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Durango soccer wins first game, eyes SWL three-peat

Back-to-back league champion Demons set for another run

The Durango High School boys soccer team opened its season with a 5-0 win Saturday against Sandia Prep and gave a glimpse of what should be another promising season for a strong Demons program.

Durango enters the season as back-to-back 4A/5A Southwestern League champions, which should put a nice sized target on the Demons’ backs. Like every high school team, they lost some important elements to the equation, but the strength of head coach Dalon Parker’s program is the success and competition for playing time from the bottom up.

“I always say if the guys on the (junior varsity) squad work hard and the results are there, those are going to be the guys who play,” Parker said after Saturday’s win. “We look good soccer-wise, but I’m happy with them off the field. What I mean by that is this group meshes well with the JV team and they’re pushing the freshman team along. Every team feels important and feels like they’re part of a bigger program than just the team they’re currently on, and that’s huge for us.”

Durango (1-0) is fortunate to have its top two goal scorers from last season back to give the SWL fits again. Junior Elijah Fenton will be a player other teams have to stop if they want to beat the Demons. Fenton scored 12 goals last season to back up the 16 he scored as a freshman and, unfortunately for his opponents, looks bigger, faster and stronger than he was last year.

“I don’t have much of an offseason, but when there are some gaps in seasons I try to just stay sharp and keep my touch,” said Fenton, son of Mike and Wendy Fenton. “I grew a bit, but it’s not a focus of mine. I want to make sure my endurance and stamina are where they should be. This whole team is in good shape. We’ve been ready to go for awhile.”

Fenton’s penalty kick goal in Saturday’s win was likely the first of many tallies this season. Not far behind Fenton last year was Luke Stetler’s 11 goals, and Stetler is one of many DHS seniors with years of varsity competition under his belt.

“I expect us to be a little better this year than we were last just because we have more experience,” said Stetler, son of Anne and Mark Stetler. “We have 10 seniors, and half of us have been playing up for the last two seasons, so we’ve been in the big games and trust each other.”

Stetler joins Duncan Calkin, Eric Farrar, Camden Garland, Connor Henry, Austin Kelly, Corbin Lyman, Blake McClain, Leifdon Pratchett and Aiden Urban as the solid senior core for Durango. Fenton and goalkeeper Trey Furnas highlight a load of junior talent that includes Colombian exchange student Juan Tejada, who led the team with two goals Saturday.

While Sandia Prep (2-1) of Albuquerque may have been a nice tuneup that they needed to get into form for the upcoming season, it’ll be a different feel next week when rivals Fruita Monument and Montrose come to town.

“The teams in our league always play us tough, and they’re well-coached,” Parker said. “I’m not sure what to expect from them. I think with this group, it’s a matter of handling our business. We need to worry about us, and if we do what we are supposed to do, we’ll be tough to beat.”

Durango will host Montrose at 5 p.m. Friday and Fruita Monument at 11 a.m. Saturday. Both games will be played at Riverview Park. By the end of September, the Demons hope to shift games to the high school’s new turf field.

jfries@durangoherald.com

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