Welcome to the Pikes Peak League, Durango High School.
The Durango Demons will begin play in their new Class 4A league at 7 p.m. Friday night when the Liberty Lancers come to town on homecoming night in Durango.
DHS will enter the game fresh off its first home loss in head coach David Vogt’s short time leading the team. It came at the hands of No. 2 Montrose, a former league opponent, in a 44-27 loss.
“Man, first loss at home. Hopefully we can stop from doing that again,” Vogt said after the team’s loss to the Indians.
DHS (2-3) will get a great chance at a home league win against the Lancers (2-3). The Demons’ other two home league games will come against Air Academy (2-3) and No. 1 Pine Creek (5-0).
Liberty has a balanced attack offensively. The Lancers average 133.2 rushing yards and just more than 100 yards passing per game this season.
Lancers’ junior quarterback Hunter Wierenga has a familiar name for Durango sports fans. His older sister, Kyleigh, is a freshman defender/midfielder on the Fort Lewis College women’s soccer team.
Wierenga has completed 43.4 percent of his passes this year for 547 yards, four touchdowns and one interception through five games.
Comparatively, DHS junior quarterback Terrence Trujillo has completed 58 percent of his passes for an average of 201 yards per game and seven touchdowns to just one interception through four games behind center.
Trujillo has developed a good rapport with receivers Lucas Baken and Justin Marcum, and he has hit Marcum for 70-plus-yard touchdown plays in consecutive games.
“That’s growing and getting better every week,” Vogt said of the connection between his quarterback and receivers. “They’re really starting to get on the right page, and it is really something special out there.”
It is the Demons’ running game that has taken a bit to get going. Lawrence Mayberry has been the most productive of the backs with more than 100 yards two weeks ago against Farmington and more than 80 yards and a big touchdown run last week against Montrose. Steele Spies also had a few quality carries late last week against Montrose.
“We have got three great running backs, and the third guy doesn’t even get reps, but he probably should,” Vogt said, referencing Jalon Malone as the third-string back. “Our running game is a good compliment to our pass, and we have to continue to mix it up and be balanced.”
Liberty, who is 1-1 on the road this season, is led by senior running back Maverick Mercado-Wilson, who leads the team with 158 yards on 34 carries. Another senior running back, Josh Burns, has a team-high three rushing touchdowns to go with 147 yards.
Liberty has three wide receivers over 150 yards receiving this year, giving them an average of around 30 yards per game. Ryder Cuppett leads the team with two receiving touchdowns to go with 18 receptions.
As of last week, Vogt had not seen film on the new league opponent, but he was anxious to see what Liberty looks like as the Demons get ready to host a slew of Front Range teams in the Pikes Peak League.
“I’m anxious to see what they bring to the table,” he said. “I told the kids after the (Montrose) game that our warmup games are over. Obviously they all count, but these are the games that are really, really important. Everything we have done is a learning point up to here. We have to correct some things and make sure we are doing everything right.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
