Durant Lions OK 2023 Team Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's the month of July and that means it's preview time! Throughout the month of July and into August, we are publishing well over 100 in-depth team previews to get you completely ready for the 2023 football season. This is something that began in 2021 and has continued to get bigger every single year. We're looking forward to diving deep into the top teams across the state. From defending champions, to top contenders and plenty of dark horses, we'll have complete coverage every single day with new teams from Class 6A, all the way down to the addition of 8-man coverage this year with Class B and C. In this post, we take a look at the Durant Lions.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Durant Lions</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Preseason Prep Redzone Ranking: UR</strong><br><strong>Preseason Coaches Ranking: UR</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Durant Lions are looking to completely flip this football program after a few losing seasons in a row. A new season brings a lot of potential and the Lions will attempt to take advantage of some of the individual talent they have to win games and make a return to the playoffs. At this time last year, the Lions were coming off a 1-9 season in 2021 and missing out on the playoffs yet again. But there were a few reasons to be excited prior to the 2022 season. The Lions had a few notable move-ins and some really good young talent on the roster. The win-loss columns didn't change much at the start of the year. Durant began the season with an 0-5 record. They would win two games in the final five weeks to close out the season with a 2-8 record and the season was over without a playoff appearance yet again. But with the majority of their starters returning this season and those new faces have a year of experience under their belt, we like the Lions to continue that improvement this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What does that ultimately mean for the Lions? We don't know but we're about to find out when the season begins in September. Can Durant go from a 2-8 team last season to a winning record and punching their ticket to the playoffs? Only time will tell on that one. The district and class overall is not an easy one. Finding your way into one of those playoff spots will take a lot from the Lions. But they do return quite a bit from last year's team and that experience should help. Seven starters are back on the offensive side of the ball. The defense brings back nine starters and all eyes will be on the front seven because the Lions have two starters that are two of the best prospects in their respective classes. In fact, the Lions are really strong on both sides of the line of scrimmage. We like the talent they bring back on the offensive line and there's no doubt that they've gotten better when you consider who they see in practice every day.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2022 RESULTS (2-8 Record - Missed Playoffs)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sept. 2 - Lost To Broken Bow 30-6<br>Sept. 9 - Lost To Will Rogers 30-6<br>Sept. 16 - Lost To Ada 42-16<br>Sept. 23 - Lost To Sapulpa 28-14<br>Sept. 30 - Lost To Glenpool 38-35<br>Oct. 7 - Beat East Central 53-0<br>Oct. 13 - Lost To Coweta 58-6<br>Oct. 21 - Lost To McAlester 52-20<br>Oct. 28 - Beat Memorial 40-7<br>Nov. 3 - Lost To Del City 45-7</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Key Losses To Graduation</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kaydon Archer - Defensive Lineman<br>Stephen Holmes - Defensive Back<br>Tyler Wesely - Offensive Lineman</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Players To Watch</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["402370"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"We mentioned that the Lions had a few younger prospects that we really like and the first one is [player_tooltip player_id='402370' first='Cole' last='Robbins'] as an overall athlete. We got a chance to see Robbins firsthand this offseason at a few 7v7 tournaments and we also looked at his freshman film. On both accounts, the Durant playmaker really impressed. In a 7v7 setting, Robbins was playing quarterback and then safety on defense. In his film, he was a playmaker on offense, defense and even on special teams. The versatility that we watched on his film makes us really excited about the potential he has moving forward. We'll be keeping an eye on Robbins this fall to see how the Lions use him.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["402371"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='402371' first='Colton' last='Yarbrough'] is another 2026 prospect that we'll be keeping an eye on as Durant enters the 2023 football season. At this time last year, Yarbrough had a lot of hype as a football prospect that already picked up power five offers before he even entered high school. Like many freshmen, it was an up and down year for Yarbrough but like Robbins, he had a really good offseason while playing in various 7v7 tournaments. Yarbrough immediately passes the eye test when you see him in person and now the next step is for the production to match that eye test along with all the hype he's had. He's definitely among the top 2026 prospects in the state.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["344123"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Speaking of top prospects in the state, Yarbrough isn't the only one that the Lions have returning this season. 2024 defensive lineman Xadavien Sims is one of the more disruptive defensive linemen in the state and he's near the top of our 2024 prospect rankings. Earlier this offseason, Sims committed to Oregon after receiving offers and attention from just about every power five school you can think of. It was about 14 months ago that Sims moved up to Oklahoma from Texas and immediately became one of the top prospects in the state's 2024 class. He is an absolute force up front and he's looking to have a massive senior season.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":3,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64c710e5b8bbf"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>More Names To Know</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='670653' first='Carson' last='Allivand'] - 2024 Offensive Lineman<br>Jaydon Rangel - 2026 Linebacker<br>Jaylon Saxson - 2024 Athlete<br>Kaydon Mimms - 2024 Wide Receiver/Defensive Back<br>Mason Bacu - 2025 Running Back/Linebacker<br>[player_tooltip player_id='215204' first='Tucker' last='Dry'] - 2024 Offensive Lineman</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2023 Schedule/Games To Circle</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aug. 25 - Ada<br>Sept. 1 - AT Broken Bow<br>Sept. 8 - Will Rogers<br><strong>Sept. 22 - AT Sapulpa</strong><br>- The non-district schedule will give us a good idea of how competitive the Lions are going to be this season. But the real test begins in week four when district play opens up and the Lions go on the road to face Sapulpa. The Chieftains were the fourth place team in the district last season but they are a top five team in the Class 5A preseason rankings heading into this season. If Durant is going to make a return trip to the playoffs, they will have to play their best week after week in a district that is going to be up there in terms of talent and overall depth. <br>Sept. 29 - Glenpool<br>Oct. 6 - AT East Central<br><strong>Oct. 12 - Coweta</strong><br>- When we look at this district on paper, this game could be a head to head clash to decide the four seed in the playoffs. Coweta captured the district title last year but they lost a ton of talent on both sides of the ball. Like we said with the Sapulpa match-up, if the Lions are going to make their first playoff appearance in over a decade, these are the games that you have to win and the winner of this week seven clash could find themselves playing in the playoffs when November rolls around. The Lions will look to knock off the reigning district champs. <br>Oct. 19 - AT McAlester<br>Oct. 27 - Memorial<br>Nov. 2 - AT Del City</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Notable</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Durant Lions are hoping to turn around the football program and turn it into a playoff contender for the first time in a long time. Granted, they are in a very competitive and deep district and Class 5A features a ton of great individuals and teams. They've played eleven seasons since their last trip to the playoffs back in 2011. You have to go back even further to find their last playoff victory in 1994. In fact, the last six playoff appearances they've made, they've been bounced out in the first round. After quite a few losing seasons in a row, this is a Durant program that is determined to turn things around and start playing meaningful football in the month of November. The district is tough, the class is tough, but there is no doubt that the Lions have some individual talent that could help lead them to a winning season this fall.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Championship History</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>2 State Championships</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1983 - Beat Bristow 14-0<br>1979 - Beat Wewoka 38-32</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->