Denver South didn’t pass often, but the Rebels made it count when they did.
Tyson Purifoy threw for just 81 yards, but two of his passes went for touchdowns, including one after a long kickoff return, and eighth-seeded Denver South held off No. 9 Durango 36-26 on Saturday in the first round of the CHSAA Class 4A football playoffs in Denver.
Durango twice rallied from two scores down to cut the lead to a single score. Lawrence Mayberry’s 41-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and a two-point conversion pass from Jeremy Szura to Casey Dunlap trimmed the lead to 21-14 after the Rebels held a 21-6 advantage at halftime.
Zachary Lindsay’s touchdown run to open the fourth quarter capped a drive kept alive by an untimely unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Durango and pushed the lead back out to 28-14. DHS responded with Szura’s 11-yard touchdown run but missed the extra point to trail 28-20.
Durango then tried an onside kick with 8 minutes, 28 seconds to play, but the Rebels recovered.
Purifoy then would all but ice the game on the next drive with a quarterback sneak for a touchdown followed by a Denver South two-point conversion to push the lead to 36-20.
Isiah Mayberry’s touchdown run cut the lead to 36-26 before a failed conversion run, and DHS recovered the ensuing onside kick with 3 minutes, 20 seconds to play. But a turnover on downs followed to cap Durango’s strong first season under head coach David Vogt at 8-3.
Purifoy and the Rebels (9-2) hurt Durango just enough through the passing game to make a difference. He hit Mike Johnson for a 60-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead in the second quarter before capping the first half with a touchdown pass to Metise Moore, which was set up by a long kickoff return to the DHS 10 yard line.
Szura threw for 91 yards but completed just 3-of-13 passes as the Demons had several near misses through the air. One of the completions, however, went for a 60-yard touchdown to Daniel Gustavson for Durango’s first score of the game in the second quarter.
The Rebels, who will travel to face top-seeded Montrose next week, had 322 total yards, including 241 on the ground as they scored enough after halftime to hold off a DHS rally. The Demons were hampered defensively in the fourth quarter after Caleb Lloyd was disqualified after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and with Isiah Mayberry playing through an illness according to 99.7 KPTE FM.
The Demons ran for 168 yards and finished with 259 total yards.
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