Offense, defense, first quarter, fourth quarter – it doesn’t matter. Lawrence Mayberry made it clear Friday night he’s going to be on the field, and he’s going to outperform the opposition.
Mayberry did it all for Durango (3-0) in its 21-3 home win over Piedra Vista (2-1). He carried the ball 20 times for 120 yards and a touchdown, caught three passes for 20 yards, recorded two sacks, forced a fumble, and intercepted a pass at the goal line to end the Panthers’ last real hope at catching the home team.
“We knew (Piedra Vista) was a good team, they’re ranked No. 3 in Class 5A in New Mexico, so we knew it was going to be a battle,” said Mayberry, son of George and Tonya Mayberry. “They’re big up front, but we prepared good; we knew what we had to do, and we produced a win.”
It was a slow start for both teams, as neither team managed to score in the first quarter. The Demons looked to be the better team, as Piedra Vista’s offense couldn’t get anything going. The physical and fast Demons defense had Piedra Vista confused at the outset and didn’t allow a first down in the first quarter while forcing three punts.
With a slew of penalties and negative yardage plays, the Panthers went backwards in the first quarter, with a yardage total of -15 yards.
Durango took the lead early in the second quarter. Mayberry capped off an eight play, 40-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Demons a 7-0 lead.
Senior quarterback Terrence Trujillo had some trouble harnessing his emotions in the passing game, missing high and hard often. After a 39-yard field goal from Piedra Vista kicker Christian Chavez that made the score 7-3, Trujillo came right back and found his favorite target, senior Lucas Baken, for a 51-yard pass before halftime, extending the lead to 14-3. It was the duo’s fourth touchdown connection this season.
The second half featured smash-mouth running from Mayberry and Trujillo. Although he wasn’t very sharp passing the football, going 8-of-23 with 113 yards passing, the quarterback shredded the Panthers defense on the ground with 107 yards on 13 carries.
“Playing football is the best thing in the world, and when I’m out there I just get really excited,” said Trujillo, son of Geno and Nicole Trujillo. “My line blocked excellent (Friday) and good things were bound to happen.”
The only score of the second half came on some nifty trickery by the Demons. As Mayberry was wearing Piedra Vista’s defense out with one productive carry after another, Durango ran a reverse that saw the back pitch to the senior wide receiver Kyle Duran for a 52-yard touchdown run down the near sideline that put the game away.
“We knew their plays, and we studied them all week,” Mayberry said. “We worked hard all week, and this is what happens when you work hard. We executed all of it.”
Durango will Farmington High (3-0) at Hutchison Stadium at 7 p.m. next Friday.
jfries@durangoherald.com
