Photos courtesy of Glen Ryan
The South Lake Eagles traveled to Durant to take on the Cougars for the first round of playoff football. Both teams entered the playoffs with a 7-3 record. The Cougars entered the playoffs with a 2-game win streak while the Eagles entered with a 5-game win streak.
Durant got the ball to start the game at the 20-yard line after a touchback. Running back Emmanuel Lee started the drive with a nice 6-yard run, followed by an amazing catch by Jayden Cornelius, who was tackled at the 47-yard line. Lee ran it again for Durant, getting tackled at South Lake’s 48-yard line. The Cougars fed Lee again and he was tackled at South Lake’s 31 yard line. Quarterback Michael Ryan kept it on the run pass option play and ran it in for the touchdown. It was a dominant first drive for the Cougars and they were up 7-0 with 9:17 left in the first quarter.
The Eagles started their first drive at their own 25 yard line. They had a run heavy approach early on, with 3 straight runs, and picked up the first. After another short run, the Eagles completed their first pass of the game on a curl route for a couple of yards, bringing up third and short. They got the first down on a run up the middle and got a fresh set of downs at the 50-yard line. After a water break, the Cougars almost got an interception when a Cougars defensive lineman swatted it up in the air. The Eagles then had a nice play action pass on the sidelines which brought up third and 2. The Cougars stuffed the run thanks to a big tackle from Paul Dilley, bringing up 4th and short in Cougars territory. South Lake ended up going for it and converted with another run up the middle. The Eagles attempted back to back rush attempts and neither went for a gain, which brought up third and long. They got the first down on another play-action play and were tackled inside the Cougars redzone. After two more runs, the Eagles faced a first and goal at the Cougars 5-yard line. The Eagles tied it up after they got their own rushing touchdown.
Cornelius had a nice return for the Cougars, getting tackled at the 29-yard line. After a short run by Lee, the first quarter was over with the game tied 7-7. At the start of the second quarter, the Cougars were at the 32-yard line and it was 2nd and 7. Ryan was nearly sacked but escaped the pocket and threw it downfield for an incomplete pass. After a short run, the crowd went wild as Cornelius ran for a 68-yard touchdown. The Cougars regained the lead of 14-7 with 10:54 left in the half.
The Eagles started their second drive at the 20 after the touchback. Hunter Smith had a nice tackle for the Cougars on the first play of the drive for no forward progress. The Cougars Hale Sollmann sacked the Eagles quarterback on a play action attempt. On third and long, cornerback Cooper Watson deflected the pass, forcing a punt after the Eagles 3 and out.
The Cougars took over at the 49-yard line. Lee had a 5-yard carry for the Cougars to start the drive. They went back to Lee and he easily got the Cougars a first down, making it to the Eagles 37-yard line. After an Eagles timeout, the Cougars went back to Lee for a 7-yard gain. Damari Styles got the handoff and picked up the first down. Lee had a 5-yard carry putting them inside the Eagles redzone. Cornelius ran it for 3 yards making it third and 2 at the 15-yard line. They went back to Lee and he easily made it first and goal at the 8-yard line. The Cougars ran it twice more and lost yards, which made it third and goal at the 10-yard line. The Cougars scored a touchdown as Cornelius threw up an end-zone lob to Damari Styles and he came down with it. The score was 21-7 with 5:05 left in the first half.
The Eagles started at the 20 and had a 4-yard carry on the first play of the drive. They ran it twice more and picked up the first down. After a short run, the Eagles had a solid pass on a curl route down the sidelines bringing up third and 1. They easily converted by powering up the middle, but it was negated by an Eagles penalty. After some confusion, the Eagles had the ball for a first and 10 at the 44-yard line. The Cougars called a timeout to regroup. The Eagles attempted a QB run, but Hunter Smith was all over it, tackling them for a loss. They then had an incomplete pass bringing up 3rd and long. The Eagles called a timeout with 1:23 left in the half. The Eagles played conservatively and ran it, forcing them to punt it from midfield. The Cougars ran one play before the clock went to zero and it was officially halftime with the Cougars up 21-7.
The Eagles got the ball to start the second half. The Cougars attempted a squib kick and the Eagles started their first drive of the half at their 30-yard line. They started the drive out with their best run of the game, getting tackled at the 42-yard line. After two more short runs, the Eagles picked up the first down. They fumbled the snap but recovered for no gain making it second and long. A nice run by the Eagles put them inside the Cougars 40. After a short run, the Eagles attempted a screen but Smith was all over it, which has been a theme in this game for the Cougars defender. Christian Gambrell almost had an interception for the Cougars, but the pass breakup still brought up 4th down. The Eagles converted the field goal and was 21-10 with 7:02 left in the third.
Gambrell had an amazing return for the Cougars as they started their first drive of the half at the Eagles 47-yard line. They stuck to what worked in the first half by feeding Lee for back to back carries good for 7 yards on the 2 plays. A timeout was called with 5:49 left in the third. Cornelius had a QB keep good for 8 yards and that put the Cougars in the redzone. Lee picked up the Cougars first down, making it first and 10 at the 15-yard line. Cornelius then ran it in for the Cougars touchdown, extending the Cougars lead to 28-10 with 4:49 left in the third.
A rare pass attempt by the Eagles started the drive and it was completed on the curl route for about 5 yards. The Eagles ran for 2 yards before being tackled by Smith. The Eagles lined up to go for it on their own 29-yard line and moved the chains. After two more short runs, the Eagles fumbled and the Cougars recovered at midfield with 1:23 left in the third.
The fumble was recovered by Christian Gambrell. The Cougars went for a kill shot early, but the pass was incomplete to Landon Snapp. They went back to Lee and he picked up the Cougars first down. They ran Lee again and he ran it all the way inside the Eagles 20-yard line. That took it to the end of the third quarter with the Cougars up 28-10.
Lee took the first carry of the fourth and was tackled right outside the 10-yard line. On second and short, the pass was incomplete to Ryan Porter. On third and short, a Cougars false start backed them up 5 yards. Cornelius had a QB keep making it fourth and two. The Cougars went for it and converted as Cornelius ran for the first down. Lee did it again, running in for another Cougars touchdown. After the extra point, the score was 35-10 with 9:59 to go.
The Eagles started with a pass down the sideline, but a Cougars penalty tacked on more yards. The Eagles continued with a nice pass to a wide-open WR as he ran out at the Cougars 28 28-yard line. After a short run, the Eagles had a decent screen play making it third and 4. They got the first down on the run, making it 1st and 10 at the 17-yard line. Gambrell broke up the pass bringing up 2nd and 10. The Eagles WR dropped the ball bringing up 3rd and 10. A timeout was called with 7:54 left in the game. The Eagles caught the Cougars off guard with a run making it first and goal. The Eagles scored a touchdown on the run, making the score 35-17 with 6:32 left in the game.
Kristien Cook was in at running back to start the drive for the Cougars and instantly ran for the first down. Michael Gibson then came in for a 2-yard run. A timeout by the Cougars was called with 5:09 left. Michael Gibson picked up the first down and was tackled at the 42-yard line. After more runs, the Cougars were met with 4th and short. The Cougars opted to punt with 2:20 left in the game. The punt put the Eagles at the 19-yard line.
The Eagles ran an end around and was tackled by Sollmann on the play. A bad snap almost resulted in a fumble, but they got the pass off which made it third and one. They then ran it for the first with 1:15 left. The clock expired and the Durant Cougars advanced in the playoffs by winning 35-17 vs the South Lake Eagles.