Durant head football coach Todd Vargas said emphatically going into last week’s season opener with Ada, “The past few years they have made more plays than us when it mattered and we have to turn that around.”
The Lions did just that in turning the tables with key opportunistic plays against the Cougars for an emotionally-charged 27-20 victory over the Cougars on the road. It was Vargas’ first-ever win over the rivals from the north and Durant’s first since 2019.
“Most people didn’t give these kids a chance,” Vargas commented. “I’m so proud of their efforts. Our motto is ‘We Over Me’ and these guys have sold out to that. They are so coachable and want to win so bad. They did something tonight that hasn’t been done in a long time and I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
Those key plays in crunch time came in droves during the fourth quarter as the Lions reeled off 20 points down the stretch.
The first of those was on the opening play of the period when a fourth down snap over the Ada punter’s head resulted in a loss of 31 yards and gave Durant the ball in the red zone. Two plays later Joseph Flores raced 17 yards to paydirt. Konnor Shenas’ extra point gave the Lions a 14-12 lead with 11 minutes to play.
Ada answered with a 75-yard touchdown march almost exclusively behind the running of senior Cody Carpenter, who gobbled up 63 yards on seven carries. A two-point conversion pass pushed the hosts back in front at 20-14 with 6:36 remaining but the youth-laden Lions weren’t finished.
Flores engineered a 71-yard scoring drive for Durant, which he capped himself by scooping a teammate’s fumble and zig-zagging through the Ada defense for a 36yard touchdown at the 3:27 mark. A failed extra point left the score knotted at 20.
The Lion defense continued the trend of key plays when it mattered as they forced the first official Cougar punt of the night after three snaps netted only four yards.
Following a short punt, Durant took over in great field position and Flores quickly found a wide open Cale Worsham down the seam for a 40-yard touchdown pass. The extra point by Shenas with 1:21 left put the Lions ahead to stay.
There were still a few tense moments, however, as Ada hit a big pass and drove to the Lion 20 before turning the ball over on downs in the waning seconds to secure the DHS triumph.
“Those were special runs by Joe,” Vargas said of the Flores fourth quarter touchdown runs. “They were things that only he could do. He willed us to victory tonight. He’s so smart and he runs the offense. I’ve had this offense at several schools and he’s one of the best I’ve ever coached at picking things up and running the offense. We talked about doing hard things and we had to overcome a lot. We made some mistakes and had some costly penalties, but the kids never stopped fighting.
“We preached all week about making people proud in the stands and they were going to be proud if they worked their tail off and had a good attitude. Our kids were just awesome. Our coaches did a great job as well coaching them up. We’re going to savor this tonight. This is one of the top victories I’ve had. I’m having the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”
Early on the Lions looked like they might control things with their methodical offensive attack by marching 72 yards on a 14-play drive that ate up more than half the first stanza. Tyler Rhodes bolted in from a yard out for the touchdown and 7-0 edge, which was short-lived as Ada quickly countered with a 48yard scoring pass.
Turnovers plagued Durant over the following possessions as three straight drives ended with either a fumble or interception. The Lion defense was up to the task however, snatching a couple of turnovers themselves as Bladyn Brown and Brandon Cordell recovered Ada fumbles.
Flores tallied 86 yards on eight carries to fuel the 215-yard rushing charge for Durant. Worsham posted six carries for 47 yards and Carson Finley had six totes for 31 yards.