Points and penalties were the two defining characteristics of Durango High School football’s second round state playoff game against Ponderosa, with points winning out in a 35-21 victory for the Demons.
Durango shot itself in the foot so many times with penalties at home on Saturday that it only had two or three toes left. Offense, defense, special teams, it didn’t matter; the yellow flags were flying with groans coming out of the Durango High School fans.
Fortunately for the Demons, they were successful enough on offense to overcome the flags. Chunk plays were hard to come by on the ground with the big Ponderosa defensive line selling out against the run. But this left Durango’s talented wide receivers one-on-one on the outside.
Junior quarterback Grady Feeney hit enough deep shots to get the Demons into the red zone. Once there, Feeney was precise with his passes, and he lowered his shoulder for some goal-line scores to keep Ponderosa at bay.
“They fought to the end of the fourth quarter,” Durango head coach Hunter Holmes said about his team. “We hurt ourselves a bunch, but at the end of the day, a win is a win in the playoffs. We get another week together, and that's the most important thing.”
No. 4 seed Durango improved to 9-2 overall with its first playoff win since 2023. Feeney finished 10/17 passing for 161 yards and three passing touchdowns. Senior running back Gus Halls led the team with 68 rushing yards off 15 carries; Feeney had 20 carries for 55 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Dawson McInnes finished with four receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown; senior wide receiver Seb Tripp finished with five receptions for 50 yards and two touchdowns.
Ponderosa, the No. 13 seed, finished its season at 7-5 overall.
The Demons had a long and impressive opening drive. Durango consistently moved the ball with short runs by Feeney and Halls. When Durango did need yardage, it got it. On third-and-11, Feeney rolled out to his right and found senior wide receiver Ollie Peterson right at the sticks for the first down at the 16-yard line. A few plays later, Feeney found Tripp on the right side on a curl route. Tripp turned inside and scored for the 7-0 lead with 4:28 left in the first.
Durango started the second quarter with the ball after turning Ponderosa over on downs thanks to pressure by senior linebacker Ayden Casias and a sack by senior lineman Owen Cheatham. The Demons successfully ran with Halls, and a deep ball to junior wide receiver Mason Miller set Durango up inside the 10-yard line. A few plays later, Feeney found an open McInnes in the corner of the end zone from 2 yards out for the 14-0 lead with 7:51 left.
A rarity occurred for Ponderosa’s next drive for the Durango defense. The Demons gave up a long run for a score. Mustangs senior running back Troy WcWhorter bounced to the left, broke a tackle and was gone up the left sideline for a 59-yard score. Just as Durango looked like it was going to start creeping toward blowout territory, Ponderosa trailed 14-7 with 7:51 left.
The Demons’ defense later stepped up on a botched pitch play by Ponderosa, and senior Will Zahradnik recovered around the Ponderosa 30-yard line with 1:19 left in the half. Durango picked up some hard rushing yards through the middle of the big Ponderosa defensive line. On third down, Feeney split the linebackers and threw a great ball to Tripp over the middle for the 15-yard score with 21 seconds left. Durango led 21-7 at the half.
“We were just throwing the ball around,” Feeney said. “Ponderosa had very fast and speedy defensive backs, but they're also young. I knew we could take advantage of them.”
The Ponderosa offense had a good and fortuitous start to the second half. Quarterback Noah Anacleto dropped back and threw deep down the left side before he got crushed. The Mustang receiver caught it, but fumbled it forward about 15 yards. The players stopped for a second before a Ponderosa player picked it up and gained even more yards. Ponderosa took advantage from inside Durango’s 10-yard line. Anacleto found wide receiver Blake Katsoff from 5 yards out to cut Durango’s lead to 21-14 with 8:50 left.
Penalties really hindered the Demons all day, but especially at the start of the second half. McInnes’ kick return was called back due to holding. Ponderosa got a first down with the punt team on the field because Durango had too many men. After Durango recovered a fumble, the Demons were pushed back 15 yards due to an unsportsmanlike penalty.
The Demons forced a Ponderosa punt and took over around midfield. After some tough running, Feeney found McInnes on the left side on a go route for a 38-yard gain down to the 2-yard line at the end of the third quarter. Feeney tried three runs up the middle to start the fourth, with the third successful from a yard out for the 28-14 lead with 10:42 left.
Twelve seconds later, Ponderosa had the response. Anacleto completed a short throw to a receiver, who lateraled it to WcWhorter for an 80-yard touchdown down the right side to make it 28-21.
McInnes showed his speed on the next play with a kick return to the 10-yard line. Two plays after that, Feeney kept the ball on a read option and bulldozed his way over a defender for the score from 7 yards out. Durango led 35-21 with 9:33 left.
After giving up chunk plays in the second half, the Durango defense stepped up to finish the game.
Anacleto rolled out to his right on third down, and he was picked off by Kaedon Martinez, who brought the ball past midfield. On the next drive, the Mustangs launched a snap way over WcWhorter’s head, resulting in an 18-yard loss with goal to go. Ponderosa turned it over on downs to seal the two-score victory for Durango.
“Outside of the two trick plays they scored on and then the weird fumble deal, we played our ass off again,” Holmes said about his defense.
Next up for Durango is a home game in the 4A state quarterfinals on either Friday or Saturday. The Demons will face No. 5 Heritage, which beat No. 12 Grand Junction, 42-13. Heritage knocked Durango out of the playoffs last season.
“Heritage has a great defense, a great running back coming back, a great quarterback and a very tall tight end,” Feeney said. “Lots of guys returning, but that loss is still fresh in our minds. We're not going to let that happen again.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
