Lisbon routs Durant to gain first victory
By Gibson Lowenberg
LISBON – The Lisbon Lions soundly defeated the Durant Wildcats 51-14 on Friday night, marking head coach Alex Dean’s first career victory.
“Durant is a quality program—well-coached and they have good athletes,” said Dean. “Knowing what they have and seeing our guys perform the way they did was very encouraging, so hats off to Durant for a physical game.”
After giving up a touchdown and a two-point conversion on the first drive of the game and having five penalties in the first quarter, the Lions did not allow another scoring drive until late in the third quarter and dramatically cut back on yards lost to penalties.
“It’s been a message all week of no excuses,” said Dean. “When adversity hits, how do we respond? Body language, demeaner, all those types of things.”
The Lions were led by running back Ryder Meeks who had 253 scrimmage yards, including 188 on the ground and three touchdowns. He also had several huge kick/punt returns and contributed a blocked PAT.
“I was seeing the backside,” said Meeks. “I knew they were planning on me getting the ball and going straight forward. But I made a couple cuts, I read the defensive line on them, and I just made the most of it.”
Both Meeks and Dean gave credit to the offensive line for how well he performed against the Wildcats.