Friday night, it was one of their smallest players who turned in the biggest play of the game.
Cornerback Travis Duffle — all 5-foot-6, 150 pounds of him — scooped up a fumble and returned it 55 yards for the back-breaking score in the Indians’ 42-13 romp over Fruita Monument.
 MHS's Jordan Passehl runs for touchdown during first quarter action against Fruita Monument Friday night at MHS. (William Woody / Daily Press) Advertisement |
Montrose forced seven Wildcat fumbles, securing four of them. That helped make up for leaving the ball at the Fruita 1 yard line on the Indians’ impressive drive to open the game.
“We capitalized on many of their mistakes,” Montrose coach Todd Casebier said. “And that’s a good thing, because we made plenty of our own.”
Fruita Monument was not able to take such easy advantage of Montrose’s miscues, however.
The Indians proved to have too much firepower for yet another SWL foe, rushing for the usual 284 yards and also getting a boost from Nathan Robertson’s 188 passing yards.
“They are very explosive,” said Fruita Monument coach Bill Moore, referring to the SWL co-leading Indians (2-0 SWL, 7-1 overall). “They made us look like the young team that we are.”
With just three seniors starting on each side of the ball, Fruita Monument (0-4, 2-6) closed out its SWL slate by displaying what may be one of the league’s top threats next year: tailback Devin Dance. Aptly named, the 6-1, 194-pound sophomore did plenty while pin-balling down the runway he created at times through the teeth of the Indians’ defense. He posted a career-high 186 yards rushing on 22 carries, though most of it was around midfield, not in the Red Zone.
“We’ve got to shore things up defensively,” Casebier said. “And we’ve got to give a better effort overall.
“I’m not into trying to humiliate Fruita ... But if we play like this in our next two games, we will lose both.”
Perhaps referring to Montrose’s 11 penalties for 90 yards, as well, Casebier knows the road gets rougher for the No. 6-ranked Indians both next week at Grand Junction (a 24-21 winner over Central Friday night) and in Week 10 against SWL surprise contender Durango.
The No. 10 Demons (2-0, 7-0) host Fossil Ridge today at 11 a.m.
Robertson’s arm was on display both running to his right and his left, completing 8-of-11 passes. His receivers, primarily wide out Johnathan Sierra (four catches, 73 yards) and tight end Bryce Gaber, also looked sharp on the ends of their crisp routes.
Robertson closed the scoring with a quick pass to running back Glayden Berry in the right flat, which he turned quickly up field and then against the grain for a 58-yard touchdown with 3:11 left in the third quarter.
Leading up to that, it was Berry (16 carries, 74 yards, 1 TD) and Jordan Passehl (22-122, 2 TDs) who were the primary meal ticket for Montrose.
Passehl’s 3-yard run off left tackle put Montrose up 35-7 midway through the third quarter. He eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season on the carry.
Robertson added 58 yards on eight carries for the Indians, who overpowered Fruita Monument with 21 first downs. About the only setback for the Indians’ ground game was it stalling on downs twice deep in Fruita territory in the fourth quarter.
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