Durant season opener goes late following power outage at Paul Laird Field

The Durant Lions scored their first touchdown of the 2023 season. DHS fell at home to Ada, 14-7. Staff photo.

DURANT – The Durant Lions opened the football season on Friday night and it was almost Saturday morning before the first game was in the books.

Sports presented by Indian Nation Wholesale.

A power outage on the campus of Southeastern Oklahoma State University affected a few areas on the east side of the campus, including the football facility at Paul Laird Field.

The power went out at the stadium with just more than four minutes remaining in the first quarter of the Durant varsity football game with rival Ada High School. The stadium, along with some dormitory halls, went dark. The outage happened just as the sun was starting to set.

The cause of the outage was revealed to be a bad line fuse. When workers from Oklahoma Gas & Electric arrived and assessed the issue, the fuse was replaced quickly.

The stadium was without power for about an hour, but there were no incidents at the game. The bands from both high schools alternated playing stand tunes and the crowd waited, for the most part, in their seats for word about the status of the game.

Power was restored around 9:15 p.m. and the contest continued from that point.

The game was concluded after 11 p.m. with Ada coming away with a 14-7 victory.

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