Area fans will have the opportunity to watch two members of last year’s Durango High School football team continue their careers on the gridiron for years to come.
DHS seniors Jacob Bourdon and Richard Hall fulfilled their childhood dreams to play college football on Friday as they signed to play with Fort Lewis College. Bourdon and Hall were both captains on last year’s 7-4 Demons squad.
“It’s such a great opportunity for me to be able to play Division-II ball,” Bourdon said. “I’m elated to be able to stay close to home and continue my career at Fort Lewis College. Just being able to have my parents come watch me play and continue to follow my little brother and be there for him was a huge factor. It’s also nice having Richard (Hall) there, too, because we’ve been playing together for a long time.”
Bourdon was a first-team all-conference tight end this year for the Demons and also plays defensive line.
Hall has been a mainstay on the Demons’ offensive and defensive line as a starter for the last three years. He was rewarded for his dominance last season with 3A first-team all-state honors.
“Honestly, I’m just so excited for the privilege to keep playing the game I love,” Hall said. “I love this town and I’m going to work my tail off to prove that good football players can come out of Durango High School. I’ve already heard a lot of people say ‘Wow, now that’ll give me a reason to come up there and watch the games’ and I think that’s just so important for this town.”
Bourdon and Hall were in communication while they were searching for schools, and, when it came down to it, the idea of playing together appealed to both of them.
“When we sat down and started talking about (Fort Lewis) and how cool it would be to keep playing in front of our hometowm fans, I think it was exciting for both of us,” Hall said. “I know he works just as hard as I do and that’s what makes success happen. We want to make a difference in this town, and that was a big reason why we both chose to stay here and give Fort Lewis our committment to try and build a winning program there.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
