The Durango High School football team will have to be road warriors early this season, and they’ll be traveling to a familiar destination this week.
The Demons’ schedule and field renovations forced three consecutive road games to start the year, and, after last week’s big 21-20 upset win at Delta, they’ll look to build on a great start with another win at Aztec.
“This is always a big game for us no matter what the records are,” Durango head coach David Vogt said. “It’s a great rivalry. These guys know each other from YAFL, and we see them in 7-on-7 all summer, so both teams want to beat each other up, and we all have great respect for one another.”
The Tigers (0-1) were dealt a tough draw to start their season and lost 64-20 at home to Los Lunas. The Demons can’t be too confident, however, as Aztec was beaten up by highly regarded Los Lunas running back and University of Michigan recruit O’Maury Samuels.
“We knew we had our hands full with the Los Lunas running back,” Aztec head coach Matt Steinfeldt said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “Every week in football you try to move on from the last game as quickly as possible, especially when it is a lopsided loss. It showed us how we stack up and where we need to improve.”
Aztec gave up over 400 rushing yards in the season opener, and the Demons (1-0) have some weapons of their own that can eat up yardage in a hurry.
Explosive Durango junior Gavin Mestas was all over the field in last week’s win at Delta. Mestas had 104 receiving yards and a touchdown on offense. He also had a 99-yard kick return and returned his first of two interceptions on defense for a touchdown.
“Gavin Mestas is certainly a player we have to focus on,” Steinfeldt said. “He had all of their points last week and scored in all three phases of the game. When you face a guy like that, you want to contain him and try to make everyone else beat you.”
The Demons and senior quarterback Peyton Woolverton will try to get Mestas the ball as often as possible. Woolverton was sharp in his first game as the Durango starter as he completed 12-of-25 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown, a 42-yard pass to Mestas.
DHS will rotate bodies in and out of the backfield with sophomore Dawson Marcum getting most of the carries and Travis Vontersch picking up some of the workload as well. Though they didn’t provide much of a punch in the first game, Coach Vogt is always intent on winning the battle up front and wearing out the opponents with the running game.
“One-hundred and fifty yards a game is what we want to produce with our running game,” Vogt said. “I don’t know if it was just first game jitters or poor technique, but the 43 yards we gained last week was a bit embarrassing for the guys.”
The Durango defense came up big in the second half at Delta. They held the Panthers scoreless for all but two minutes of the second half and picked off Delta quarterback Kole Roberts three times en route to victory. They’ll be hunting for more in Aztec with what looks to be a pass-happy Tigers team.
The Demons will have to key in on Aztec junior wide receiver Sebastian McNeal, who caught 10 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
Junior quarterback Cody Smith started last week for Aztec and senior Kyler Duggins took over in the second half. Though they were down early and forced to commit to the passing game, the Tigers seemed comfortable spreading the offense and slinging the football around. The two quarterbacks combined for 429 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
“We have to get used to winning these games on the road,” Vogt said. “If we get some confidence on the road, that’s huge come playoff time because those are the games that decide how far we’ll go.”
Bayfield (0-1) at Bloomfield, N.M. (0-1)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Bobcats Stadium at Bloomfield High School, New Mexico
Listen Live: KLJH 107.1 FM
Twitter: @jlivi2
More Info: The defending Class 2A state champion Bayfield Wolverines will hit the road and travel out of the state for a second consecutive week. After suffering a 19-0 loss to San Juan of Blanding, Utah, the Wolverines are set to face the Bloomfield Bobcats of New Mexico.
Bayfield struggled offensively in the shutout a week ago, as turnovers and a failure to convert on third down set the team back. Senior quarterback Josh Westrbook along with running backs David Hawkins, Carl Heide and Jesse Westbrook will look to get the running game going, but it will come against Bloomfield junior linebacker Adam Aguirre, who totaled 18 tackles in a 42-6 loss at Belen High School (N.M.) a week ago.
Defensively, the Wolverines will need to stop the passing attack of senior quarterback Brendon Charley, who passed for 129 yards, one touchdown and one interception a week ago. The Bobcats also used eight running backs a week ago, giving the Wolverines a lot of different packages to be ready for this week.
After losing their first game since 2014, the Wolverines will look to get the 2016 season turned around in a hurry.
Ignacio (0-1) at Crownpoint, N.M. (1-0)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Crownpoint, New Mexico
Listen Live: KSUT 91.3 FM
Twitter: @jlivi2
More Info: The Ignacio Bobcats proved they could score during Zero Week. The next task is to keep the opponents out of the end zone.
The Bobcats fell 52-16 at Ellicott last week in a game that grew convincingly lopsided midway through the second quarter. The team also had a breakdown in composure, as a small fight broke out in the first half.
This week, Ignacio will face a Crownpoint team coming off a 46-20 win at Wingate. Crownpoint is a small team with only 23 players on the roster, so the Bobcats added depth this season could weigh the odds in their favor.
Ignacio is searching for its first win since Sept. 26, 2014, and this could be the team’s best chance at a victory since.
jfries@durangoherald.com
If you go
Who:
Durango at Aztec
What:
High school football
Where:
Fred Cook Memorial Stadium, Aztec, New Mexico
When:
7 p.m. Friday
Listen Live:
KKDG 99.7 FM, KRWN 92.5 FM
Twitter:
@The7thFreezer
