Standley Lake junior Kellen Muller (33) does his best to bring down Denver South sophomore Marcus Lindsay (22) during the first half Thursday. Lindsay had three rushing touchdowns in the win for the Rebels. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)
ARVADA — Denver South football made an early statement as the Rebels opened up conference play in the Class 4A Mountain League on Thursday.
The Rebels, No. 6 in this week’s CHSAANow.com 4A rankings, ran away with a 54-7 victory against Standley Lake at the North Area Athletic Complex.
“We just needed to stay up playing at our level,” Denver South senior running back Trevonte Tasco said after the road victory that improved the Rebels to 4-2 on the season, 1-0 in conference.
Denver South senior Trevonte Tasco (24) looks for an opening during the first half Thursday against Standley Lake. The running back had 15 carries for 242 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Rebels’ 54-7 win. (Dennis Pleuss)
Tasco has been playing at an extremely high level this season. The 250-pound back has already gone over the 1,000-yard mark on the season through six games. He had 15 carries for 242 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Gators (2-4, 0-1).
Tasco also had a huge game last week in the Rebels’ 39-28 victory against top-10 ranked Pueblo South. He carried the ball 28 times for 305 yards and four touchdowns.
“He (Tasco) is supposed to be the man this year. I know he is a college-caliber player,” Denver South coach Tony Lindsay said of Tasco. “He is a really good kid and a good kid in school. I’m glad he is on my team. He is a load.”
The Rebels racked up 383 yards rushing against Standley Lake’s defense. Sophomore Marcus Lindsay had 10 carries for 62 yards and three touchdowns. Senior Malcom Wright scored on a lateral in the first half and Tasco’s second touchdown run with 19 seconds left in the second quarter gave Denver South a 34-7 lead at halftime.
Standley Lake’s lone touchdown came off a 16-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jacob Naranjo to senior Anthony Moore in the second quarter.
Sophomore Devante Loggins was another standout for the Rebels. The cornerback had the assignment of attempting to shut down Standley Lake senior Connor Durant, one of the top receivers in 4A this season.
“I was really focused,” Loggins said of covering Durant one-on-one. “I watched a lot of film on him (Durant) to see what he does best.”
Loggins intercepted Naranjo on the Gators’ first offensive drive on a pass intended for Durant. It was the first of four turnovers by Standley Lake.
Durant finished with six catches for 56 yards, but didn’t have a catch more than 14 yards.
“That is our shutdown cornerback,” coach Lindsay said of Loggins. “He is an athlete. He is a true corner with a lot of speed.”
Standley Lake senior Connor Durant (81) is tackled by Denver South sophomore Devante Loggins after a catch Thursday at the North Area Athletic Complex. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)
Loggins put an exclamation point for the Rebels with a 79-yard touchdown run when he came in at quarterback to begin the fourth quarter. Denver South’s back-up quarterback took the option play the distance for the final score of the game.
“I was asking at halftime if I could play a little quarterback,” Loggins said.
Denver South returns to NAAC next week. The Rebels face Golden at 7 p.m. Oct. 9.
Standley Lake continues its league schedule with a date noon Oct. 11, at Jeffco Stadium against Wheat Ridge. The Gators got off to a rough start with losses to Pueblo Central and Monarch before rebounding with wins over Green Mountain and Littleton.
Durant had a monster game with 10 catches for 223 yards and a pair of touchdowns last week in the Gators’ 66-33 loss to No. 5 Dakota Ridge. Naranjo also threw for 300-plus yards, but the Gators’ defense couldn’t slow down Dakota Ridge junior Jeremy Lujan. The running back scored six touchdowns while racking up 415 all-purpose yards for the Eagles.
“I know Standley Lake it a little hurt over there. We needed to keep focused on staying up,” coach Lindsay said. “These last three games have been tough.”
Denver South suffered back-to-back losses to 5A’s Eaglecrest and Regis Jesuit before the win over Pueblo South last week.
Denver South sophomore Devante Loggins (10) intercepts a pass intended for Standley Lake senior Connor Durant on Thursday afternoon at the North Area Athletic Complex. The Rebels took a 54-7 victory over the Gators in the Class 4A Mountain League opener for both teams. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)
Standley Lake senior Anthony Moore hauls in a touchdown catch Thursday for the Gators’ lone touchdown in a 54-7 loss to Denver South. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)