Durango High School’s football team got off the bus Friday in Farmington, took the field and acted as unruly guests.
The Demons’ defense was dominant in a 39-6 blowout against an offensively high-powered and previously unbeaten Farmington team.
Durango’s defense finished the night with four interceptions and three fumble recoveries.
DHS senior wide receiver and defensive back Lucas Baken had a monster game on both sides of the ball. He led the way with two interceptions on defense and caught three touchdowns on offense.
“He’s just a great athlete, and when you put athletes in position to make plays, they do just that,” Durango head coach David Vogt said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “His success is just a reflection of everyone else doing their jobs and him making plays.”
Terrence Trujillo was fantastic once again for Durango. The senior quarterback threw for four touchdowns and ran for one before getting pulled in the third quarter when the game was already decided.
The Demons bullied the host team as soon as they got off the bus.
The offense went right down the field on its first possession, a five-play 55-yard drive that culminated with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Trujillo to Kyle Duran.
After the offense introduced themselves in a mean way, the Durango defense treated the hosts even worse. They dished out some big hits early on Scorpions sophomore quarterback Kody Becenti and the rest of the Farmington offense, an offense that had scored 119 points in the last two games.
“We had a motivational speaker come in before the game, and the kids were fired up,” Vogt said. “We talked about the game being won with heart and effort, and the guys responded to that as well as they could have.”
In the first quarter alone, the Demons forced three turnovers and recovered an onside kick, setting the tone for what ended up being a one-sided battle.
Trujillo knew how to take advantage of the opportunities. A five-yard scamper from the quarterback gave the Demons a 14-0 lead. After the onside kick, Trujillo found Baken in the end zone for a 32-yard touchdown to give Durango a 20-0 lead and cap off the scoring in a first quarter that couldn’t have gone better for the visitors.
A 24-yard field goal by Durango’s Nick Jernigan was the only score in the second quarter which made it a 23-0 lead at the half.
Farmington had the ball first to start the third quarter, but the Durango defense quickly reminded them of who they were up against.
In the Scorpion offense’s first trip to the red zone, Duran came up with a strip-sack, and the forced fumble ended any comeback hopes for Farmington.
In subsequent drives, Lawrence Mayberry and Gavin Mestas intercepted passes from Becenti.
Two more second half touchdown hookups from Trujillo to Baken made it a 39-0 rout and forced a running clock.
Only a late Scorpions touchdown with the Durango starters out of the game prevented the shutout.
“We really accepted this challenge and I’m proud of the guys for how they handled themselves tonight,” said Vogt. “It just goes to show that all the hard work we’re putting in the the weight room and on the practice field is paying off.”
Durango has a much-deserved bye next week after starting the season 4-0. After the week off the Demons will play a 7 p.m. Oct. 2nd matchup at regional rival Montrose.
jfries@durangoherald.com
