The nightmarish ending of last week’s Durango Demons football game at Aztec carried into this Friday’s game at Piedra Vista.
The Demons blew a late lead a week ago in a 13-12 loss at Aztec and couldn’t have had a worse start as they tried to bounce back Friday against the Panthers. When time expired on the first quarter, the Demons offense had zero first downs and the defense had allowed two touchdowns.
Down 14-0 early, Durango never got it together as the Panthers won 24-12. It is the second consecutive loss for Durango after a season-opening upset with at Delta.
“They had a really good defense and we knew that coming in,” Durango head coach David Vogt said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “We wanted to chip away here and there and hopefully execute on third down, but we didn’t do much of that.”
Durango (1-2) had its back against the wall from the opening snap of the game. The Demons’ first drive ended in a 3 and out, and when Gavin Mestas went back to punt it away, another bad snap cost the team in a big way. The Panthers took Mestas down at his own 1-yard line and Brandon Montoya capitalized with a 1-yard touchdown run to set the tone for what ended up being a frustrating night for the Demons.
After another wasted Durango possession gave the ball back to the hosts, they ran off a 13-play, 76-yard drive that ended with a 9-yard Montoya touchdown run to give the Panthers a 14-0 lead.
A 25-yard Piedra Vista field goal extended the lead to 17-0, and the Demons hadn’t converted a first down yet.
However, a late second half outburst changed the complexion of the game in a hurry.
Durango’s Max Hyson took matters into his own hands and single-handedly sparked the offense with 62 rushing yards on three plays. The 65-yard drive ended with a Hyson 5-yard touchdown run that gave the Demons some much needed momentum.
On the ensuing kickoff, Kaleb McMunn ripped the ball from the Panthers return man’s hands and ran it all the way back for a touchdown.
However, in what has been a commonplace so far this season, both extra point attempts failed and the Demons went to the locker room trailing 17-12.
“It was nice to see the guys keep fighting after the rough start,” Vogt said. “We were right back in it after that and they didn’t stop fighting.”
Unfortunately, the offense got stuck in neutral once again.
Piedra Vista held the Demons scoreless for the entire second half and put the game away early in the final quarter with an Elijah Gamboa 14-yard touchdown run that gave the team a 24-12 lead.
Durango will finally be able to play on their new field next week as the Demons host Farmington at 7 p.m. Friday.
jfries@durangoherald.com
