Durango High School’s football team couldn’t have had a better bounceback win on Friday night against Air Academy after a tough loss the week before at Palmer Ridge.
The Demons started slow, but dominated the Kadets after the first two drives. Durango had chunk plays on the ground and through the air, tough runs, strong special teams and plenty of scores. Air Academy had no room to do anything on offense as Durango steamrolled Air Academy on homecoming night, 41-0.
“It was a great team win,” Durango head coach Hunter Holmes said. “I’m fired up about how the seniors played. It was a great crowd; it was awesome to see the community out. Proud of the seniors and everybody on the team and how they responded.”
Durango improved to 6-2 overall and 2-1 in the 4A Soco 2 League after the win. Air Academy dropped to 4-4 overall and 1-2 in the 4A Soco 2 League after the loss. The Demons haven’t had a game decided by one score this season. Durango has won its six games by an average of 28.2 points. After last week’s 21-7 loss at Palmar Ridge, the Demons have lost both of their games by an average of 17.5 points.
“You just can't have mistakes,” Holmes said about last week’s loss. “We’ve got to prepare better as a staff and battle hard. I was really proud of those guys and how they fought last week. We need to do a better job as a staff and put them in a better spot to win. But there’s always room to learn.”
Durango junior quarterback Grady Feeney led the way against Air Academy and finished 8/11 passing for 145 yards and three passing touchdowns. Senior running back Gus Halls led Durango on the ground with 12 rushes for 119 yards and two touchdowns. Feeney also had 10 rushes for 80 yards and a rushing touchdown. Senior wide receiver Sebastian Tripp led the Demons with four receptions for 61 yards. Junior wide receiver Mason Miller and senior wide receivers Dawson McInnes and Ollie Peterson each had receiving touchdowns.
It was a sloppy start on offense for Durango. The Demons had multiple penalties and unsuccessfully tried to get the run going. Air Academy was there to plug up the holes and drop the Demons in the backfield. Durango had two three-and-outs to start the game.
Durango showed its explosiveness on the next drive. After a 19-yard Feeney rush, Feeney found the speedy Miller on a go route on the right side. Feeney threw a perfect deep ball to Miller, who had a step on his defender, and Miller caught it in stride for the 36-yard score. Durango led 7-0 with 3:49 left in the first.
The Demons really got the run game going at the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second. Halls showed his power by hitting the big holes hard and dragging defenders for extra yards. Feeney kept the ball a few times for some good yardage.
Penalties nearly stopped the Durango drive, but the Demons powered their way to the 5-yard line, where Feeney kept it up the middle for the score. Durango led 14-0 with 7:56 left in the half.
“We have a lot of new plays so it was a great game to work a lot of our plays,” Feeney said. “Ultimately, the offensive line did a great job and gave me a lot of time back there.”
Durango got the ball quickly as Air Academy had its fourth consecutive three-and-out. When the Kadets tried to run, they were swallowed up at the line of scrimmage by a black hole consisting of Durango’s defensive line and linebackers. Air Academy struggled with its accuracy when passing and Durango’s defensive backs were all over the Kadet receivers.
The Demons’ consistent run attack looked like it was wearing down the Kadets’ defensive line by the minute. Halls easily shredded Air Academy’s defense and scored from 6 yards out to make it 21-0 with 3:50 left in the first half.
“My linemen, they're the bread and butter,” Halls said. “They're the ones that make holes for me that I'm able to cut up in … Ever since we were freshman, we've been working in the weight room together, putting a lot of effort into that and just building a brotherhood here.”
Special teams played a big role in Durango’s fourth and fifth score. On fourth down, Air Academy looked to punt, but the Kadets’ punter didn’t have time as he was busier than a dentist in a trailer park with Durango players around him. The punter tried to throw the ball, but it was incomplete and set Durango up at the Air Academy 30.
A few plays later, Feeney threw deep down the left side for McInnes, who looked like Randy Moss as he jumped over the Air Academy defender to catch the ball and land in the end zone for the score. Durango led 28-0 with 1:46 left in the half.
Durango’s fifth score came only 13 seconds later. Burns hit a beautiful onside kick, which caught Air Academy off guard and allowed Durango to recover. Holmes said it was Durango’s first onside kick attempt this year. A couple of plays after that, Halls looked like a bullet train as he zoomed through the middle for a 19-yard score to give Durango a 35-0 lead with 1:33 left in the first half.
The running clock started in the middle of the third quarter. Feeney had a few big runs and also found Tripp for a chunk gain. Inside the red zone, Feeney found Peterson all alone from 11 yards out for a 41-0 lead with six minutes left in the third.
“It's amazing; I’ve got weapons all around me,” Feeney said. “They'll go up and get the ball, which makes my job easy. So I’m really grateful for those guys.”
Durango plays its final regular season home game next Friday against Liberty at 6 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
