Making just their second trip to Arkansas in school history, Durant forced two turnovers and came up with a pair of huge offensive plays but couldn’t come up with key stops when needed in dropping a 34-20 decision on the road at Gravette, Arkansas last week.
Coach Todd Vargas’ Lions slipped to 0-3 on the season while concluding non-district play. They have a bye this week before returning home for the district opener next week against perennial powerhouse Booker T. Washington out of Tulsa.
The Lions carried the momentum into the halftime break following a late Cole Robbins touchdown run that tied the score at 14. But Gravette stormed out of the gate in the third period, taking back the lead for good on a 61-yard touchdown run just two plays into the half.
Durant’s defense thwarted the host on the following drive with a Holdan Robinson interception, but the offense bogged down with three consecutive punts as Gravette eventually added to the margin with a 56-yard march early in the final stanza. The Lions were victimized on third-and-long with a 44-yard pass that had the Arkansas unit knocking on the end zone door. They converted two plays later but Durant blocked the extra point to trail only 27-14.
Stephen Manhard immediately followed with a season-best 84-yard burst on the very next play from scrimmage and Robbins plunged in from a yard out to narrow the gap with 8:15 left.
Gravette put together a methodical 10-play, 62-yard march that all came on the ground and culminated in a 29-yard clinching touchdown with only 1:51 remaining.
The Lions erased a 7-0 deficit midway through the opening stanza in rapid fashion with Manhard rambling 74 yards for a touchdown. Otto Baskin’s point after knotted things at 7-7 with 4:14 left in the opening frame.
Durant regained possession with its only chance at the lead all night but penalties squelched the life out of a potential march and gave Gravette the ball at midfield.
They took advantage of the outstanding field position with a six-play scoring drive to go in front with 7:22 to go in the half.
The Lion offense was stymied by penalties on the following drive but got new life moments later when Robinson forced a Gravette fumble that Manhard recovered at the Durant 34.
Manhard and Robbins then combined on a one-two punch ground attack that ate almost all the remaining time off the clock before a Robbins one-yard blast to the end zone with only 11 seconds left. Baskin’s PAT was good to tie things at 14 going to halftime.
Durant was only outgained 378-350 for the game and came up with the only two turnovers of the contest, but inopportune penalties proved costly.
Manhard rushed 11 times for a career-high 192 yards while Robbins added 60 yards on 15 carries, chipping in another 62 yards through the air as he completed 11 out of 19 attempts.
Ryder Jones was the top receiver with four grabs for 30 yards.
Robinson, Daltry Barker and Axel Thurman all tallied 12 tackles in sparking the Durant defensive effort.
