The continuity, skill, size and coaching of the Durango High School football team’s offensive line were on display on Thursday. The Demons bulldozed through the Rampart defense at home in a 47-7 victory.
Durango couldn’t be stopped in the first half. When the Demons wanted to run, the experienced offensive line group of seniors JJ Vickers, Owen Cheatham, Ernesto Galvan, Warren Uptain and Ryder Stahlin made some massive holes for senior running back Gus Halls and junior quarterback Grady Feeney to run through.
When the Demons wanted to pass, the offensive line gave Feeney plenty of time to launch a few deep balls to his talented receiving core for big plays.
On defense, Rampart scored one touchdown thanks to good field position after a kick return. Other than that, the Demons routinely stuffed the Rams on runs and Rampart’s passing game was nonexistent for most of the game.
“The kids played hard all throughout the game,” Durango head coach Hunter Holmes said. “I love these kids; like I’ve always said, they’re the toughest, hardest working and the most competitive kids in the state. It’s a pleasure to get to coach them. No one has it better than us.”
Durango improved to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the 4A Soco 2 with the win; the Demons have won five consecutive games. Rampart dropped to 1-5 overall and 0-1 in the 4A Soco 2 with the loss. All 54 points were scored in the first half. Durango’s 47 first-half points were the most it has scored in a game this season and the most it has scored in the first half of a game since Oct. 20, 2023.
Feeney and most of the starters only played the first half. He finished the first half 7/12 passing for 145 yards and two touchdowns. Feeney also rushed the ball 12 times for 157 yards and three rushing touchdowns. Senior running back Gus Halls has an ultraefficient day with six rushes for 116 yards and a touchdown. Senior wide receiver Dawson McInnes led the Demons with three receptions for 80 yards. McInnes also had an interception he returned for a touchdown.
Durango started the game with what it does best: rushing. Halls showed his speed and vision with a 30-yard run down the left side to start the game. Two plays later, Halls received the handoff from Feeney and had a ton of space on the right side. Senior wide receiver Mason Miller did a good job blocking and Halls cruised into the end zone from 24 yards out for a 7-0 lead with 11:02 left.
“It’s fun,” Cheatham said. “I’ll block for them and make a decent hole and think it’ll be a 7-yard gain. I turn around and Gus is 30 yards down the field and he’s dragging three defenders with him. That’s insane; it’s so much fun playing with him.”
The Demons showed off their passing game on the next drive. Feeney found Miller on a slant and on a go route to get Durango to Rampart’s 5-yard line. On the next play, Feeney found senior Ollie Peterson on a screen pass on the left side for an easy 5-yard score. Durango led 14-0 with 6:35 left in the first quarter.
Only 13 seconds later, Durango pushed its lead to 20-0. McInnes picked off a tipped pass and took it 20 yards for the pick-six with 6:22 left in the first.
Rampart had a nice kick return after Durango’s third score and the Rams took advantage. On fourth down in Durango territory, the Rampart quarterback eluded the sack and threw a jump pass deep into the end zone for the score. Durango led 20-7 with 3:20 left in the first.
Durango responded with another score to end the first quarter. Feeney connected with McInnes for 49 yards. Halls ran it deep into Rampart’s red zone and Feeney scored from 6 yards out for a 26-7 lead with 1:24 left in the first.
The Demons continued to dominate on offense. Feeney used his legs to get the Demons deep into Rampart territory. On 4th-and-1, Feeney kept it again, took a hit and twisted his way through the air and into the end zone for the score. Durango led 33-7 with nine minutes left in the first half.
“It makes the stress of making a mistake a lot less because they’ll make something out of nothing,” Vickers said about blocking for Feeney and Halls.
Nonetheless, Durango continued to punish Rampart. The Demons had holes the size of a highway to run through thanks to their dominant offensive line.
“It’s just us sticking to our technique,” Cheatham said. “We have one of the best offensive line coaches in the state (Mike Sutter) and he gets us right week after week, year after year.”
Feeney scored from 2 yards out with 6:54 left and he had a passing touchdown to Peterson late in the second quarter to make it 47-7 at halftime and start a running clock.
The Demons face a big step up in competition on Oct. 10 when they play at Palmer Ridge at 6 p.m. The Bears are 5-0 overall and ranked fourth in 4A, right behind Durango at No. 3 in CHSAA’s Selection & Seeding Index. Palmer Ridge has won its first five games by an average of 38.4 points per game. Last season, Palmer Ridge beat Durango, 24-21, in Durango.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
