Durango wary of ‘impressive’ Centennial

Centennial’s football team won’t creep up on Durango tonight.

In fact, the second-ranked Bulldogs’ 24-20 win over traditional power Palo Verde in their season opener has pretty much made sneaking up on any opponent impossible.

“They’re as good as advertised,” Durango coach Matt Gerber said. “Obviously, them beating Palo Verde, they proved their worth to me and our team and I think to everybody in town.”

Gerber and the eighth-ranked Trailblazers hope to prove their own worth when they host Centennial at 7 p.m.

“They’re impressive. They’re big, they’re physical and they’ve got good skill guys,” Gerber said of Centennial.

But Durango is no slouch in terms of skill players. The Trailblazers feature two of the area’s top running backs: seniors Marcus Sanders-Williams and Arie McQuaig.

Sanders-Williams, who has committed to Utah, led the Trailblazers with 127 rushing yards and three touchdowns on only seven carries in an opening 54-7 win over Bonanza. McQuaig added 124 yards and two TDs on nine carries.

“With our running backs, I say we have to be one of the top running games in the state,” senior offensive tackle Ben Rush said. “I think they can compare and beat anyone.”

Durango ran for 356 yards and averaged 9.6 yards per rush against Bonanza. The Trailblazers attempted only one pass. Gerber, in his first year at Durango, installed the power-T offense to take advantage of his team’s running backs.

“We’ve got two of the better backs in town here,” Gerber said. “We certainly want to try to utilize them, and give them an opportunity to do what they do best.

“It’s certainly two guys we like having and we think can produce a lot of yardage for us.”

With Sanders-Williams and McQuaig playing defense as well, Gerber will need to get production from other backs.

“To run what we’re running, we’ve got to have five or six guys that can carry the ball and do it well for it to be successful — and we do,” Gerber said.

Senior free safety/running back Anthony Collins, who also ran for a touchdown against Bonanza, said the team is starting to feel comfortable with Gerber and the new schemes.

“It’s been a little tough adjusting, but we’ve been getting used to it,” Collins said. “I think we’re jelling well together and coming together as a team over the past couple weeks.”

While the offense stole the show against Bonanza, Gerber said it is the defense that will be tested against Centennial, which had 300 yards of offense against Palo Verde.

“If we’re going to win this game, our (defense) has got to step up and play well,” Gerber said. “We did a decent job last week, but it’s certainly a step up in competition.”

Rush, who also plays defensive tackle, thinks the defensive unit is ready for the challenge, pointing out that Bonanza’s points last week came in the final minute.

“Last week was a good show of it,” Rush said. “We had a shutout going until the last play, so I believe our defense is right up there with our offense.”