None of Durango’s Young America Football League teams suffered a defeat during their games on Saturday, and a few of the squads learned their fate in the upcoming playoffs.
The sixth-grade Durango squad earned a big win against the Aztec Warriors, one of the best teams in the league, with a 20-18 double overtime victory.
Aztec scored first to break a 0-0 tie in the third quarter, but the Demons quickly answered with a rushing score to tie the game at 6-6. The score remained 6-6 at the end of regulation.
The teams traded touchdowns in the first overtime but both failed to convert the extra point, which sent the game to a second overtime tied at 12-12.
In the second overtime, Durango found the end zone and was successful on its 2-point kick to take a 20-12 advantage.
The Demons couldn’t keep the Warriors out of the end zone on their ensuing possession, but Aztec’s 2-point kick never got off the ground to end the game.
The win moved the Demons into the fifth seed for the playoffs, which begin this weekend.
Individual stats were not provided for the sixth-grade game.
The fifth-grade Demons secured the No. 1 seed in the playoff bracket after toppling the Farmington Titans 27-7 to close out the regular season.
The win kept the Demons’ unbeaten while also handing the Titans their first loss of the season.
Led by the offensive line, the Demons piled up 252 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Cole Pontine led the team with 175 yards on the ground and two TDs. Wyatt Bartel added the other rushing score.
Quarterback Linkin Griego hooked up with Malakai Baier for Durango’s other touchdown.
Coming into the game, the Titans had never been held to fewer than four touchdowns, but Durango was constantly in Farmington’s backfield and sacked the Titans seven times, with Elijah McCrady recording three sacks.
When the Titans got the ball away before the pressure got to the quarterback the result wasn’t any better, as Pontine intercepted Farmington three times.
Durango will face the Farmington Lobos in the first round of the playoffs at 9 a.m. Saturday at Doc Jones Field in Farmington.
Durango’s second grade team kept its winning streak alive with a hard-fought 13-7 win against the Farmington Crush.
Both teams committed multiple turnovers in the game, but the Demons’ defense, led by Isaiah McCrady and Darion Allen, was better at keeping the Crush out of the end zone.
Oliver Nez and Brayan Hernandez-Martinez came away with fumble recoveries during the game.
Great offensive blocking by Stetson Coulier, Rylan Ernst and Patrick Tucson opened up a hole for Jerad Lopez to score a rushing touchdown.
Lopez hit McCrady for the second TD.
The Demons will close out their season against Aztec on Saturday.
The fourth-grade team battled Bloomfield all game and came away with a 25-12 victory.
The Demons put together some great drives on offense behind the offensive line of Keaton Hankins-Benge, Lane Lyda, Ian Rodriguez, JJ Vickers and Titus Webb.
The big guys up front opened up holes for Tatum Rose, who finished the day with 123 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Nathan Beal and Vickers added TDs for the Demons. Vickers caught a pass from Braeden Brown and picked his way through the defense for a score, and Beal hauled in a TD pass from Rose for the Demons’ final score of the game.
Defensively, Jacob Martinez had four tackles and a sack, Cooper Mitchell had six tackles and Max Schtakleff had a fumble recovery.
The third-grade team had a bye and will take the No. 3 seed into the playoffs.
The Demons will face Aztec in the first round on Saturday.
kschneider@durangoherald.com
