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Durant prevails, 20-15

By ADAM ADKINS

aadkins@tampatrib.com

Published: October 17, 2009

TAMPA - On several occasions Friday night, David Claypool walked over to the Durant sidelines and pleaded with his coaches to throw him the ball.

With the game on the line in the waning moments, Durant's coaches obliged. And the Cougars' senior receiver delivered.

Claypool hauled in an 11-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Je'Twan Smith with 28 seconds remaining in the game, lifting Durant to a 20-15 road victory against Sickles in a battle of two of Hillsborough County's most surprising teams.

"That was real nice. They (my coaches) were real trustworthy," said Claypool, who finished with three catches for 64 yards. "As soon as I shouted the play out, they just went with it. It was lovely."

It was the second time on Durant's 13-play, 80-yard game-winning drive that Claypool came up big. He also hauled in a 28-yard pass from Smith on a third-and-6 play, leaving the Cougars confident in going back his way.

"That play was designed for him," said Smith, who kept the drive alive a few plays earlier with a short run on a fourth-down play. "He came over to the sideline and said 'Coach, I got this. Let's do the play. Let's do Z-Cobra, Coach, I got this.' I knew my man David was going to do anything to get it in the end zone, so I knew I had to just put it there."

Durant (6-1) looked well on its way to a victory early in the third quarter after Smith capped the Cougars' opening drive of the second half with a 1-yard scoring run, putting them ahead 14-0. However, the Gryphons' (5-2) offense finally awoke and started moving the ball, though not behind county rushing leader Cary White, who was held to a season-low 64 yards on 18 carries.

Sickles went to the air, and quarterback John Melvin Hendrick delivered. Hendrick (14 of 21, 258 yards) threw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes, the last one a 35-yard strike to Chris Nahat, who had a huge game with 10 receptions for 188 yards. That gave the Gryphons a 15-14 lead with 6:02 left in the game.

The Cougars, however, were able to come through with their backs against the wall, and now Coach Mike Gottman's team enters its bye week riding a four-game winning streak.

"It was a great football game. Outstanding. It was just one of those things where we were determined to walk away with a win," Gottman said. "David Claypool made a great catch, Je'Twan made some nice runs and a great throw on that. It was just an outstanding football game. I'm so proud of our football team right now."