and Ryan Woolverton. “Knowing the offense has allowed me to really key in on recognizing the defenses and being confident with my reads.”

He won’t have to do it all by himself, as the Demons offense has a serious weapon on the outside in Gavin Mestas.

As a sophomore, Mestas caught three touchdown passes and returned two kicks for touchdowns. His speed and versatility will allow the Demons to line him up anywhere. The slick and speedy junior will be seen at wide receiver, in the backfield, returning kicks, punting, placekicking, and on defense at free safety.

“We only get four years of this, so I want to be on the field as often as possible,” said Mestas, son of Gary and Malaika Mestas. “Peyton and I have always had a great connection, so it’ll be fun. Everyone looks ready to go. Coaches have us in good shape, nobody’s taking any plays off, so we’re excited.”

Junior Max Hyson will also be a force on both sides of the ball. Last year, Hyson was a menace on defense racking up 74 tackles and 3½ sacks. He’s sure to do the same this season, but Hyson will also be running guys over on the other side of the ball coming out of the backfield and lining up at tight end.

Senior Collin Barkley and junior middle linebacker Manasseh Brockus also bring experience to a defense that held opponents under 10 points in seven of 12 games last season.

“This has been a great group of guys who are totally buying in to what we’re doing,” Vogt said. “We’re really excited to see that. It speaks to their maturity and the example the guys set before them.”

Durango will open its season at 7 p.m. Friday in Delta before heading to New Mexico for three road games. They’ll return for homecoming, Sept. 23, to host defending 2A champion Bayfield.

jfries@durangoherald.com

Schedule

Durango High School

*–3A South Central League; **–Homecoming

Aug. 26 – at Delta, 7 p.m.

Sept. 2 – at Aztec, 7 p.m.

Sept. 9 – at Piedra Vista, 7 p.m.

Sept. 16 – Farmington, 7 p.m.

Sept. 23 – Bayfield**, 7 p.m.

Oct. 7 – Pueblo East*, 6 p.m.

Oct. 14 – Sierra*, 6 p.m.

Oct. 22 – at Pueblo Central*, 1 p.m.

Oct. 28 – Pueblo County*, 1 p.m.

Nov. 4 – at Harrison*, 5 p.m.