The good news is that the Durant Cougars are going to the playoffs, no matter what happens from here on out. A 27-7 home loss to Tampa Bay Tech, which gave the Titans the district title, couldn't change that.
Really, there was more good to come from that game than the final score suggests. I'm not saying it was the closest 27-7 game in the history of the sport, since there were definitely some mistakes made that the team will have to work on, but that this game deserves more of a microscope than it may get at a glance.
As all you Durant fans out there know, the team caught a case of fumble-itis before the game and it ended up defining the first half. But the score at the end of the second quarter was 14-0, which is the most obvious sign that the Cougars' defense wasn't fazed by five fumbles. I thought the stop unit played well, all things considered, and did a good job of making Tech go out and fight for every yard. Most telling is that it held Tech to 192 yards passing and 70 yards rushing.
Michael Penix Jr., who was hurt last week, was healthy enough to play at Durant, so I finally got to see what the hype was about. It certainly wasn't his best game in terms of efficiency – he completed 51% of his passes, and wasn't always accurate – but that kid has a cannon attached to his shoulder, and that can be tough to play against when the receiving corps has speedsters like Tech's. Even without top wideout Daquon Green, Penix threw four touchdown passes.
With nothing to lose, Durant decided to give quarterback Carlton Potter the night off. This should come back to help the Cougars later, as Potter was dealing with a sore shoulder sustained against Plant City and, with this week's bye, got two weeks to get back to 100%. Senior Maverick Carter got the start, but couldn't make anything happen through the air when given the chance.
The Cougars ran the ball 40 times and gained 178 total yards, led by Cameron Myers' 83 yards and a touchdown. Tech's front seven gave Durant's offensive line all it could handle all night, but the home team still managed to break off a few big plays from time to time.
Durant did well in the self-control department, only taking one penalty in the first half. At one point in the third quarter, the Cougars had just one penalty to Tech's 16. And, in my opinion, that one penalty was questionable: I could tell that the ref didn't see Durant linebacker Brandon Guido get thrown to the ground, as I was right in front of that scrum when it happened, but I don't know how the ref, when he did look right in front of himself, didn't see Guido looking directly at him, lying on his back and willfully restraining himself from hitting the Titan who got a little dirty on that play. Guido thought he would get the call because, had the ref paid attention, he likely would have.
The ref called offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on both players, and I know that to err is only human, but that was a mistake that shouldn't have been made.
Now that that game's over, here's the scoop for the rest of Durant's season.
Potter should definitely be ready to play at King on Friday, Nov. 4, and my guess is that the coaching staff will let him play. Although there's no reason Durant absolutely needs a win against King, it might not be good for Potter to have three weeks' worth of rust heading into a playoff matchup at East Lake. That's going to be a tough matchup, and the Cougars will need Potter to be sharp.
Also ready to go for the King game will be tight end Steven Witchoskey, who ditched the walking boot for Friday's game and switched to a light brace. I'm also not 100% sure if he'll play against the Lions, but I do know Witchoskey's presence will make life easier for Potter come playoff time.