Despite a strong showing from the Durant defense on Friday, Nov. 11, the Cougars couldn't make it out of the first round of the playoffs. Tasked with facing East Lake on the road, the Cougars couldn't get much offense going in a 14-7 loss.
Cameron Myers got Durant on the scoreboard first, running into the end zone with 3:32 left in the first quarter and sending the entire visitors' side into a frenzy. It helped that the Durant defense had little trouble figuring out the Eagles' offense, with players on the sideline correctly predicting some of East Lake's plays before the Eagles could snap the ball.
But the home team broke things open at the end of the first half, first by scoring a short, yet wide open, passing touchdown with 33 seconds until halftime. The Eagles then returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, setting the score at 14-7.
Durant's offense couldn't match the success of the defense, with the run game often getting stuffed and the passing attack not clicking as well as usual.
Although the Cougars did force an East Lake fumble early on, there were no lost fumbles or interceptions in the game. Flags were a different story: the Cougars committed almost all of the called penalties, and that sideline was visibly displeased about it. Durant was most affected by a spot at 5:38 in the fourth quarter, where the Cougars appeared to convert a fourth down into a first down but the referees ruled it a turnover without a measurement.
Next week, East Lake will host Tampa Bay Tech, which survived a double-overtime thriller with St. Petersburg, 48-45.