The Durango High School football team broke free from a three-game losing streak in a big way Friday night.
The Demons got back to their dominant ways on defense and forced three turnovers in the first half to help them to a 39-13 victory against Sierra, which was Durango’s first road win of the season, in Colorado Springs.
DHS head coach David Vogt said the early takeaways gave the Demons a boost that carried over to the offense.
“It’s momentum. The momentum changed and we were more confident taking shots and being aggressive offensively,” he said. “It’s huge getting those turnovers and being able to go back on offense and have that momentum swing.”
Durango (4-3, 1-1 South Central League) junior running back Dawson Marcum gutted the Stallions (1-6, 0-2 SCL) with big plays and two touchdowns in the first half.
During the Demons’ first offensive possession of the game, Marcum broke a big run from near midfield down to Sierra’s 11-yard line. A couple plays later, he carried a Stallion defender into the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown with 2 minutes, 26 seconds left in the first quarter.
On the first play of Sierra’s ensuing possession, the Demons forced a fumble that sophomore John Dosch jumped on.
A couple plays later, Marcum was back in the end zone, taking a pitch from freshman quarterback Jordan Woolverton, who was starting his first game at QB, at Sierra’s 17-yard line and scampered in for another score. Durango converted a 2-point conversion with a pass from Max Hyson to Gavin Mestas to make it 15-0 with 2:01 remaining in the first.
“The offensive line has just worked so hard the last couple of weeks to re-establish that running game and credit to them,” Vogt said. “They played really well and worked hard. They had a lot of double teams and pancake (blocks), and when you do that there are going to be some big holes.”
The Demons came up with their first interception during Sierra’s ensuing possession when Hyson snagged the ball out of the air and returned it 39 yards for a score that made it 22-0 with 1 minute left in the opening quarter.
Middle linebacker Manasseh Brockus came away with the other interception in the second quarter.
After a scoreless second quarter, the Demons got back in the end zone on their first possession of the third quarter when Woolverton connected with Mestas for a 24-yard TD that extended the lead to 29-0.
Vogt said he was happy with Woolverton’s first start at QB and thought the freshman handled the situation well.
He added that the QB change gives the Demons a boost in the backfield with senior Max Hyson, who started the season at QB, moving to running back, the position he played so well for the Demons a year ago.
“He’s just so versatile. He’s just a football player,” Vogt said of Hyson.
“To spread him out and use him at so many different positions, to throw him the ball, hand him the ball, how tough he runs, he’s just a great football player for us and it’s awesome to be able to move him around to so many different positions.”
Late in the third quarter, Brockus broke through the middle of the line and scored to make it 36-0.
The Demons added to their lead in the fourth with a 21-yard field goal from Harrison Kairalla.
Sierra avoided the shutout with a TD when a Durango defender fell down on the play and allowed quarterback Andre Clemons to find Kayvaughn Wilburn for an 18-yard score with 5:30 remaining in the game.
The Stallions added one more TD with about 1:30 to play. The extra point attempt was no good.
After four road games, with a bye week in the middle of them, the Demons will finally be back on their home field next week for their homecoming game against Pueblo Central (1-6, 0-2 SCL).
“It’s gonna be great to have that home-crowd energy,” Vogt said.
“You’re going to see a different team, an excited team and an energized team, especially playing on homecoming.
“It’ll be a fun game next week.”
kschneider@durangoherald.com
