It seems like everywhere in Colorado, people have seen gloomy skies and lots of rain. Most people can avoid it by being in an office or at home. The Durango and Air Academy football teams couldn’t avoid the weather Friday night and battled in the rain at Air Academy.
Durango dominated from the beginning of the game. The Demons had 292 yards rushing and cruised to a 58-0 win.
The Demons moved to 5-3 overall and 2-1 in the 4A Soco 2 League with the win. Air Academy fell to 4-4 overall and 1-2 in the 4A Soco 2 League after the loss.
“It was wet, cold and sloppy football,” Durango football interim head coach Ryan Woolverton said. “They turned the ball over a bunch in that first half, gave us a lot of short fields and a couple defensive touchdowns. Offensively, we pretty much just kept the ball on the ground, with the exception of a few passes … it's what we expected to do, wet or dry. We thought we were a better team than them going in.”
Durango took a 23-0 lead after the first quarter and a 30-0 lead into halftime after senior quarterback Cully Feeney completed his only pass to junior wide receiver Will Zahradnik for an 18-yard touchdown. The Demons had a safety in the first half after a bad snap by Air Academy on a punt went out the back of the end zone.
Woolverton said the first half was more miserable with the rain coming down. It let up a little bit in the second half but the field was still super damp.
Durango led 44-0 after three quarters and scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Woolverton was happy to see Feeney participate in the run game after tweaking his ankle the previous week. Woolverton was also pleased with special teams in tough conditions.
Feeney finished 1-4 passing for 18 yards and a touchdown. He rushed it 13 times for 94 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Grady Feeney had 10 carries for 110 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Julius Arredondo had eight carries for 38 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Ryan Dugan had nine carries for 36 yards and a touchdown.
Durango recovered eight Air Academy fumbles.
The Demons play at Liberty on Friday at 6 p.m.
Boys soccer controls Fruita Monument in 6-0 win
The Durango boys soccer team bounced back after a frustrating tie against Grand Junction to dominate Fruita Monument 6-0 at home on Saturday.
With the win, the Demons improved to 10-2-2 overall and 7-1-1 in the 5A/4A Southwestern League. Fruita Monument fell to 0-13 overall and 0-9 in league play.
“We've been working a lot on just playing simple, moving the ball and then letting the ball do the work,” Durango boys soccer head coach Sean Ackerman said. “For the most part, in that game, we did that, but we could have seen a lot more of that. It could have been a little more emphatic on the score line, but overall, it's not about the score line, it's about the performance. We did a good job of just stepping in the right direction.”
Junior forward Dylan Burns scored all three of his goals in the first half for a 3-0 Demons lead at half, including a beautiful strike from about 25 yards out.
“What I love about Dylan is he's not a selfish player, but if it’s the right action, he takes it,” Ackerman said.
Senior midfielder Mavrick Rodriguez, junior midfielder Jonas Hughes and senior midfielder Patrick Fulmer each had goals in the second half.
The conditions were slick on the Durango turf but the Demons had been practicing in those conditions all week, so they were used to it, according to Ackerman.
Ackerman was happy with his defense and called it the best defense in the league.
Durango closes out the regular season a game at Montrose on Thursday at 4 p.m. Ackerman is happy about how his team has progressed and has confidence in his group going into the playoffs.
Volleyball loses 3-0 at Montrose
The Durango volleyball team has had an up-and-down season. Since starting the season 3-0, the Demons haven’t put together more than two wins in a row.
This trend continued as Durango lost at Montrose on Friday 3-0. The Demons fell to 9-8 overall and 3-6 in the 4A/5A Southwestern League after their 25-21, 25-21, 25-20 loss. Montrose improved to 13-4 overall and 8-2 in the 4A/5A Southwestern League with the win.
Senior Avery Rike had nine kills for the Demons. Junior Hadyn Neiman also had nine kills. Senior setter Eva Stewart had 20 assists.
Durango plays at Bayfield on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
