LAKELAND 31, DURANT 27: The Dreadnaughts prevail despite a great night from Sean Zentmeyer.
By MIKE READLING
Published October 17, 2003
DURANT - With just over three minutes remaining in Durant's Class 5A, District 7 game with Lakeland, Cougar running back Sean Zentmeyer separated himself from the glob of teammates on the Durant sideline and took a knee.
His helmet by his side and Durant ahead by three thanks to his 60-yard run seconds before, Zentmeyer was resting, yes, but mostly doing his best to stop the Dreadnaughts with sheer willpower.
An occasional teammate would come over to congratulate him but the senior's deep blue eyes never left the field as he watched Dreadnaughts march steadily against the unbeaten Cougar defense until they had first-and-goal from the 11-yard line.
What he and everyone else on the Cougar sideline saw was pure horror: Lakeland receiver Paul Wilson lined up on the near side. He was uncovered.
Quarterback Chris Griffin accepted the snap, took one step back and hit Wilson for what ended up being the winning touchdown in Lakeland's 31-27 victory. The win knots Lakeland and Durant atop the district standings with one loss each.
It was the only thing that could have taken away from Zentmeyer's night.
He carried the ball 16 times for 223 yards and scored touchdowns on runs of 75 and 60 yards. With R.J. Pollard out with a pulled hamstring it was up to Zentmeyer and Matthew Stwan to carry the load.
It seemed whenever Lakeland (5-2) stopped Zentmeyer for a 3-yard gain, he made it 6. Or 7. A simple run up the middle turned into a 75-yard sprinting contest that he won going away.
When Durant (6-1) trailed 24-20 with 4:41 remaining, he took the first handoff on the next drive and ran it 60 yards for the score. The only thing he couldn't do was stop a very consistent Dreadnaught defense from one knee on the sideline.
"He was unbelievable tonight," Durant coach Mike Gottman said. "Sean wanted it more than anybody on this field tonight. My heart goes out to him."
The game was an odd one from the start.
It started as typical Lakeland-Durant battle with each team owning one possession in the first quarter as they played ball control and ran almost every play. Lakeland drove 42 yards on nine plays to cut the score to 7-6.
Durant scored on the next play on Zentmeyer's 75-yard run. Then Lakeland answered with a one-play drive, tying the game at 14. Durant fumbled on one play, Lakeland fumbled back four plays later.
Lakeland returned a kickoff 97 yards for a score and Durant added Zentmeyer's 60-yard, one-play possession. The game ended with a dropped pass on first down from the Lakeland 39, followed by another incompletion, a sack and an incompletion.
