Durant Looks South For 1st 6A-6 Game

After five weeks of not traveling outside of their comfort zone, the Durant High Cougars venture as far away as it gets for the team on Friday.

And they hope the long bus ride home is a fun one.

Durant begins its District 6A-6 schedule Friday, when the Cougars visit Sarasota High.

To this point the Cougars have faced only eastern Hillsborough County squads, but when it comes to 6A-6, two of their three opponents are in Sarasota. In two weeks, the Cougars head south to face Sarasota Riverview.

Though the first half of the season has featured no 6A-6 teams playing each other, early on it looks like Sarasota Riverview is the favorite with Sarasota and Durant possibly battling for the runner-up spot.

Needless to say, that makes Friday's meeting between the Cougars and Sailors a big one. The loser will likely have to knock off Sarasota Riverview down the road to have any playoff hopes.

Sarasota Riverview is the only team to stay close to Venice, the ninth-ranked team in Class 5A; Venice edged the Rams 21-14. And Sarasota Riverview pulled off an upset of then-unbeaten and still-ranked 3A foe Sarasota Booker.

Durant struggled last year to stop Sarasota's standout pass combination of quarterback Casey Kelly and receiver Robin Rothenbach. In fact the Cougars seemed on their way to victory last year when rain delayed the game on Oct. 5, pushing the conclusion to three days later when, with clear skies, Sarasota's offense got rolling and the Sailors won 22-19.

However, both Kelly and Rothenbach have graduated. Now Sarasota concentrates mostly on the run, with sophomores Artavious Curry and Desmond Hurley getting most of the carries.

Durant, meanwhile, is back to its original quarterback, sophomore Je'Twan Smith, after senior Daniel Coan tore the anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, in his knee. Coan had just taken over the starting role for the Cougars in their win over King in the fourth week of the season.

Defensive back Hezekiah Lumpkin also hurt his knee recently but may return by the end of the season.

Kickoff from Sarasota High is 7:30 p.m.