Football Game Preview: Durant Cougars vs. Bartow Yellow Jackets + Official Tickets

The Durant Cougars will square off against the Bartow Yellow Jackets at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Durant has given up an average of 29.1 points per game this season, but Friday's game will give them a chance to turn things around.

Durant is probably headed into the game with a chip on their shoulder considering Tampa Bay Tech just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Friday. They lost to the Titans on the road by a 47-30 margin. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 138th, while the Titans are ranked 36th).

Sam Themar

Passer Rating

10/03/25 @ Newsome	177.1
10/17/25 @ Tampa Bay Tech	122.8
10/10/25 vs Bloomingdale	113.5
09/26/25 @ Riverview	103.4
08/22/25 vs Lake Gibson	86.1
+ 4 more games

Despite the defeat, Durant had strong showings from Sam Themar, who threw for 296 yards and three TDs, and King Rivera, who picked up 109 receiving yards and a pair of scores. Themar's passing game has become a key predictor of the Cougars' success: the team is 2-1 when his passer rating is 110 or higher, but only 2-4 otherwise.

Meanwhile, Bartow ended up a good deal behind Riverview last Friday and lost 20-6.

Durant now has a losing record of 4-5. As for Bartow, their loss dropped their record down to 3-5.

Everything came up roses for Durant against Bartow when the teams last played back in October of 2024, as the team secured a 42-14 victory. Do the Cougars have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Yellow Jackets turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.