Facemasks on the field, hospital mouth masks in the stands. That could be the scene Saturday when Durango High School hosts ailing Palisade in the first round of the state football playoffs.
A virus closed Palisade High School on Thursday and Friday when more than 300 students and staff were out with an unknown illness. That potential norovirus has swept the school, and the number of students and staff out Thursday more than doubled from Wednesday’s total of 130. There are roughly 1,000 students at Palisade High School.
Still, the No. 10 Palisade Bulldogs (7-3) plan to take on the No. 7 Durango Demons (7-3) at 1 p.m. Saturday in the opening round of the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 3A State Football Playoffs. Durango School District 9-R athletic director Ryan Knorr said no extra accommodations had been requested by Palisade and that Mesa County Valley School District 51 athletic director Paul Cain had told him the football team was healthy and still practiced Thursday.
“Everything is scheduled as planned,” DHS head coach David Vogt said. “We’re trying to keep focused and tell our guys that we want the best team Palisade has. We aren’t thinking about it. We are all healthy. The big thing we are scared of is them passing it on to us.”
DHS hasn’t had a home playoff game since 2017, a second-round loss to Erie. Durango’s last home playoff win came in 2015 in the first round against Aurora Central in the 4A playoffs.
Saturday’s game is a rematch of a Sept. 6 showdown at DHS in which the Bulldogs ran to a 25-18 win behind 211 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries from senior quarterback Cam Tucker, who was injured in the final moments of the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs, which reached the state semifinals a year ago, struggled a bit without their senior leader and lost three of their next four games. With Tucker healthy, Palisade rolled to a 5-0 record in the Western Slope League for a second consecutive year and are a much better team than their No. 10 seed.
“We are excited to have strung some wins together and excited for the opportunity to play Durango again,” Tucker said.
Durango believes it is a much better team than it was during the Week 2 loss to the Bulldogs. The Demons also plan a few changes defensively to better prepare to stop Tucker and the Bulldog running game.
“We didn’t have the blueprint to stop him, that’s for sure,” Vogt said.
“He runs the ball hard. We are going to move some guys around, and we’ve had some guys really step up throughout the season that should help us do a much better job.”
In seven games this year, Tucker rushed for 587 yards and nine touchdowns to lead the team. His passing numbers also improved throughout the year, as he passed for 633 yards and 10 touchdowns to only one interception. He completed 73.9% of his passes.
Palisade’s run game is potent beyond Tucker. Four other Bulldogs have run for at least 325 yards. Franklin Barks, a sophomore, ran for 532 yards and five touchdowns. Julio Rodriguez, a junior, has 464 yards and three scores, while senior Caden Sparks has seven rushing touchdowns to go with 413 yards on the ground.
Durango’s defense is extra motivated to stop a team that beat them on their home field.
“We remember the disappointment,” said DHS senior Everett Howland. “We know we could have won but didn’t execute. Too many mistakes that game. This week, we are working on putting away those mistakes and finishing plays so we can finish this game.”
The Demons were held to only 18 points in that loss to the Bulldogs this season. That was a rarity in a season in which the Demons averaged 40 points per game behind junior quarterback Jordan Woolverton, who has 36 total offensive TDs. He has thrown for 1,576 yards with 22 touchdowns and only two interceptions and completed 72.1% of his passes. He also ran for another 14 scores and 878 yards.
Meanwhile, Howland has rushed for 1,274 yards and 12 TDs of his own.
“Our offense has become more explosive every single week,” Woolverton said. “Our defense is smarter and more aggressive. We can take that into this game and show what kind of team we really are.”
Behind a dominant offensive line, Woolverton and Howland have had big lanes to run through, and the Demons expect to be at full health on the line this week.
Time to throw has also been crucial for Woolverton, who has hit Ben Finneseth for nine touchdowns on 37 receptions for 664 yards, while Gage Mestas has 497 yards and seven scores on 27 receptions this year.
Tucker, a Bayfield native who is also a safety on defense, knows the Demons will be tough to stop.
“Durango is a very athletic team,” he said. “They have lots of size and are very well coached. They play hard. We gotta be ready to roll.”
Durango had only four home games all season and worked furiously to try to earn the right to host a first-round playoff game. Now that the time has arrived, the Demons have revenge on their mind against the Bulldogs and want to prove to the rest of the state that they are for real in these playoffs.
“We’ve lost two really close games to Palisade the last two years. We are hyped this week and want to get at it,” Howland said. “The atmosphere in our stadium is unlike anything you see. We go to Pueblo during the regular season, and it doesn’t even compare to Durango. Playing in front of our fans and the whole city, it’s a blessing.
“We wanted this home playoff game all year. We need to win it now.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
If you go
Who:
No. 10 Palisade (7-3) at No. 7 Durango (7-3)
What:
CHSAA Class 3A State Football Playoffs, first round
When:
1 p.m. Saturday
Where:
Durango High School stadium
Listen Live:
KKDG 99.7 FM
Twitter:
@jlivi2
Online:
For complete game story and photos Saturday, go to durangoherald.com.
