Durango’s postseason run came to an abrupt halt on Saturday afternoon against the Mean Mavericks, falling 14-13 in what was by far the closest game of the 3A quarterfinals.
Mead held the lead early, taking a 7-0 edge into the halftime lockerroom. Durango would tie the game in the early third quarter, but Mead once again jumped out to a 14-7 lead that the Demons would have to answer too. They did, but a failed 2-point conversion try with nine minutes remaining in the game would keep the Mavericks in front by what would eventually be the final score.
The loss snaps a 9 game winning streak from Durango, but the Demons will be back in force next season, returning sophomore quarterback Tyler Harms who threw for over 1000 yards, and junior running back Zach Haber who accounted for over 1500 total yards from scrimmage on the season.
Mancos was able to survive their rematch with the Sanford Indians, and the undefeated Bluejays are heading to the 8-man state championship game for the first time in school history.
Sanford was the opening team to come out on Saturday and enter the scoring, taking an 8-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Bluejays rolled off 26 unanswered points and used a passing attack to keep the Indians off balance on the way to their 26-16 victory.
Junior quarterback Ayden Mathews threw for 214 yards on the day, completing a pair of first half touchdowns to senior Kail Wayman and found fellow senior James Wagoner twice in the second half for a pair of scores as well. That was good for Mancos, as the Bluejays saw their running game held to a season low of only 167 yards on the ground.
The win moves Mancos to 11-0 on the season, and they will take on 12-0 Haxtun in the title game, with the Bulldogs entering the game after a convincing win over Holly in their semi-final.
Basketball preview
Boys
Durango just snuck into the postseason last year, getting the final seed after a .500 regular season. The Demons are bringing back their top scorer in Anthony Flint and their top rebounding threat with the return of Walter Stauffer. With seven total seniors returning to the roster this year, Durango should be improved from their 7-8 final record and will be looking for a middle seed in the 4A field once the postseason arrives.
In the 3A ranks, the Intermountain league was dominated by the SLV, with Centauri and Alamosa getting the postseason bids. Pagosa Springs was in the number three spot, and is returning their top scorer for a junior year with Gunner Dozier looking to improve on 12 points per game. They do lose five seniors though, and the Pirates will have a lot of inside work to replace, with both of their top rebounders moving on.
Down the road in Bayfield, the Wolverines are also going to be graduating quite a bit of last year’s talent. Much like Pagosa, they are returning the leading scorer with Landon Kennedy back for his senior year, but with eight seniors moving on, this year there are plenty of open spots that need to be filled, including trying to replace about two thirds of their rebounding from last season.
In Cortez, the Panthers are hoping they can put their 2-12 season behind them. There is a young core rising for Montezuma Cortez, but they still have four seniors they are looking to replace, and height is still going to be an issue for them, unless they have some new faces able to fill the paint coming up from the junior varsity.
If there is a team from the 2A Southwest that is not sneaking up on the pack, it has to be the Mancos Bluejays. After a 13-3 season last year and a disappointing loss in the second round, Mancos is returning their top four scorers and only loses a pair of seniors from the roster. On top of that, Connor Showalter has a chance to be 2A’s Mr. Basketball if he improves from a 20 points 12 rebounds average last season where he also dished out over three assists per game and had three steals a game. Sophomore Kail Wayman will also be looking to continue to help, especially after his leadership on the football field.
Ignacio’s run to the quarterfinals before falling to state runner up Limon was impressive, but the Bobcats will be hard pressed for a repeat effort after losing their top three scorers from last season. Gabe Tuscon is a good place to start in replacing that crowd though, after he led the Bobcats in rebounds and assists during the 14-3 season. He is the only junior back from last year’s team, and will have a young crew to lead as Ignacio looks to rebuild for another postseason run.
The San Juan League didn’t send anyone else into the postseason, whether that was 1A or 2A, but Dove Creek was close, finishing the year at 7-6. Kade Hankins will be the leader of the Bulldogs once again, after just finishing shy of 20 points per game last year. He loses a big inside presence in Hayden Gray, who averaged a double double for Dove Creek as a senior, but Gray was also the only senior to graduate from the Bulldogs roster.
The Dolores Bears will be looking to Tru Seekins to lead them after they graduated six seniors from last years team. Points will be a piece of the puzzle, but the Bears really need to find an answer in the rebounding game, after only averaging 17.7 boards per game last year. If they can’t improve on that number, expect a long season for the Bears.
The Ridgway Demons are also going to be trying to replace a large senior class, with four leaving after the season. Cooper Ahern is the top scorer returning for the Demons, after averaging nine points and six rebounds per contest. Ridgway does have five returners who played significant minutes, so experience won’t be lacking, it is more just a question of who will step into the scoring roles for a team that averaged less than 50 points a game.
The Ouray Trojans are moving on from Jackson Leo after a stellar high school career. The senior leaves a 20 point hole in the offense, but Hayden Hart coming back means there is still production there after he averaged 13 points a game as a junior. The Trojans also bring back their top inside man, with Kaden Nelson coming back after nearly grabbing nine rebounds a game, and Charlie Tyler returns as their best distributor, looking to build on 2.5 assists per game.
Tyler Wytulka is no longer a member of the Nucla Mustangs, and that is their biggest hurdle to overcome, after he leaves a 22 points and 11 rebound hole to fill. In fact, the inside work for the Mustangs has to be their biggest concern, with 25 of their 29 rebounds per game from last season graduating from the team. They did get a lot of freshman playing time last year, but will they be ready to take on the test of carrying a team while still underclassmen.
The Telluride Miners are looking to senior South Livermore to lead them this season after they struggled last season to 2-10 on the year. While they graduate three seniors, there aren’t many numbers leaving with them as the Miners struggled to put up points and defend most of last season. Expect a better year, but still struggles on the court this season.
Girls
The Durango girls basketball team may have been a first round exit in the postseason, but falling to the eventual state champions and not graduating a senior from the roster always means there could be something brewing. Junior Mason Rowland is back after averaging 15 points per game for the Demons, and senior Sydney Flores is back looking for a full season after missing several games last year. The Demons need to improve on their rebounding aggression, but could be in line for a good seed come February.
Pagosa Springs was a bit of a shocking early exit in the 3A postseason last year, being ousted in the first round after getting the ninth overall seed. The Pirates are losing Adelyn Dozier and her 13 points a game, but have a big piece coming back for a senior year in Molly Grahm, who pulled down nearly eight rebounds a game to go with her 12 points each night. The Pirates only graduated one other senior who played limited minutes, so experience is going to be a strong point for Pagosa moving into the season, and they can be considered a favorite once again for getting a possible regional host bid.
After what was a pretty rough season last year, only able to manage a 2-10 record, the Montezuma Cortez girls are bringing back their full roster. Justina Bayles was their leading scorer and rebounder, and is back for her senior year, but the Panthers will still have the majority of their players on the squad as returning under-classmen. Junior Carlie McClellan will help Bayles inside a lot, and the Panthers are a team primed for pulling off a few upsets.
The final team in the 3A ranks is Bayfield, and the Wolverines are also coming off of a disappointing season. Not only was it a rough year on the court for Bayfield, but they aren’t bringing back a whole lot of pieces from the team, with Abby Tate, Abria Thayer and Jordan Martandale the only ladies coming back to the team after a 1-12 season.
In 2A, the Ignacio Bobcats were the lone representative from the San Juan League in the postseason field, making it to the second round. They lost 22 points a game with the graduation of Jayden Brunson and Charlize Valdez, and their top rebounder Shelcie Gosney. With no returning juniors, the Bobcats have a young team that could take time to develop this season.
The San Juan also sent Dove Creek to the postseason last year, with the Bulldogs just being edged out in the quarterfinals by Kit Carson. The Bulldogs lost three seniors, including Grace Hatfield, who averaged 20 points a game to go with five steals to lead the team. The Bulldogs do return half of their 60 points per game this year, and with only one returning senior, are still young and should remain a threat from the southwest.
Mancos should be another solid returning team from the San Juan Basin after going 10-3 last season. The Bluejays have two starters returning, with senior Rhiley Montoya and sophomore Quincey Montoya both returning after combining for 14 points a game. Sophomore Taya Yoemans returns as well after averaging nearly 10 rebounds per game. If the defense returns like last season, they should make the postseason field.
The Nucla Mustangs only have one returning senior on what is also going to be a young team from the San Juan. They lose 16 points a game with the graduation of Ashley Steele and Emme Rushing, but do return top rebounder Lisa Sutherland. Haylee Smith also impressed as a freshman, her eight points and five rebounds per game second on the team in both categories.
It was a disappointing season for the Dolores Bears going 4-8 last year, and a lot will rest on who can help out Allie Kibel, who returns as the leading scorer. The Bears graduate four seniors from the team, and three of the top four scorers from a season they only scored 30 or more points five times.
Ouray also struggled with the Trojans now looking to put the 2-11 season behind them. They bring back their top two rebounders, but lose two of their top three scoring threats to graduation. River Manley and Aynsleigh Wood will have to lead the way for them and as a team they need to improve after shooting only 19 percent from the field.
The Telluride Miners were able to get one win last season over Crested Butte in overtime, but graduated five seniors from their team. They do bring up a large class of sophomores, so youth could help turn things around for a team that struggled on both offense and defense.
