The Durango High School football team is coming off a bye week, which came at the perfect time this season.
It has been four weeks since the team felt the joy of a victory, and the extra week off gave Durango (3-2) more time to prepare for its 3A South Central League opener against the three-time defending Class 3A state champion Pueblo East on Friday night in Pueblo. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Eagles (0-5) haven’t been their dominant selves this season and are still searching for their first win in 2017, but the Demons know it’s a team that cannot be taken lightly.
“They’re the three-time defending state champs, so they’ll have a swagger to them. I know they’re 0-5, but they’re probably the best 0-5 team in the state this year,” Durango head coach David Vogt said of Pueblo East. “They’ve played some good teams. And after seeing us lose to a 2A team, they can’t be very scared of us, but we scared them last year. We’re hoping to come out firing on all cylinders and really show them the team that we really are.”
The bye week allowed the Demons to implement a few changes to its starting lineup by shuffling some players around to get more favorable matchups. The introduction of new packages could open up more opportunities for playmakers on offense and bolster the depth chart with players returning from injury.
Some of the changes to the lineup come on the offensive line with Brian Elvidge, who is returning from a knee injury, being plugged in at center.
“He just came off a knee injury, and he’s really doing a great job for us there,” Vogt said. “And we moved a couple of guys on the offensive line, so hopefully, we’ll get back to rushing for 200 or 300 yards again.”
Also back to help the running game is sophomore Everett Howland, who broke his right index finger earlier in the season and was able to keep playing in the secondary on defense with his hand wrapped in a cast. Now the pins that were keeping his finger straight have been taken out and he’ll be able to resume his role on offense.
“My finger is good, and the team, I’ve been watching practice and they’ve been putting in a lot of work,” Howland said. “You can tell a lot of the seniors are taking ownership. You can tell they’re motivated to win and the team is ready.”
The Demons will have to be ready for Pueblo East. A big part of the team’s focus during the bye has been on staying mentally sharp and not taking plays off against the Eagles.
Pueblo East presents a balanced offense that doesn’t lean heavily on the run or pass. Through their five games, the Eagles have rushed the ball 149 times compared to 136 pass attempts, and Vogt said a big key to the Demons stopping Pueblo East’s offense will be avoiding fatigue.
“It’s about not burning yourself out. We have a bunch of guys playing both ways, and when they get tired in the game mental mistakes happen,” Vogt said. “We’re trying to make sure they’re staying sharp, and having that extra week of film study, if they don’t call out the play based on (Pueblo East’s) formation, I’m going to be pretty upset because we’ve spent a lot of time on that. We should recognize what they’re doing offensively and be flying around to the ball pretty fast.”
A win against the Eagles would set the Demons up nicely for a run at the South Central League title and a home playoff game next month.
“We’re real hungry. Pueblo East has won state a few years in a row and we’re ready to knock them off for the first time in a while,” Howland said. “I know we’re ready to get this conference championship and I think we can do it if we compete like I know we can because we’re a good team. The two losses were two hard losses because we were a few plays off. But we fixed all those mistakes and I think we can beat all the teams we play now.”
kschneider@durangoherald.com
If you go
Who: Durango at Pueblo East
What: South Central League football
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: CSU-Pueblo Thunderdome, Pueblo
Listen live: KKDG 99.7 FM
Twitter: @karltschneider
