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March 28, 2024

high school football:

Durango focused on moving past winless season

2014 High School Football

Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun

From left, Durango High School football players Kavon Asgari, Daniel Medina and Elijah Colbert July 21, 2014.

Durango High School 2014 football preview

Las Vegas Sun sports editor Ray Brewer talks to Durango High School's football coach and key players ahead of their 2014 season.

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The 2013 season is one Durango High would like to move past as quickly as possible. This entire offseason, the Trailblazers have been looking forward, motivated by the 0-9 record that probably feels more like a bad dream than reality.

“If not winning a game isn’t motivation to get in there and work harder, I don’t know what is,” coach Matt Gerber said.

The Trailblazers open the season at 7 tonight at Cimarron-Memorial.

Starting anew required a lot of self-reflection, Gerber said, about how he was running the program. It also required changes to the game plan.

Those will show up most on offense, where Gerber is going to switch to a spread, no-huddle system. If the Trailblazers can dictate the game’s tempo, they'll have a starting point.

“Have a little fun out there and spread the ball around,” Gerber said.

The offensive line will be one key to making that work. Senior lineman Elijah Colbert is ready to give it his best, because he’s seen what a winless season does to morale around the classroom hallways.

“It’s really important because we don’t want to walk around school and have people look at us badly,” Colbert said. “We want them to be able to rep Durango and be proud of our teams.”

Gerber said the team should be able to rely on veteran leadership in the defensive secondary and along the lines. However, the depth isn’t really there, so some underclassmen will be relied on at key times. Their ability to step up when called upon will be a key factor in how many games Durango is able to win.

Of course, the Trailblazers just want to start with one. Most players and coaches talk about taking it one game at a time, but it feels different coming from senior receiver and linebacker Kavon Asgari.

When he says the most important game on the schedule is the first one at Cimarron, you’re more inclined to believe it.

“We need to come out, start off strong and put that confidence in each other that we can do this,” Asgari said. “We can win.”

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.

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