A lethargic offensive start by Durant and Ada’s big offensive plays on third and fourth down dug the Lions an early hole they were unable to dig out of in a 31-14 seasonopening loss at home last week.
Three big plays after the DHS looked like they might have the Cougars stopped resulted in a pair of touchdowns in Ada building a 14-0 first quarter lead.
That margin increased to 21-0 before the Lions mustered their initial first down of the game when Stephen Manhard burst 64 yards to paydirt with 5:19 left in the half. Otto Baskin booted the extra point to trim the deficit to 14 points, but a pair of big passing plays spurred the Ada offense downfield before Durant’s defense stiffened to force a 23-yard field goal going into the half.
The hosts finished the first two periods with only 70 total yards while Ada notched 208, including 135 through the air. Fortunately, the Lion defense came up with the lone turnover of the half on a Cleveland Williamson interception.
“Offensively we couldn’t get anything going in the first half,” head coach Todd Vargas commented. “There were a lot of mistakes. Lots of penalties and stalled out drives. Defensively we played well at times but gave up too many big plays on third and fourth down that cost us. “ The Lions were unable to take advantage after a big Kacin Mazey kickoff return set them up in the red zone on the initial second half possession, turning the ball over downs at the Ada 11. Durant then had a 42yard touchdown called back by penalty on the ensuing possession.
Ada followed by cashing in a Lion interception for points with a 48-yard touchdown toss with 4:19 left in the third quarter that pushed the margin to a commanding 31-7.
Durant’s offense put together a pair of sustained drives on the next two series but each stalled out deep in Cougar territory. Aiden Diviney capped the final Lion scoring march with a 28-yard touchdown run with 2:56 left in the contest.
Manhard totaled 108 on 12 rushing attempts with the Lions throwing for 81 yards on eight of 17 passing. Ada’s Brock Boyles meanwhile completed 11 of 21 for 229 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air.
“Ada is good, but we didn’t play to our capabilities. We knew we were going to have to put up points because they are really talented offensively. We made them punt it five times in the game but the third downs and long just killed us. We were right there and just couldn’t make the plays.
“Offensively we got better in the second half but still stalled out. They beat us in the trenches no doubt. You can’t win too many games when you are getting beat up front like that.
“It’s not how big, strong and fast you are. There’s got to be some mental toughness. We’ve been working on it and at times we were good and at times we had breakdowns. That’s not going to win us many ball games if we don’t get that fixed. We have ability and tools but we have to get them in the right place. We are going to see how tough we are mentally and prepare quickly for a very good Broken Bow team this week.”
The Savages are coming off a 23-20 victory over McAlester in which they forced six Buffalo turnovers with an attacking defensive unit.
Durant knows full well what to expect from Broken Bow offensively once again facing junior speedster Greydon Howell at quarterback. The junior standout who already has Division 1 college offers from Miami, Auburn, Boston College, Arkansas and Oklahoma State torched the Lions for 482 yards of total offense and six touchdowns a season ago.
Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. Friday in Broken Bow.
