Cimarron sets early tone, dominates Durango

Frustrated by a controversial call in last week’s overtime loss to Legacy, Cimarron-Memorial only took a few seconds off the clock to establish itself over Durango, downing the Trailblazers, 54-7.

In fact, the Spartans took out more than a few ticks of the clock on the Blazers.

Stephen Nixon returned the opening kickoff 75 yards for the first score, and James Poole rushed for 264 yards and four touchdowns as Cimarron got back on track with the victory.

Cimarron (4-2) lost by a point last week when Legacy converted a second-chance two-point try in overtime after a penalty for running into the kicker. Hoping to steer clear of any last-second controversy, the Spartans rolled up nearly 500 yards of total offense and scored 41 points before halftime.

Poole ran free through an overmatched Durango defense. Among his 16 carries were touchdowns of 47, 32, 79 and 55 yards. The senior has tallied 767 yards rushing and nine touchdowns on the season.

Usually content to pound away on the ground, Cimarron mixed in a few good passes as well. Quarterback Kenny Banks found tight end A.J. Morrison deep on a play-action pass for a 62-yard touchdown in the second quarter, and went long again in the third quarter when receiver Brian Dover went 69 yards for the score off of a tipped ball.

Banks finished 5-of-7 for 155 yards.

Durango (5-2) scored its only touchdown late in the first half when Chase Roberts fired an 11-yard strike to Riley Smith on a slant over the middle.

Roberts completed 16 of 23 passes for 116 yards, but gave up an interception to Cimarron’s Aaron Garcia.

The Spartans’ defense stymied Durango for three quarters until the second string took to the field late in the game. Julio Mora totaled a scant 24 yards on 19 carries for the Blazers, including eight carries for negative yardage.