Fresh off their first seasonopening victory since 2020 last week at Ada, the Durant Lions go from the frying pan into the proverbial fire this week with Class 4A’s second-ranked Broken Bow coming to town Friday night for a 7:30 kickoff at Paul Laird Field.
The Lions rallied for the 2720 win but face a totally different animal this time around against the Savages, who are led by one of the most dynamic players in Oklahoma regardless of classification in University of Oklahoma commit Greydon Howell.
Durant knows first-hand of Howell’s talents over the last several years. The last time the senior stepped on the turf of Paul Laird Field he shredded the Lions for 470 yards of total offense and six touchdowns as a sophomore.
Last week in a 45-21 triumph at McAlester all Howell did was throw for 273 yards and rush for another 241 while accumulating a whopping 514 yards of total offense while directing the explosive Broken Bow attack.
Toss in another 130 yards rushing from Mason Mays and the Savages racked up a staggering 650 total yards. Howell’s top receiving target was playmaker Dejhaun Hall with eight catches for 186 yards.
Obviously, the best defense for the Lions would be a prolific ball-control offense that keeps the Broken Bow offense on the bench as much as possible.
The Lion defense put together a solid effort a week ago with six different players registering double-digit tackle totals. Tyler Rhodes led that charge with 13 stops, including a pair behind the line of scrimmage. Bladyn Brown tossed in an even dozen with Aiden Makke and Braylon King adding 11 each as well as Cale Worsham and Graham McIlvoy both totaling 10 tackles.
Containing the elusiveness of Howell, who posted a pair of dazzling long-distance touchdown bursts against McAlester, will be pivotal to the team’s success as well.