Blazers slither past Rattlers

Steve Carp

Friday, Sept. 10, 1999 | 10:09 a.m.

When the college recruiters come calling, and you know they will, Durango coach John Mausbach need only slip a tape of Thursday's game with Mojave in the VCR and keep some towels handy to prevent the scouts from drooling on the floor.

If Jamaal Brimmer isn't the best offensive talent in the city, he's certainly worthy of the nomination after he single-handedly defanged the Rattlers 56-21 to give Durango its first 3-0 start in school history while keeping the Trailblazers atop the tough Sunset Division.

Brimmer passed for 242 yards and three touchdowns, all to Troy Bosley. In addition, he ran for 79 yards, including a five-yard TD scamper in the first quarter to begin the offensive deluge. And just for kicks, he picked off a pass midway through the fourth quarter and returned it 45 yards for yet another score.

The only time he messed up was trying to punt into a 30 mph wind. His attempt netted him just 11 yards and Mojave took advantage of the second-quarter opportunity to score the first of its three TDs.

"It was fun out there," the 6-foot-2, 205-pound senior QB said. "We were prepared for this game and we really wanted that 3-0 start. That was important to us."

Getting a 21-0 jump on Mojave, playing only its second year of varsity football, pretty much guaranteed Durango's third straight win. The Rattlers appeared rattled early and a pair of fumbles were converted into Durango scores.

It was too much of a deficit for Mike Gutowski's 0-3 team to overcome.

"There's no excuses," Gutowski said of his team's performance. "They came out and they kicked our butts."

Mojave did show some glimpses of what could be good things down the road. A second-quarter touchdown pass from Brad Gallup to Rich McDonald covered 31 yards and brought the Rattlers within 21-7. And after spending the first half anchored to the sideline, an obviously hungry Calvin Redden cut loose for an electrifying 58-yard run. But by then, the game had long since gotten out of hand as Durango ran and passed at will on the overmatched Mojave defense.

"We're capable of doing things well," Gutowski said. "We've just got to put things together a little better."

Durango has already passed that stage. The Blazers are showing signs of being championship material as the offense amassed 525 yards and the offensive line did a great job all night.