Durango’s ground game dominates Bonanza

Durango football coach Scott Murdock knew after last week’s performance against Pahrump Valley that he needed to challenge his offensive line, perhaps the strength of his team.

And he noticed the guys up front leading by example all week in practice heading into the Trailblazers’ second game.

That example carried over to Friday’s game, as the Trailblazers rushed for 290 yards in their 47-7 home win over Bonanza.

From the very first snap — a fumble by quarterback Kyle Allison — it was a bad night for the Bengals.

Bonanza had minus-28 yards rushing, three turnovers and 15 penalities. The Bengals didn’t find the end zone until Josh Wilson’s 17-yard scoring catch with just under six minutes left in regulation.

Wilson had 10 catches for 117 yards in the losing effort.

Durango (2-0, 1-0 Southwest) scored on plays of 48 and 84 yards on its first two possessions and never looked back.

“The credit goes to the kids, not me,” Murdock said. “The offensive line set the tone all week, and the good fortune showed. We do have things to clean up, but I love the direction we’re heading.”

Three Durango players rushed for at least 60 yards, led by T.K. Fotu with 122 yards on eight carries. Justin Johnson scored twice on his way to a 68-yard evening, while quarterback Kayden Renshaw added 77 yards and a TD.

Renshaw also threw a 27-yard score to Jayden Nersinger at the end of the second quarter to give Durango a 21-0 halftime lead.

Backup quarterback Brayden Stockbauer threw a pair of second-half scores for Durango, which finished with 420 total yards.

“It was a complete effort, but running the football is key,” Murdock said. “These kids play with so much intensity, and that intensity certainly grows as the game goes on.”

Allison finished 19-for-40 passing for 206 yards for Bonanza (0-2, 0-1).