TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Coach Enjoys Strong Opponent

ADVERTISEMENT

By DAREK SHARP

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 4, 2008

PLANT CITY - The Armwood Hawks are not the best opponent to play if a team wants to show off its strong points.

But Durant High head coach Mike Gottman was happy to play the football powerhouse, even though it resulted in a lopsided defeat.

The Cougars wrapped up the spring with a 34-0 loss in a half of the football jamboree May 22 at Newsome.

"We were excited to play Armwood," Gottman said. "That's where we have to get to. If we want to be a championship team, that's where we need to be."

Durant had a tough time keeping up with Armwood's athletic offense and defense. Hawks quarterback Mywan Jackson ran through big holes, scoring two touchdowns. He threw for two more scores.

The Cougars' Austin Devall was a bright spot along the defensive line and the Durant secondary played pretty well except for a couple of broken plays.

From here, Durant looks to improve through the summer. Gottman said off-season weight training will be key.

Durant players also will enjoy being able to attend a pair of summer camps.

"We'll send 45 or 50 guys to University of South Florida for a four-day camp, and about 15 will be going to the 'Down and Dirty' camp at Stetson" University, he said.

In the other half of the jamboree, Plant City lost to host Newsome, 7-0.

The Cougars and Raiders will meet in the season opener.

Reporter Darek Sharp can be reached at dsharp@tampatrib .com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT