Winter sports are here and many multisport athletes have shifted their focus, but it’s not too late to look back at Durango High School’s best fall athletes.
No Durango fall sports teams won state championships, but most teams made the state playoffs, with football going the furthest, with their season ending in the state quarterfinals. There were plenty of quality athletes on these teams who deserve recognition before fully flipping the page over to winter sports.
With Durango’s isolation in the southwest corner of the state, it can be tough to gauge how these athletes compare to athletes outside of Durango’s usual La Plata County and Western Slope foes. This article should help with comparing Durango’s athletes to the best in the rest of Colorado.
Here’s all the Durango High School athletes who finished inside the top 15 in their respective classes in key statistical categories in their respective sports:
Grady Feeney in passing yards, passing touchdowns, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, total yards
It’s not a shock to see Durango’s do-it-all junior quarterback in the top 15 of many key statistical categories. Feeney was a massive reason the Demons were once again successful this season.
After his brother, Cully, graduated last year, there was a question at the quarterback position heading into the 2025 season. Feeney quickly answered that question with his dual-threat ability.
Feeney throws a good deep ball and connected many times on deep shots to his talented and experienced receiving core. Therefore, it’s not a surprise to see Feeney finish 11th in 4A with 1,701 passing yards (141.8 per game) and tied-fourth in 4A with 22 passing touchdowns. Feeney also didn’t put the ball in harm’s way that much and only finished with six interceptions.
Two examples of how Feeney consistently found his receivers were that he had passing touchdowns in 11 out of 12 games and finished with a completion percentage above 50% in nine out of 12 games.
On the ground, Feeney was a powerful rusher who wasn’t afraid to put his shoulder down and run over defenders. He also had the speed to get past bigger defenders and rush quickly through holes.
Feeney finished inside the top 15 in 4A with 15 rushing scores and was inside the top 15 of 4A with 976 yards rushing before the 4A state championship game on Saturday.
The junior stud finished with 100+ rushing yards in five games and at least two rushing touchdowns in five games. His dual-threat ability is exemplified by Feeney ranking fourth in 4A with 2,677 total yards before the 4A state championship game on Saturday (Palmer Ridge quarterback Cole Harris would need about 300 total yards to pass him).
Next year will be a change for Feeney without his running back and three of his top receivers. These numbers may go up as the Demons rely on him even more in his senior year.
Gus Halls in rushing yards
Durango’s rushing attack could’ve been good just with Feeney, but the Demons had one of the best two-man rushing attacks in 4A with Feeney and Halls.
After sitting out last season, Halls returned and finished his senior season with 1,036 yards rushing, good for 11th in 4A before the 4A state championship on Saturday.
Similar to Feeney, Halls has a strong frame, and he could pick up tough yards up the middle and use his speed on the outside. He rushed for 100+ yards in five games this season.
Durango’s lucky it has Feeney back next season, because Halls’ graduating leaves a big void in the backfield; Halls had 145 carries, and the next Durango rusher had 15.
Dylan Burns in field goals made, PAT’s made, kick scoring, average yards per punt
It’s not unusual for high school football teams to have shaky kicking and have to go for it on fourth downs or punt in most scenarios. That’s what made Burns’ senior season such a luxury for the Demons.
Durango was in scoring range anywhere around the 30-yard line with Burns’ powerful right leg; when he missed, it usually wasn’t because of distance. When Durango’s offense was stuffed in its own half, Burns could bail it out by booting punts deep into the opposing territory.
Burns finished his senior season with five field goals made, good for tied-third in 4A before the state championship game. Durango’s offense was proficient enough for him to finish eighth in 4A with 46 PATs, and he finished sixth in 4A with 61 points. He also finished sixth in 4A with 37.63 yards per punt.
Durango will have a huge hole to fill at kicker and punter without Burns, which could swing some close games next year.
Seb Tripp in kickoff returns
Durango’s wide receivers were strong and fast. Tripp showed this off with his kick returns. The senior wide receiver finished eighth in 4A with an average return of 36 yards with a long of 46.
Dawson McInnes in kickoff returns
The Demons had one of the best kickoff return units in the state because of the senior duo of Tripp and McInnes. Both players were capable of busting a big return for a score.
McInnes, like Tripp, has a powerful frame, could break tackles and run around defenders if needed. He and Tripp probably could’ve been higher in the rankings if it weren’t for a few silly holding penalties. McInnes finished 11th in 4A with an average kickoff return of 31.29 yards.
Quinn Harrison in saves
Durango boys soccer had a below-average year for the program’s standards and failed to win 10 games in a full season for the first time since 2013. However, Harrison still did what he could in his final season of a great four-year career as a starter.
Harrison finished 14th in 4A with 100 saves. The number of saves he finished with was a double-edged sword for him and the program.
On one hand, it shows his experience and skill stopping that many shots. On the other hand, the Durango defense struggled for most of the year, and that left him susceptible to more shots than he and the program would’ve probably liked.
Harrison had a great career for Durango and whoever plays for the Demons between the two posts will have big shoes to fill.
Avery Clair in home runs, slugging
The Durango High School softball team had its best season in over a decade, and Clair was a big reason why.
At over 6-feet, Clair was a powerful hitter who was a threat to blast a home run everytime she got to the plate. This is shown in her finished tied-fourth in 4A with nine home runs, which is more impressive when considering she played the least amount of games and had fewest at-bats of any player in the top five of the home run rankings.
It’s not a surprise that Clair was sixth in 4A in slugging at 1.100. Slugging is a statistic that measures a player’s power by dividing a player’s bases by their at-bats. A home run equals four bases touched, so Clair clearly hit plenty of bases this season.
Durango will return its top eight hitters, including its top hitter in Clair, next season. She’ll be one of the main reasons Durango advances deeper into the playoffs next year.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
