It was a wet night at Durant High School. The weather delayed the start of the game by an hour but the rain finally stopped right before opening kickoff; yet, the lightning from the sky would be the least electric object on display at Ron Frost stadium. Durant’s running back duo of Jamarlon Hamilton (Thunder) and Chris Atkins (Lightning) both reached the century mark and put on a far superior display to anything Mother Nature could muster. The dreary night would be nothing but sunshine for the Cougars as they pounded their way to a 22-7 victory over bitter rival Plant City.

The game would start off with a bang for Durant. There junior safety Paxton Sims delivered a bone rattling hit that caused a fumble on the first offensive play. Sims would recover the fumble and running back Jamarlon Hamilton would quickly rumble 4 yards for a Durant touchdown.

Plant City offense moved the ball effectively on their next position which was highlighted by a 61 yard catch by freshman Tavares Chase on a beautiful Nick Rodriguez pass; however, another fumble would end the promising drive prematurely. The Cougars would use there balanced running attack to effectively grind away at the Raiders defense and capitalized on this costly turnover when Daniel Bowers nailed a field goal from 38 yards. Bowers, a senior, was very impressive on the night hitting 3 field goals and booming kickoffs into the end zone. Plant City would score their only points during the second quarter when junior fullback Austin Fernandez scored on a 1 yard run.

The Cougars would control the ball for most of the second half there running back duo simply overwhelmed a tired Plant City defense. Hamilton and Atkins each gained over 120 yards and both players scored a touchdown. Plant City offense made a comeback attempt late in the game but a huge 4th and goal sack by Cougar junior Evan Moody sealed the game for the Cougars.

Game Notes:
** This is the only win Durant Seniors have ever experienced against Plant City. The Raiders had one the last three meetings between the two schools.

**Plant City freshmen phenomenon Ervin Micheal did not play and freshman Sterling Day was injured early in the first quarter and did not return to the game.

– Anthony Peace