Durango High School had one of its richest classes in football talent with this year’s seniors, and another Demon announced his plans to play at the next level Thursday.
Durango’s leading wide receiver Lucas Baken signed a National Letter of Intent to play football for Dordt College. The small, private, liberal arts college in Sioux Center, Iowa, competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ (NAIA) Great Plains Athletic Conference.
“This is definitely a milestone for me, and I’m really excited for this opportunity,” said Baken, son of Dante and Jessica Baken. “Football was always my first love. I couldn’t see my career ending this year, and I feel like I’ve made the right decision.”
Baken was named to this year’s All-Pikes Peak League First Team and All-State Second Team after leading the Colorado High School Activities Association’s Class 4A with 15 touchdown catches. He racked up a team-high 45 catches for 795 yards as the favorite target of quarterback Terrence Trujillo. The two were instrumental in the Demons’ best record and first home playoff game in over a decade.
“We had such a strong and dedicated senior class,” Baken said. “Football wasn’t a second sport for us. It wasn’t just for fun with us, it really meant something, and I know we’ll be watching from wherever we are and rooting for each other.”
Trujillo will play at Eastern New Mexico, while lineman Laitham Johnson took a recruited walk-on offer at Division I Wyoming.
Sioux Center, Iowa, is in the far northwestern part of the state close to the borders of Minnesota, South Dakota and Nebraska. It is a Christian institution, which was important to Baken.
“I just got a really good feeling there from the people I met and the coaches and players,” he said. “It is a really big Christian community, which appeals a lot to me. I wanted to go somewhere away from home so I could grow as a man, and I think this is a place that I can do that.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
