On the last weekend of the regular season, the Durango High School football team will face a stiff test Friday against a new league foe in a matchup that will have major playoff implications.
Durango will head to Colorado Springs for a matchup against a very similar team, with an identical record, and the Demons will have to beat Harrison High School to take sole possession of second place in its first year in the Colorado High School Activities Association’s 3A South Central League.
The teams have identical records at 6-3 overall and 3-1 in league play. DHS is playing its best football at the right time, outscoring opponents 123-20 in the last three games after losing a heartbreaker against 3A’s third-ranked team, South Central League champion and defending state champion Pueblo East on Oct. 7.
“We want to see our guys getting better every week, and we’re definitely heading in the right direction,” Durango head coach David Vogt said. “We lost some games early, but the guys are executing on both sides of the ball and we just keep getting better. I think we’re peaking at the right time.”
Like Durango, Harrison’s only league loss came at the hands of Pueblo East in a 27-21 setback last week.
Meanwhile, on senior day last Saturday at DHS, Durango won a physical battle with Pueblo County, 34-14. The Demons will have to bring the intensity on defense once again because Harrison has a serious weapon on offense in sophomore running back Aumiere Shedrick.
Shedrick is the workhorse for the Panthers, and the stout Demons defense will need to contain him if they hope to win their fourth in a row. The sophomore averages 135 yards on the ground per game and has already racked up 12 rushing touchdowns this season.
Shedrick’s mark of 1,220 rushing yards through nine games is fourth-best in all of the 3A classification and more than Durango has rushed for as an entire team this season.
The Panthers are also led by a sophomore under center with quarterback Orlando Westbrook. The dual-threat QB has rushed for four touchdowns this season and passed for 10. Though he has completed 60 percent of his passes, Harrison prefers to keep it on the ground. Westbrook hasn’t attempted 20 or more passes since the team’s second game of the season.
That style of offense plays into the hands of the rugged and rough Durango defensive front. Collin Barkley, Jacob Bourdon, Manasseh Brockus, Richard Hall, Max Hyson and company have been pounding ball-carriers all season, and they’ll be looking to get as many hits on the young Panthers duo as possible. The senior-heavy group can be dominant in the trenches. Together, they have been taking opponents down for years, and they want to keep playing for as long as possible.
“I guess every game from here on out could potentially be the last game we play together,” Durango senior Richard Hall said after last week’s win.
“We’re going to play like every down could be our last. A lot of us won’t be lucky enough to play in college, so we’re going to leave it all on the field.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
If you go
Who:
Durango at Harrison
What:
Class 3A South Central League football
When:
5 p.m. Friday
Where:
Harrison High School, Colorado Springs
Listen Live:
KKDG 99.7 FM
Twitter:
@The7thFreezer
