Trailing by 12 points midway through the third quarter, the Durant Lions scored touchdowns on their final three possessions to stun Shawnee 21-17 in district action last week at Paul Laird Field.
With the victory, Coach Todd Vargas’ squad improved to 4-3 on the season and more importantly 3-1 in league play. It also extended the Lions’ winning streak to three straight games, the school’s longest stretch of triumphs since a pair of three-game runs in 2007.
“The kids showed so much heart,” Vargas commented afterward. “We’ve talked about getting a signature win since we’ve been here and we finally achieved that. Shawnee is a really good football team, and our kids battled all night and fought through adversity on both sides of the ball. The defense played lights out and our offense in the second half was just great. Our offensive line played their tails off. We played so tough up front. We’ve been frustrated at times but finally put it all together.”
Despite early struggles offensively, the Durant defense was a constant.
The Lions came up with an opening fourth down stop deep in their own territory just two minutes into the contest and that only proved to be an omen of things to come.
That unit put the first points of the game on the board with a safety when they tackled the Shawnee quarterback in the end zone following a botched snap.
They surrendered a touchdown with 9:21 to play in the half after a 56-yard drive and it looked like the Wolves might be adding another score moments later when the visitors fumbled into the end zone and Britton Trotter recovered for a DHS touchback.
Shawnee followed with an interception and was knocking on the door again with just over two minutes to play before halftime when Axel Thurman picked off a pass to squelch that drive and leave the lead at 7-2 going to halftime.
The Wolves looked to be starting to pull away when they broke a 40-yard touchdown run on fourthand- one midway through the third period, but that’s when the tide shifted largely on the shoulders of seniors Stephen Manhard and Cole Robbins.
That duo combined to rush nine straight times in a 51-yard march that culminated on a Robbins nine-yard touchdown.
Following a three-and-out possession by the Durant defense, the Lions got a third down kickstart when Robbins connected with Kacin Mazey on a 47-yard pass. Five plays later Manhard found paydirt on a threeyard run that put the hosts in front 15-14 with 10:21 left in the fourth quarter.
Shawnee retook the lead on a 39-yard field goal with 5:26 remaining, but that left plenty of time as Manhard and Robbins combined to run eight times in a 71-yard drive that finished with a Manhard 28-yard bolt up the middle with 1:47 to play.
The visitors picked up a first down via penalty out to nearly midfield but following three straight incompletions Jaxon Cuesta finished it off with a game-sealing quarterback sack.
“I’m proud of our coaches for getting it done and continuing to put our kids in good position,” Vargas said. “We weren’t perfect by any means, but our kids played really, really hard. That last stand was just a lot of grit and determination. I’m just really proud of them. Manhard has been banged up all year. We furnished him holes in the second half, and he fought through them and carried the load.”
Shawnee ended the game with a 291-282 edge in total yardage, but the Wolves were stoned on third downs as they converted none in 10 chances against an opportunistic Durant defensive unit. Manhard rushed 18 times for 110 yards while Robbins added 80 yards on the ground on 17 totes.
Next on the slate this week is a trip to league-leading Coweta for a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday.
“Coweta is really good,” Vargas added. “They do things well and are coached well. It’s going to be a task, but a task we are looking forward to. We still have all our goals in front of us and these kids are hungry.”
