By Austin Bishop
The Star Herald
ACKERMAN —
First-year Durant head football coach William "Sleepy" Robinson isn't one to pass the buck, so he knows exactly where the responsibility for keeping his Tigers focused from week-to-week lies.
"If they have a let down," Robinson said of his No. 1-ranked Tigers, "that will be on the coaches. It's our job to make sure they focus on the next game and keep working hard."
That wasn't a problem on Friday night as Durant rolled to a solid 35-0 win over Ackerman.
"I'm sure they wanted a little redemption," said Ackerman head coach Adam Dillinger. "We were the only team who beat them in the regular season last year and I'm sure they talked about that. And to a degree, they probably felt they could prove they were going to be one of the best teams again by beating us."
Robinson said he's not letting his team worry about whether they are playing Ackerman, Williams-Sullivan or Shaw.
"It just so happens they are the next in line on our way to Jackson," Robinson said of his team's goal of returning to Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in December for the MHSAA Class 1A State Championship Game. "We are just taking them one at a time. It wouldn't have matter who it was."
The Indians, now 1-1 on the season, played Durant tough in the first half, before the Tigers picked up a late score to lead 14-0 at the intermission.
"They were throwing the ball around in the first half and we were hanging in there," Dillinger said. "We really felt like we were okay at the half."
Then Durant went away from a throw-it-around-the field mentality to the smash mouth football approach that served the Tigers so well in 2009.
"They just lined up in the "I" and we couldn't stop them," Dillinger said.
Senior tailback Cortez Frizell rushed for 249 yards on 24 carries and scored four touchdowns for the Tigers.
"We just took what they gave us," Robinson said. "They put seven in the box and we went to the running game and Frizell did what he normally does, take the hull to the end zone."
Durant took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 3-yard run by Frizell and made it 14-0 at the half on a 40-yard interception return for a touchdown by Keith Reynolds.
Durant's second-half touchdowns came on runs of 7, 1 and 5 yards by Frizell.
Cody Harris rushed for 46 yards on 11 carries, while Brasher hit on 4-of-12 passes for 45 yards. Lavonte Miller had a 20-yard reception, while Harris had one for 18 yards. Josh Brown and Lenny Taylor also added a catch each.
Robinson hit on 4-of-11 passes for Durant, while David Hogsett had two catches for 32 yards. Robert Lowe led the Durant defense with 14 tackles, while Dekeema Jones had 10 and Antwan Bailey nine. Davin Mitchell, Reynolds and Keenan Hodges each picked off a pass for the Tigers.
Durant, now 2-0 on the season, plays host to arch-rival Williams-Sullivan on Friday night, while Ackerman visits Bruce to take on the 0-2 Trojans. Bruce dropped its opener to Water Valley 13-7 and dropped a 19-14 decision to a strong Vardaman team on Friday night.
Williams-Sullivan is 1-1, owning a 6-0 win over West Lincoln and a 42-0 loss to McAdams.
