Durango High School winter sports teams are more than halfway through their seasons. League play is underway and playoffs will be here in no time.
Therefore, it’s a good time to look at where the girls basketball, boys basketball and hockey teams rank in their respective classes and what their playoff position would look like if the playoffs started today. All three teams are in a good spot to make the state playoffs and even host playoff games.
Girls basketball: The Durango High School girls basketball team has had a fantastic first part of its season and it shows with its ranking.
The Demons are 13-2 overall and 2-0 in the 6A/5A Southwestern League. Durango finished the season with 11 wins last year. It’s the program’s second-best start over 15 games in 15 years; the only better start was in 2022-2023 when the Demons started 14-1; that team went 23-3 overall and advanced to the state final four.
Durango is ranked fifth in 5A in the Colorado High School Activities Association Selection & Seeding Index. If the Demons finished fifth in the state, they’d have at least two home games in the 32-team 5A state playoffs if they got out of the first round.
A huge matchup is on the horizon for the Demons against Montrose on Friday. The Red Hawks are ranked seventh in 5A and are 14-1 overall. Durango has played some tough competition from New Mexico, but this will be its toughest test in Colorado’s 5A. So far, the best 5A team the Demons have faced is Pueblo East, which ranks 15th.
Other than Montrose, none of the remaining teams on the Demons’ schedule are ranked in the top 10 in 5A; Palisade is the closest at 18th and the Demons beat them 43-29 on Friday. Fruita Monument is ranked 26th in 6A at 8-6 overall.
Durango has a great shot of remaining around the top five in 5A for the rest of the season.
Boys basketball: The Durango boys basketball team is also off to a great start and is 11-4 overall and 2-0 in the 6A/5A Southwestern League. Durango won 11 games last year and lost in the first round of the 5A state playoffs.
Ranked 10th in 5A in the CHSAA Selection & Seeding Index, the Demons are positioned to do better than last year. Durango would have at least one home game in the 32-team bracket if the state playoffs started tomorrow.
Like the girls, the Durango boys basketball team has a huge matchup against Montrose on Friday. Montrose is ranked fourth in 5A at 13-2 overall. It will be Durango’s toughest test so far in 5A; the Demons lost to No. 9 Cheyenne Mountain 50-46 on Jan. 11.
The toughest test for Durango after Montrose will be two games against 6A Fruita Monument, which is No. 12 in 6A at 11-4 overall.
After a strong start to the season, Durango has a good shot of being one of the 16 teams in the 32-team 5A bracket to get a home game. The Demons must avoid the bad league losses they’ve been prone to the last few years.
Hockey: It will be very tough for the Durango High School hockey team to replicate the state title success of last season. Durango lost a lot of key players from last year’s team and has a new coach this season, Will Daniels.
The Demons are 6-5-1 overall, 5-3 in the 4A Mountain League and No. 8 in 4A in the CHSAA Selection & Seeding Index. By looking at last season, Demons fans can be optimistic about this season; the Demons started 7-5 before their state title.
If the 4A playoffs are a 10-team affair like last season, Durango would have a home playoff game before playing the No. 1 seed.
Durango has had a really tough schedule so far. It’s lost to 4A’s No. 1 Glenwood Springs twice; it went 1-1 against No. 3 Steamboat Springs; it beat No. 4 Cheyenne Mountain and lost to No. 6 Liberty.
The Demons will be happy to see the schedule get easier as its toughest opponent remaining is No. 7 Summit.
Don’t be surprised to see the Demons finish strong as a team made of players from Telluride and Durango gel down the stretch.
bkelly@durangoherald.com