After digging a massive hole, the Durant Lions put together a late rally only to come up short in a 29-14 loss to Bishop Kelley in the gridiron season finale Friday night at Paul Laird Field.
Down 21-0, Durant narrowed the deficit to seven early in the final stanza and got the ball back in great field position with a chance but a fumble two plays later turned into a clinching score by the visiting Comets with 3:57 remaining.
Kelley moves on to the Class 5A playoffs this week while the Lions finish the year at 2-8.
The Lion offense couldn’t get much going in the opening half as they were stymied to just 38 yards on six possessions.
Kelley cashed in one for its first touchdown, cashing in a fumble near midfield for a 47yard scoring pass on a screen pass.
Durant’s defense came up with its own fumble recovery by Jayden Rangel late in the first period but stalled at the Comet 31 before turning it over on downs.
The Comets capitalized on another turnover when the ball was snapped over the punter’s head and recovered in the end zone for a 14-0 edge.
Another Lion offensive possession came to a halt in Kelley territory and the visitors answered with a 66-yard scoring march in 12 plays to end the half with a third touchdown just five seconds before intermission.
Coach Todd Vargas’ squad cashed in its own special teams score in the opening minutes of the second half when senior Ryder Jones blocked a Kelley punt and recovered it in the end zone. Otto Baskin’s extra point cut the margin to 21-7.
Durant got the passing game going with a pair of solid strikes from Cole Robbins to Joseph Flores and Jones midway through the third but that march also stalled on downs in Kelley territory.
Getting the ball back deep in its own end in the waning seconds of the third frame, the Lions went to the trick bag and found a spark. Robbins hit Holdan Robinson for a 50-yard pass on a flea flicker and Durant followed with a hook and lateral from Robbins to Robinson to Stephen Manhard that pushed the ball to the Comet 26.
A Manhard 11-yard run on third down kept the drive going and Robbins found Jones for a 12-yard score with 8:52 left in the game. Baskin booted the extra point to make it 21-14.
The Durant defense forced an immediate three-and-out, giving the Lions the ball back but a fumble at the DHS 37 proved to be ultimately fatal.
Kelley capitalized on the great field position and moved in for a short touchdown run and following two-point conversion for the game’s final points.
Durant finished the game with 183 yards of total offense, spurred by Manhard’s 74 yards on 19 rushing attempts. Robbins hit 10 of 21 passes for 143 of those yards with Flores snagging three for 54 yards and Robinson two for 55.
