With a 9-1 overall record and a second place finish in the Pikes Peak League, the Durango High School football team learned its postseason fate on Sunday morning.
The Demons were awarded the No. 5 seed in the Colorado High School Activities Association 4A State Football Playoffs and will host a first round matchup against Aurora Central at noon Saturday.
“It’s a big advantage for us because they have to drive seven hours to get here and they haven’t traveled more than 30 minutes to a game this year,” said Durango head coach David Vogt in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “It looked for awhile like we were ranked third, but being fifth will add some fuel to the fire.”
Aurora Central finished the season with an 8-2 record, 3-2 in the 4A Mountain League. Its two losses came to conference foes No. 8 seed Wheat Ridge and No. 10 seed Denver South. The Trojans were outscored in the two losses 79-14.
If the Demons win the opening round matchup, they’ll face the winner of No. 13 Loveland (5-5) and No. 4 Vista Ridge (9-1) in the second round.
“There’s not much time to throw in anything tricky, we’re just going to do what we do,” said Vogt. “We’re going to run the ball and if they play the run, we’ll spread it out and take our shots.”
If Durango can make it through the first two rounds, a rematch with No. 1 Pine Creek (10-0) will most likely await the Demons in the semifinals.
“We have to be ready to play anybody,” said Vogt. “Whether we like it or not, we were going to have to play (Pine Creek) at some point and there’s an outside chance that we could even host that game.”
Pine Creek’s 41-3 victory over the Demons on Oct. 23 was Durango’s only loss this season.
jfries@durangoherald.com
