Every position is up for grabs, but the Durango Demons have no plans of taking a step back from last year’s finish.
Durango High School will get its first look at its football team in a competitive setting Friday night in a scrimmage featuring Aztec and Bayfield High School.
“The guys are ready to hit somebody in a different color jersey,” DHS head coach David Vogt said. “We just want to see that game-like intensity. We haven’t let the kids go 100 percent, yet, so it will be good to see the boys let it all loose and get after it.”
DHS lost 19 players to graduation from the team that went 8-3 and reached the Colorado High School Activities Association state playoffs last season. The departures included eight of the team’s 10 leading tacklers, a pair of talented running backs and quarterback Jeremy Szura.
“We opened up the competition at the beginning of practices this year. We made sure everyone is battling for a spot,” Vogt said. “That makes for competitive practices to get those guys all going.”
Hayden Sill and Terrence Trujillo, both juniors, are competing to become the Demons’ starting quarterback.
Sill returns with the most experience after attempting 11 passes and completing seven last year. Trujillo was 3-of-6 passing last season.
After losing so much on defense, Vogt is anxious to see how his team performs against a spread offense such as Aztec and a power-running team in Bayfield.
“We still want the defense to set the tone of the game. We really want Durango football to be represented with a hard-hitting defense,” Vogt said. “We want low-scoring games, and we want to do all the little things right. We want to hold people to under 21 points every game.”
After traveling to Colorado State University-Pueblo for a “home” opener against Beckman High School from Irvine, California, DHS will travel to Aztec for a road game Sept. 5. Getting an early look at the Tigers is a welcome opportunity for Vogt and the Demons.
“It is huge, and it’s a great test for us,” Vogt said. “We get a chance to become familiar with what they’re doing and the level of intensity that we will have to bring when we see them in the regular season.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
