Football Preview: Durant Cougars vs. Tampa Bay Tech Titans
Durant hasn't had much luck against Tampa Bay Tech recently, but that could start to change on Friday. After both having extra time off, the two teams will dust off their jerseys to square off against one another at 7:30 p.m.
Last Friday, Durant and Newsome were almost perfectly matched up, but Durant suffered a 20-19 loss.
Despite their defeat, Durant saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Michael Ryan, who threw for 127 yards and a touchdown, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground, was perhaps the best of all. Emmanuel Lee helped Ryan out on the ground, rushing for 85 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Tampa Bay Tech had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 14.5 points) and they went ahead and made it three back in September. They claimed a resounding 42-7 win over the Spartans at home. The result was nothing new for the Titans, who have now won three matchups by 21 points or more so far this season.
The critical scores for Tampa Bay Tech came from Michael Dempsey, Jordyn Murray, Trevon Moore, William Simmons, Edmarien Gwinn, and Adarius Norton. The team also got some help courtesy of Andreas Zayas, who rushed for 101 yards on only ten carries.
Tampa Bay Tech's defense made their presence known, laying out Nathan Richardson. 6.5 times. James Jolly was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up three sackshimself. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 5.6 total tackles per game. Another thorn in Spoto's side was Tre'Variez Jacobs, who picked up 1.5 sacks, forced a fumble, and made eight total tackles (3.0 for loss).
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Tampa Bay Tech was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 205 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Spoto only rushed for 83.
Durant's loss dropped their record down to 4-3. As for Tampa Bay Tech, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-2.
Durant came up short against Tampa Bay Tech in their previous matchup back in November of 2020, falling 7-3. Will Durant have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
