In an emotionally-charged weekend of the Durango Young America Football League season, the sixth-grade team came out with a 39-0 win against Aztec, while the rest of the Demon teams went 3-1 in Week 4.
At the sixth-grade level, both sides participated in a pre-game ceremony to honor the memory of Kristen Dugan, the mother of two Demon players. The Demons tore up the field in the 39-0 win, as they totaled 248 yards of offense. Ryan Dugan had the biggest day of all, as he scored a touchdown, intercepted a pass and had four tackles. Cole Pontine found the end zone three times, while Cully Feeney, Linkin Griego and Dugan gave Durango scores of their own. On defense, the Demons shut down the Aztec offense with two turnovers. Mike Chavez added a second interception. Pontine and Owen Arias had five tackles, while Wyatt Bartel and Gage Voiles had four. The Demons will travel to Kirtland where they will play at 5 p.m Saturday.
The Durango third-grade team had its fourth consecutive shutout performance with a 12-0 win against the Farmington Crush to improve to 4-0. Two first-half fumbles helped secure a win for the Demons. Durango pinned Farmington inside their own 3-yard line and the Demons recovered a fumble. Jerad Lopez scored on a 3-yard quarterback sneak. A few plays later, Durango forced another fumble, as Malique Rodriguez ran 30 yards for the scoop-and-score touchdown to give the Demons a 12-0 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Demons defensive line continued to hold firm against the Crush, as Stetson Coulier, Oliver Nez, Joseph O’Brien, Darion Allen and Sergio Lucas-Herrera gave up minimal yards. Durango will take on Bloomfield at 1 p.m. Saturday at Doc Jones Field in Farmington.
The Demon fourth-graders were not so lucky against a team from Farmington in a 13-0 shutout loss against the Herd. In a rematch from last year’s third-grade championship, the same result held as the Herd came out on top. Jude Alderton was all over the field on defense with 12 tackles, while Grady Feeney and Tyler Dugan had 10 tackles each. Dugan also made two crucial fourth-down stops for the Demon defense. Feeney led the offense with a season-high 10 completed passes, as Tyler Hoerl and Blaze Aguilar had three receptions each. The Demons will look to get back in the win column with a trip to Cortez at 3 p.m. Saturday.
The second-graders defeated Aztec 19-0. MJ Keo had two touchdowns, and Wyler Stewart added a third. Colton Winn and Caleb Duran led the defense with the shutout and only allowed one first down all game. The Demons will play Bloomfield in Kirtland at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Finally, at the fifth-grade level, Durango handled Cortez 13-0. After a scoreless first quarter, Brady Hoerl made the game’s first big play, as he returned an interception to the 5-yard line. Turnovers were the theme of the afternoon, as the Demons forced three on the day. In addition to Hoerl’s interception, Colton Taylor and Lane Lyda came up with fumble recoveries, while Steven Gallegos finished with 12 tackles. The Demons will visit Farmington at 5 p.m. Saturday when they will play the Panthers at Doc Jones Field.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
