The Durango High School football team won a state title last year, and its new head coach, Todd Casebier, also won a 3A state title in the spring season at Rifle High School.
With those accolades, the team knows it has a target on their back and everybody will be shooting to take them down. Durango was the No. 2 team in CHSAANow.com’s pre-season rankings, behind Roosevelt.
“It’s going to be a dogfight all year,” said senior linebacker Cole Matava, noting that even at a recent 7-on-7 camp it felt like they had a target on their backs.
“They had a historic season last year,” Casebier said. “They know the focus and the work ethic that it takes. On the other side of the coin, we have to have other guys step up and do their part. I’m excited for this next group. They have a ton of potential.”
One big hole that team will need to fill is at quarterback, with Jordan Woolverton now playing for the University of Colorado.
“The quarterback switch is going pretty well,” said senior running back Nate Messier. “Tyler (Harms) is picking up everything. Actually everyone we’ve got is stepping up and doing well.”
The team has bought in to what Casebier’s been coaching, which has helped the transition.
“The coaching switch has gone pretty well,” senior Will Knight said. “Everybody is on board with Casebier, and he’s been working us hard.”
“It’s a good thing to have Casebier,” Messier said. “He knows what it’s like to come back from a season winning a title.”
Casebier, who will call the offensive plays for the Demons, has added some new plays to the team’s offense and also implemented a new defense.
“I feel really good about our offensive plan; it’s different than anything they’ve done,” Casebier said. “It’s multi-formational, and I think we can present challenges for defenses.”
“We still have some stuff from last year, and it flows pretty well with all of our plays,” Messier said. “I’m excited. We have some good run game stuff.”
“What he’s inputting is awesome for us – five yards at a time and a cloud of dust,” Matava said.
Casebier is also aided by assistant coaches Ryan Woolverton, MIke Sutter. Ron Morris, Eric Roark and Justin Bates.
“The coaches are the backbone of everything we do,” Casebier said.
While the team will have a new defensive scheme, it returns the vast majority of its defensive players that stymied teams last season.
“We have a very strong defense,” Knight said.
This weekend, the team will get to hit somebody besides themselves when they scrimmage both Palisade and Fruita Monument.
“The scrimmage will be a good indicator,” Knight said.
Durango’s non-league schedule includes contests against Pagosa Springs, Aztec, Montrose, Farmington and Piedra Vista. The Demons will then compete in a new conference, the 3A Southern 1 league, against Harrison, Discovery Canyon, Mitchell, Sand Creek and Sierra.
“Going into a new league, we don’t know what we’re facing,” Matava said.
While the team would like to win another state title, Messier said they’re just going to take it one game at a time.
The team’s first game will be at home Aug. 27 against Pagosa Springs.
The Demons, however, aren’t looking past Fruita and Palisade.
“I’m excited to play someone else,” Casebier said. “It will be the first step against some quality opponents.”
colivas@durangoherald.com
