This is the game that was circled on the schedule at the beginning of the season. It’s the matchup the Demons have been waiting for – their “measuring stick,” as Durango High School head coach David Vogt said after last week’s win.
Friday night’s football game between No. 5 Durango (7-0, 2-0 Pikes Peak League) and No. 1 Pine Creek (7-0, 2-0 PPL) is the ultimate test for a Demons team that has risen to the challenge time and again this season.
After a long drive to Colorado Springs, the Demons will be greeted by the two-time defending Colorado High School Activities Association Class 4A football state champions. The 47-13 Eagles victory last Thursday against Liberty extended the program’s winning streak to 32.
The last time the two teams matched up was a meeting Durango would like to forget. Pine Creek came to Durango and delivered a 56-0 thumping to the Demons before heading back to Colorado Springs and winning another state title.
However, this isn’t last year’s Durango Demons.
“I think we were a bit intimidated last year, but this team has no fear and this is the chance for us to show everyone in the state who we are and what we stand for,” Vogt said Thursday in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “Everything they’ve done and the winning streak they’ve put together makes us want to prepare and play that much harder.”
Last week, Durango celebrated its homecoming with a 48-35 victory over No. 7 Palmer Ridge. Though the final was a 13-point margin of victory, the Demons were ahead 41-14 heading into the final quarter. It was the team’s seventh win in a row.
Senior running back Lawrence Mayberry torched the opposing defense for 260 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Mayberry, son of George and Tonya Mayberry, has run over, around and through defenses all season and has rushed for more than 100 yards in each game. He’s gotten better every Friday that goes by, and last week’s performance was the shifty back’s best to date.
If the Demons are going to pull off the upset, a top priority will be limiting the production of Pine Creek’s Domann brothers. Junior quarterback Brock Domann has managed the Pine Creek offense well with 12 touchdowns to three interceptions. Brock’s older brother, University of Nebraska recruit JoJo Domann, is a force on both sides of the ball as wide receiver and safety.
He returned to play last week after sitting out a game with a high ankle sprain and caught four passes for 108 yards and a touchdown.
“JoJo single-handedly destroyed us last year,” Vogt said. “(The Domanns) are just hard-nosed, great football players. Their team is loaded with talent. They have a stud at every position.”
The Domann brothers’ chemistry will be rivaled on the other side by the chemistry of Durango quarterback Terrence Trujillo and wide receiver Lucas Baken. With two more touchdowns last week, the senior-to-senior connection has produced 11 touchdowns this season. None of the seven opponents the Demons have faced managed to prevent Baken from finding the end zone.
Trujillo has been fantastic at quarterback for the Demons. He’s thrown 19 touchdowns and only five interceptions and has added six touchdowns on the ground and 485 yards rushing. His athleticism was on display last week as he hurdled a Palmer Ridge defensive back on his way to the end zone for Durango’s first score of the game.
Pine Creek’s rushing attack averages 253 yards a game and is led by senior D’andre Toliver. Though Toliver leads the team with 481 yards on the ground, the Eagles have five players who have rushed for over 200 yards this season. The Durango defensive front line, led by Diego Arias, Max Hyson, Laitham Johnson and Jack Madden, that has been so dominant thus far will have to give their best effort to stop the Eagles.
“I told our guys on defense that their style of offense plays into our style of defense,” Vogt said. “I think it’s a great matchup and we have the opportunity to make a statement.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
If you go...
WHO: No. 5 Durango at No. 1 Pine Creek
WHAT: Pikes Peak League high school football
WHEN: 6 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Pine Creek High School, Colorado Springs
LISTEN LIVE: KKDG 99.7 FM
TWITTER: @The7thFreezer
