For the second consecutive game, the Durango High School football team took on a defending Colorado High School Activities Association state champion from last season. For the second consecutive game, the outcome came down to the wire.
In the Demons’ previous matchup, the offense and defense made the plays in overtime needed to win an instant La Plata County classic against defending 2A champion Bayfield, 14-6. Friday’s matchup against defending 3A champion Pueblo East (5-1, 1-0 3A South Central) was heading in the wrong direction for Durango for the first three quarters, but the Demons did more than put up a fight. DHS scored 20 unanswered points to take a lead with a little more than 2 minutes left in the game, but it was the Eagles this time that made the big play in the final minute.
On a third-and-1 play at the Demons’ 29 yard-line, Pueblo East’s Josh Tellez broke through the Durango defensive line and rumbled all the way for the game-winning score.
“When that play developed, all I was looking for was the first down,” Tellez said. “When I saw some open grass in front of me, and I saw I was around the 5-yard line, I wasn’t going down for nothing.”
It was a tough ending for Durango, which had the defending champions on the ropes after quarterback Peyton Woolverton executed a masterful late-fourth-quarter drive to give his team the lead.
It was a long road back for the Demons, and a gritty effort to get back in the game. They trailed 10-0 at halftime, and when Eagles quarterback Luc Andrada connected on an 86-yard touchdown pass to Luke Padula on the first possession of the second half, it looked like Durango would be lucky to keep the game interesting.
Not only did they make it interesting, they threw a series of haymakers that nearly knocked the champs out. Max Hyson’s 42-yard touchdown run cut the deficit to 17-7, and when Woolverton found him again halfway through the fourth quarter on third-and-goal from the 8-yard line, the lead was cut to 17-14.
The Demons’ (3-3, 0-1 3A South Central) defensive line and linebackers held the battering ram backfield of Pueblo East in check, and another defensive stop gave the Demons the ball late in the final quarter with the chance to win. That’s when Woolverton made his mark.
The senior orchestrated a masterful 75-yard drive in which he was 6-for-7 after hitting Gavin Mestas on a post route for a 29-yard touchdown pass to give the Demons a lead with 2½ minutes remaining. Woolverton finished the game 24-for-35 for 249 yards and two touchdowns.
“It was such a great comeback, lots of heart from our guys,” said Woolverton, son of Kathleen and Ryan Woolverton. “Pueblo East was a force to be reckoned with, and we had them on the ropes. A loss is never a good thing, and we still have a lot of work to do, but the line in front of me and the guys catching the ball were great. We know we can play with anyone.”
On the final possession, the Eagles chipped away and faced a third down and short on the DHS 29 when Tellez took off for the winning score.
“I feel like we let them off the hook,” Durango head coach David Vogt said. “It just shows who and where we are as a program. I was so proud of Peyton and our offensive line who were just grinding all game against a tough, tough team. Sometimes getting down two scores leads kids to pack it up, and we didn’t do that which is something I’m super proud of.”
Durango will try to get back to its winning ways Saturday, Oct. 15, against Sierra.
jfries@durangoherald.com
