Weather aside, I don’t think Durant fans could have asked for a better start to the football team’s 2017 campaign.
The Cougars showed everybody in the stands that they’re ready to roll with a 44-6 win over a Blake team that, despite a lack of scoring, put a thousand-yard running back out there in the backfield. I think this game featured a lot to like coming from Durant in the near — and distant — future.
I have to start with the hottest topic of the night, based on the chatter I heard at Cougar Path: Agiye Hall. When I visited Durant to get the scoop on the team for the 2017 Football Guide, I heard a lot of hype about the freshman wideout from head coach Mike Gottman and several players on the offense. Now I understand why, after Hall made a spectacular debut against the Yellow Jackets. He’s already built like a senior and has some of the biggest hands on the team, and he made life miserable for Blake’s defensive backs whether he was using his burst to streak down the field uncovered or his athletic ability to make a difficult catch over a defender playing him tightly. He may be a little raw, like virtually all freshmen, but Hall can ball.
The rushing attack looked as good as I expected it to. Cameron Myers broke out that smooth running style and made many of his touches look easy. He made an impressive run to the end zone in the third quarter that, unfortunately for Durant, was called back on a holding penalty. David Tabakovic showed he can rumble and scored a couple of touchdowns. Tyrhon Brooks was productive when he got his turns, also scoring on a 15-yard run.
Once the defense found its rhythm after the lightning delay, I thought the unit looked pretty good. It’s a good sign that it kept Omarion Coleman and Blake’s offense in check until one drive in the fourth quarter.
Durant’s biggest weakness was on special teams, as nobody managed to kick a PAT or convert a two-point attempt until there were just over three minutes left in the third quarter and backup kicker Kelly Kash made the kick after Hall caught a touchdown pass. The only other successful point-after came with 2:37 left in the game, Tabakovic’s last touchdown, to set the 44-6 final score. As good for the team as it is that the offense is in good form, not finishing the job after those touchdowns will hurt the Cougars against tougher competition than Blake. I don’t know if this game got Kash any closer to the starting job or if she’ll continue to be the backup, but kicking appears to be the number one thing Durant needs to work on heading into the regular season.
The Cougars are going to Jesuit this week to get one of the toughest games on the schedule out of the way early on. I don’t think I need to tell many area fans about the Tigers, who are pretty much always excellent, so I’ll get into the positional matchup to watch: Hall against cornerback Kendrick Torain. Hall may have shined against Blake but it will be much harder for the freshman to work against Torain, a tall, three-star corner who recently committed to UCLA. Durant may not play against a better cornerback this year.
I was asked a lot of questions at the game about Plant City’s offensive situation, mostly about two positions: quarterback and running back.
It looks like both quarterbacks, starter Braxton Plunk and backup Ryan Overstreet, were able to do some good things against Spoto. There’s a lot of intrigue surrounding Overstreet, as expected — he did just transfer from head coach James Booth’s previous school, Manatee, to Plant City — but Booth has been clear about the quarterback situation. You can read more about that in the Football Guide.
It also looks like Eric Wilson performed well as the Raiders’ lead running back. I know Booth has high hopes for Wilson, who has big shoes to fill, so he’ll be another player I plan to get to know in the near future. Barring an unforeseen turn of events, I’ll be at the Hillsborough game to see what the deal is with these guys.
Last, but not least, I have to give a shout-out to Strawberry Crest for its preseason win over Seminole. Seeing the win pop up in my Twitter feed was a pleasant surprise — a departure from the norm, as I’ve usually seen sad tweets from students. It’s also a great way to lead into this week’s game against Spoto, which I’ll be attending. Let’s see what the new and improved Strawberry Crest Chargers can do.