Trail Blazers add defense to already-potent offense

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, Nov. 8, 2001 | 11:05 a.m.

When Andy Ostolaza took over as Durango's defensive coordinator before the 2001 prep football season, he vowed to change the unit's reputation as the Trail Blazer offense's weaker counterpart.

"I knew Durango was always known for its offense," Ostolaza said. "They always scored points, but they also gave up points. I knew that needed to change."

So Ostolaza called on the man he learned from both as a player at Valley and an assistant coach at Cimarron-Memorial -- Greg Spencer, the architect of the Spartans' back-to-back state titles in 1998 and '99.

"(Head coach John) Mausbach gave me the green light to work with Coach Spencer, and we worked out the basic defensive package together," Ostolaza said. "I introduced him a couple of times to the kids, and his presence had an effect on them.

"This year, you see a lot more aggression on the defensive side of the ball here."

Indeed, while the Blazers' offense -- anchored by its massive offensive line and running back Corey McCants -- grabbed headlines early in the year, the defense has been most responsible for the team's surge in recent weeks.

Opponents managed just 42 total points in Durango's four league games. And in last week's first round playoff matchup with Northwest power Palo Verde, the Blazers pitched their first shutout of the season, holding the Panthers to 72 total yards and allowing them to cross midfield only once in a 7-0 victory.

"We knew that their offense was good, but we had to step up and let everybody know we were the best defense," outside linebacker Allen McIntyre said. "Everybody knows Durango has a good offense. Now they know we're a power defense."

The Blazers (9-1) have done it defensively despite losing one of their top playmakers -- all-conference nose guard Jon Jimenez -- to a torn knee midway through the season. At times, the team has also been without injured linebackers Bill Amidon and Danny Giordani, the latter of whom is finished for the year.

According to Ostalaza, outside linebackers Robby Martinez and McIntyre have helped the unit weather that barrage of key injuries, manning their starting spots in all 10 games and combining to make 65 tackles and 17 sacks.

"Losing those (injured) guys, especially losing Jon, was big, but one guy doesn't make a defense," Martinez said. "We want to make sure the Durango machine keeps rolling on."

Linemen Rossi Sammarco and Luke Doty, inside linebacker Vince Dimick and cornerback Ahmad Atkins have also been stalwart performers for the Durango defense, and sophomore Robert DeMartini has performed at a high level since coming up from the junior varsity squad.

Friday night, that group will face another stiff test when the Blazers travel to Centennial (7-3) for a 4A Sunset Region semifinal at 7. The winner will face either Cheyenne or Cimarron-Memorial next week, with the region's lone state berth at stake.

"They're real sound defensively. They attack real well," Bulldogs coach Greg Murphy said. "I hope we can present some mismatches, but they're tough and physical. We've got to be able to punch it in when we get in the red zone."

Centennial got out of round one with a 21-3 win over Bonanza last week. The Bulldogs' big three continued to lead the way offensively, with quarterback Cory Gray hooking up with Devin Patterson for a pair of touchdowns and running back Patrick Gray scoring the third.

For the season, the trio has accounted for 2,099 of the team's 2,409 rushing yards and has had a hand in 34 of 37 offensive touchdowns. Cory Gray has also thrown for 869 yards, with 384 of those going to Patterson, who also leads the team with 11 total touchdowns.

"Centennial is going to be the best team we've played against," Atkins said. "We'll have to play our best game come Friday."