Justin Kline weighs in on last week’s Redman Cup game.
Another year, another Redman Cup game in the books.
Durant earned itself another “W” in the series’ win-loss column, and left 1 Raider Place knowing that it’s guaranteed to play some postseason football next month. I don’t think those seniors could have been much happier.
I don’t think they could have been much more anxious during the game, either. We didn’t get a high-scoring affair, but that means we got a grinder of a game where everyone in a football uniform or coaching gear is on edge. Emotions ran high – at one point, maybe a little too high – and it showed.
But, that’s what makes games like these so special.
I’m kind of inclined to believe that the injured guys were the most anxious to get a win. On one side of the field, you have Antoine Thompson doing everything in his power to pump the Raiders up and keep them positive. On the other side, you have Steven Witchoskey yelling out in encouragement and putting his walking boot through its paces. You just knew, at the time, that everyone physically unable to play in the game, beyond just those two guys, wanted nothing more than to jump into the lineup and make a difference themselves.
I think that one of the most important performances of the game came from Durant’s offense, which found a way to keep the game in the team’s favor without the second-half services of a banged-up Brandon Myers. Down one of its best players, the Cougars’ scoring unit made up for its lack of scoring by extending drives and picking up first downs, mainly on the ground. Sometimes, all you need to do is control the tempo and manage the game, and that’s just what Durant did. The defense was able to take care of the rest.
Shutting down the Raiders isn’t easy, given the amount of talent on the roster, but the Cougars held Plant City to just six points. There wasn’t much the stop unit could do to keep Treshaun Ward out of the end zone on the Raiders’ lone scoring drive, as the move Ward used to create separation would have stumped nearly anybody, but it was able to contain the offense after that.
A few predictions I had made in the Thursday, Oct. 13, Gridiron Report came true. First, while I didn’t specifically pick either team to win, I said that I could see the game being decided by no more than 10 points. I also said I thought it would be a one-score margin, but that one kind of backfired on me.
The last prediction I made was that if anything was going to hurt the Raiders, it would be penalties. Sure enough, there were plenty of calls that gave the Cougars good field positioning and scoring chances. On the flip side, I don’t think I’ve personally seen Durant take as many penalties this season as they did in this game. That sounds like rivalry week.
I found the buildup to this game interesting, because it was the first time I’ve heard the talk around town give Durant a real shot at getting a win. That’s not counting 2013, as I had only been in town for three days at that time, but I can’t remember any other time before the last few matchups in which I had Plant City fans tell me Durant looked like it could get a win.
Overall, this was as good a Redman Cup game as I’ve seen in my time here.
Next week, we’ll see how the Cougars handle Tampa Bay Tech, the district’s other locked-in playoff team. Although the playoffs are already guaranteed, both teams are currently undefeated in district play and have one loss overall. The battle for the district championship will be fought at Cougar Path this week, and it’s there that we’ll see if the Cougars can go from beating one of 2015’s best football teams to beating one of 2016’s top dogs in consecutive weeks.
