Friday night is senior night at Durango High School, and the group of football players being honored has been instrumental in the success of the No. 5-ranked team in the Colorado High School Activities Association’s 4A classification.
The seniors will close out an impressive regular season at 6 p.m. Friday against Rampart (5-4, 1-3 Pikes Peak League). The Demons’ seniors have carried the bulk of the weight this season and will certainly be missed when the final whistle blows on their high school football careers.
“This group has set the tempo all season, and they’ve given the younger kids the tools to be successful,” Durango head coach David Vogt said Thursday in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “I sat down with them after last year and told them how much I believe in them. I thought they could do great things this year if they continued to work as hard as they’ve worked. They’ve done it, and everyone else has reaped the benefits of their success.”
Rampart will make the long drive to Durango from Colorado Springs coming off a 35-0 loss to No. 1 Pine Creek. The Rams have lost four of their last five games after starting the season 4-0.
In the final game of the season last year, Rampart beat the Demons 31-21 in Colorado Springs.
“They’re a dangerous team,” Vogt said. “They have a big fullback who is tough to bring down and some other weapons, so we’ll have to be ready for that. They beat us last year, so we owe them one.”
Rampart is led by senior quarterback Parker Humphrey. He’s thrown for 907 yards and seven touchdowns but has been prone to turnovers with eight interceptions.
Running back Xavier Bishop-Falu has led the team in rushing with 728 yards and four touchdowns. Joseph Gums Jr., has eight rushing scores, and Clayton Hacker and Tyler Prejean both have six in a well-rounded rushing attack.
It’s no secret that this year’s Demons (8-1, 3-1 PPL) are a senior dominant group – and these seniors have been dominant more often than not.
Senior quarterback Terrence Trujillo has managed the offense like a veteran. He has thrown 20 touchdowns to seven interceptions in nine games and is also the team’s second leading rusher with 572 yards and six rushing touchdowns.
Trujillo has had an easier time navigating defensive secondaries that can’t afford to sit back in coverage when senior running back Lawrence Mayberry is in the backfield.
Mayberry has been the team’s work horse. He has run for more than 100 yards in eight of nine games, and he’s only gotten stronger as the season has progressed. Last week’s four-touchdown performance at Air Academy led the team to a 48-6 romp. Even more impressive from Mayberry was the game against No. 7 Palmer Ridge in which he tore up the Bears defense for 260 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He is fourth in CHSAA’s Class 4A with 1,228 rushing yards.
“He’s our little spark plug,” Vogt said. “We’re going to lean on him as often as possible, and when he’s running through people it opens up the rest of our offense.”
When the passing game opens up, senior wide receiver Lucas Baken does the damage. Baken is Trujillo’s main man on the outside and they’ve been nearly unstoppable this season. Baken has hauled in 12 touchdown catches in his senior season and has only been kept out of the end zone by No. 1 Pine Creek.
Baken and fellow senior wide receivers Kyle Duran and Daisun Fugate along with sophomore Gavin Mestas provide Trujillo plenty of options to choose from in the passing game.
In the Durango secondary, Mayberry leads the team in tackles, interceptions and sacks while senior defensive back James Brennan is tied for the team lead with three interceptions.
The seniors don’t just dominate the skill positions, they’re also the guys who do the dirty work on the interior. Laitham Johnson, Sterling Worley, Diego Arias and Jack Madden have overwhelmed opponents on offense and defense this season, making life easier for the rest of the Demons.
“They’re the difference makers,” Vogt said. “The guys on the line work so hard in the weight room and they’ve done a great job on both sides of the ball.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
If You Go
Who: Rampart at No. 5 Durango
What: Class 4A Pikes Peak League high school football
When: 6 p.m. Friday
Where: Durango High School
Listen Live: KKDG 99.7 FM
Twitter: @The7thFreezer
Senior Night
Durango High School Football Seniors
Sam Aber, LB/RB
Diego Arias, MLB/RB
Lucas Baken, WR
James Brennan, CB
Bryan Dunlop, C/DE/LS
Kyle Duran, WR/RB/FS
Daisun Fugate, CB/WR
Nick Jernigan, K
Vicente Jiminez, CB/RB
Laitham Johnson, DE/T
Jack Madden, DT/G
Lawrence Mayberry, LB/RB
Daniel Ortiz, G/NG
David Ortiz, DT
Austin Peterson, DE/T
Collin Thorburn, T
Terrence Trujillo, FS/QB
Sterling Worley, DE/G
Durango Herald
