It may be early in the school year, let alone football season, but there’s only one word on the minds of head coach Mike Gottman and the Durant Cougars football team these days: “playoffs.”
After getting a taste of the postseason last year, earning a berth after a second-place finish in the district, the Cougars are hungry for more in 2017 and will look to start on a good foot in the preseason matchup with Blake.
“That’s a goal that we have,” Gottman says. “We want to not just get to the playoffs, but we want to win. We want to win some playoff games. So, to do that, you’ve got to play well and you’ve got to be a good, solid team. That’s what we’re striving for.”
The buzz around the team’s field house and practice areas is strong. The team’s veterans talk of the program being underrated, thanks to a mass graduation that hit the defense especially hard. There’s confidence among the players that, despite losing players such as Jake Ross, Jaden Garrett, Chris Gay and Xavier Lyas to graduation, people are “sleeping on” a strong team.
The thought for this week’s game is that Blake will test the Cougars in several key areas. As always, Gottman — as much a stickler for fundamentals as there is — is looking for ball security, disciplined play and proper tackling. But the offense and defense are looking at questions on the opposite ends of the spectrum.
There’s a good reason talking about the offense puts a big smile on quarterback Carlton Potter’s face. Though the unit lost top wideout Brandon Myers and athletic running back Jake Harris, Potter will get to work with highly-recruited back Cam Myers, versatile fullback David Tabakovic and what all three players call Durant’s “best o-line ever.”
Jory Cole, who filled in for an injured Steven Witchoskey for part of 2016, will once again line up at tight end. Besides that, Gottman and the coaching staff are curious to see who will step up at wide receiver. Throwing on Blake’s defense could help make that clearer.
On the other hand, there isn’t nearly as much experience on the defensive side. Senior linebacker Tanner Jurnigan was tapped to fill Ross’s role from 2016 as both the mike and a leader of the unit, and Gottman expects him to help the “new faces” adjust to live game action and get comfortable with their assignments.
Gottman specifically says he’s curious to see how the secondary will perform. Demarcus Governor has moved to cornerback from free safety, where C.J. Barnes will now play, and Grover Wills will line up on the other side of Governor. Gottman says he’s looking to see “good communication” throughout the secondary.
“We’ve got a lot of new faces and I’m really curious to see how the new faces — the new people, inexperienced people — what they have to offer this football team Friday night,” Gottman says.
The Yellow Jackets are coming off of a 5-4 (1-4 district) 2016 season that saw the team stay competitive with Brandon, Hillsborough and Chamberlain in losing efforts, plus a 40-0 rout at the hands of the Armwood Hawks. Sophomore running back Omarion Coleman was the team’s bright spot, rushing for 1,089 yards and seven touchdowns with 165 receiving yards and three touchdowns as a freshman.