Durango rolls past Valley in opener, snaps 16-game losing streak

Durango’s football team held Valley to minus-10 yards in the first half Thursday en route to a 40-0 road victory that snapped a 16-game losing streak.

“They’ve taken a lot of crap the past three years,” Durango coach Matt Gerber said. “They don’t have to take it on Monday. I’ll tell you that. They get to hold their head high, and hopefully we get a few more of these this year.”

Kaden Renshaw threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score in the season opener to lead the Trailblazers, who last won on Sept. 12, 2014, a 33-25 victory over Bonanza.

“We’ve had one win in three years,” Gerber said. “It’s been a building process and we’ve been building to this point, starting with young guys and feeding kids into the program. It’s been hard on a lot of the staff, a lot of the coaches, the players especially.”

Valley’s losing streak now sits at 19 games.

Renshaw opened the scoring with a 21-yard TD run with 5:32 left in the first quarter. He added a 36-yard touchdown pass to Kevin O’Neill and a 46-yard scoring strike to Alhaji-Ibrahim Kamara, both in the first half. Those were his only completions.

Renshaw finished with 85 rushing yards on five carries.

“He does exactly what I expect him to do,” Gerber said. “The kid’s a playmaker. He has all the intangibles. He’s smart. He’s tough. He’s quick. He’s level-headed. He’s got a good arm. A little short on height, but you know what, he’s just a sophomore. He’s my guy. I’m excited to have him.”

Jayson Johnson added TD runs of 2 and 6 yards for the Trailblazers. His 6-yard TD run with no time left on the clock pushed Durango’s halftime lead to 37-0. The entire second half was played with a running clock.

Johnson had eight carries for 28 yards, and Kamara rushed 12 times for 38 yards for Durango, which finished with 262 yards of offense.

Fabio Villa-Arroyo kicked a 24-yard field goal with 11:01 left to close out the scoring.

Valley finished with 9 yards of offense. The Vikings last won on Nov. 1, 2013, when the beat Rancho 74-15.

Contact reporter Ashton Ferguson at aferguson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430. Follow him on Twitter: @af_ferguson.