Defense powering Cougars early

Posted Sep 9, 2009 by Adam Adkins

Updated Sep 9, 2009 at 04:01 PM

Durant’s offense seemed to have the pieces in place to make some noise this season with the likes of quarterback Je’Twan Smith, running back/receiver John Hicks and receiver David Claypool among the starters returning in 2009.

However, it’s been the Cougars defense that has led the way early this season.

After shutting out Gaither in a preseason win, the Cougars defense limited Chamberlain to 154 total yards of offense in a season-opening 17-3 win.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprise about that,” Gottman said of his defense’s early success.

The Cougars defense should be tested this week against Brandon (0-1). The Eagles have some good offensive players, including running back Darius Lee and receiver Sean Watson, who had two touchdown receptions in the preseason game and another in last week’s loss to the Ravens.

“They’ve got some weapons,” Gottman said. “I think this is going to be a big challenge for us.”

As for the offense, Gottman is hoping the unit can turn things around and find its stride this week. The Cougars managed one fourth-quarter touchdown to beat Gaither 7-0 in the preseason, and had two fourth-quarter touchdowns to seal the win against the Chiefs.

“We’ve got to limit the turnovers and mental mistakes,” he said. “That has really hurt us.”