A year ago the Durant Lions felt like they should have beaten rival Ada in a narrow 14-7 loss in a blackout delayed contest at Paul Laird Field. The momentum of that game helped spur the Cougars to an 11-2 record and the Class 4A state semifinals.
Durant has visions of turning the tables this year in Friday night’s season opener at Norris Field in Ada where they face a Cougar squad picked as high as 3rd in the state at 7:30 p.m.
The Lions are coming off a promising scrimmage against another preseason Top 10 ranked club in Pauls Valley, which they battled to a 7-7 deadlock in two live quarters of action.
Pauls Valley used its explosiveness to score first before Durant rallied in the second quarter with a Cole Robbins-led long scoring march that was capped by a short touchdown plunge by the junior signal caller.
This week it’s an Ada team on the schedule that returns a load of experience for new head coach Wade Boyles with 10 offensive starters back along with eight on the defensive side of the ball.
Boyles’ son Brock is the returning starter at quarterback and threw for 2,000 yards and 24 touchdowns as a sophomore. His favorite target is senior Deante Lindsay, who had 36 catches for 859 yards a year ago with 13 of those receptions going for touchdowns and has a host of Division I scholarship offers.
Junior Caron Richardson also gives the Cougars explosiveness out of the backfield.
That group will test the Durant defense much like a week ago when the Lions held up well against a Pauls Valley unit that sported a pair of Division I commits. Coach Mike Dills’ defensive unit only yielded one score however on a busted pass play that went for six during the live two quarter stanza.
Juniors Kelton Stipe and Eli Justus are the top Ada tacklers at linebacker with disruptive force Will Johnson keying the Cougars up front.
