R-C Sports Notebook: At the end of the day, it's still just a game

A little more than a half-an-hour after the Douglas boys' basketball team managed to hang on for an exciting 59-46 win over Carson Friday night, things turned ugly on the county line.

Douglas County Sheriff's deputies responded to a fracas that some reporting callers claimed was on the verge of a riot between Carson and Douglas students at 9:10 p.m. at the Carson Valley Plaza in the general area of In-N-Out Burger.

Initial reports were that 50 to 75 teenagers were involved, but a later call estimated the number closer to 100.

Deputies from Carson City also responded and the fight was broken up without any claimed injuries or victims.

The size of the fight, though, was what left the most disturbing impression.

"That's a large number of kids involved," Douglas County Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. Tom Mezzetta said. "We were just fortunate there were no weapons involved. These things tend to escalate quickly and it doesn't take much for someone to be seriously injured.

"If someone brings a baseball bat or a tire iron, or God forbid a gun, into the mix, that changes things quickly. Our main concern was that someone might be seriously injured or even killed."

This is the second notable fight between Carson and Douglas students this school year alone. During the schools' matchup at Manogue High School during football season, a Carson student found his way into the Douglas student section and was violently ejected out of it. From all appearances, he didn't find his way in by mistake.

Somewhere along the line, school rivalry boundaries became much less about the actual game and somehow more about the turf.

Seemingly regardless of the scoreboard, the student sections from both schools over the past several years have started launching verbal chant assaults at each other during games ranging in extremes from "White trash" and "STDs" to flat-out expletives and vulgarities.

And before each game, the public address announcer at each school faithfully reads the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association's policy on sportsmanship, including the threats to eject anyone in violation. And, generally, anyone that can be isolated is thrown out for vulgarities.

What is becoming increasingly popular, however, is for an entire section of students to join en masse with vulgar or inflammatory chants directed at the other school, or sometimes a single athlete.

And while when carried on long enough, an administrator will step in to quell a chant, very rarely can anything be done to single anyone out for causing the disturbance.

So what is the lesson learned? Get enough numbers on your side and you are untouchable.

Which is the very logic that feeds mob violence.

There is no official report on what sparked the fight Friday night, but it's reasonably safe to say someone was either being a poor winner or sore loser and someone else took exception to it.

It was a game played by teenage boys that were probably nowhere near the In-N-Out Burger Friday night, but someone thought they could take ownership over what happened on the floor, something they likely had nothing to do with, and use it as a basis to prove their superiority over someone else.

Ironically, at halftime Friday night, a student dressed as a Tiger was tackled by a Carson student in front of the Carson student section. Both students were hauled away and there was some speculation that the costumed individual may have actually been a Carson student intending to mock Douglas.

All the same, tempers were already on high during the game and they spilled out far away from either school shortly after.

"It would really be a tragedy for someone's life to be altered physically due to something that just got out of hand," Mezzetta said. "Kids need to keep this stuff on the field or the court, work it out that way, not in an alley in the middle of the night."

It's a fair bet to say this isn't over.

It happened out of the grasp out teachers or coaches, but it could easily escalate through the schools' matchups in the coming years.

There is still something to be said for true sportsmanship. The responsibility for this to end will ultimately rest on the individual students.

Tossing an entire section of kids out of the game Friday night probably wouldn't have prevented what happened later on.

Simply cheering on your own team, choosing not to recognize insults being thrown your direction and if everything else fails, walking away from a volatile situation, could make a world of difference.

It might have even stopped the ugly blemish on what was otherwise an entertaining and clean matchup between two good basketball teams.

Time will tell what the Carson-Douglas rivalry will end up being but, judging by the last year, it is on its way from being one of Nevada's oldest athletic traditions to becoming an embarrassing off-the-field blemish.

So much has been said about the Douglas boys' basketball team's depth this year. Last week, the Tigers actually found themselves having to prove it.

With 6-10 center Keith Olson out with a foot injury and 6-8 backup Joe Nady limited due to illness, the Tigers put together two impressive wins against Wooster and Elko.

The Elko game was perhaps the highlight, being that it was played on the road at one of the hardest gyms to play at in the entire state.

Guards Mike Gransbery and Kevin Emm stepped up in both, but Jeff Nady and David Laird each had large roles inside during Douglas' three wins last week.

Douglas coach Werner Christen said earlier this week that he is just looking for some consistency from his team.

The Lady Tigers find themselves fighting for their playoff lives this week, but it can't be ignored that the future looks very bright.

Only two of Douglas' players are seniors and the rest of the roster includes two sophomores.

There have been stretches this season where Douglas has looked as though it could play with anyone in the state. The team's trip to Las Vegas late in December was solid proof of that, as was the Tigers' showing late in the game against Elko Saturday.

This is a dangerous team, and if they can put it all together at the same time as the season winds down, they could jump up and surprise some people in the playoffs.

I'm sorry to be replying from so far away, but I noticed the rankings for the Sierra Nevada Sports Media poll and Carson was No. 3 amongst the wrestling teams and I believe Carson beat Fallon head to head a week ago. I know they lost to Damonte, but explain how they are No. 3 after beating the No. 1 team head to head? -Dan Randles, Clarkston, Wa.

Editor's note: Dan is right, the wrestling rankings have been hard to determine this year with so much parity between the top four squads. Dual matches give the voters some determination as to the quality of a team, but how each school does in individual tournaments is also a large factor. This weekend's regional tournament should answer a lot of questions, but it should be close whatever happens.

Jeff Nady, jr., boys' basketball and Jessica Waggoner, soph., girls' basketball. Nady was thrust into the spotlight this week with Olson missing two games. He showed that he can make the plays down the stretch and that his defense will be a force to be reckoned with as the season progresses.

Waggoner scored 25 points in the loss to Carson, but has continued to develop as a rebounder and defender as well this year.

Also considered this week were Mike Gransbery (boys' basketball); Bridget Maestretti (girls' basketball); Tony Ferris (wrestling); Hillary Sapp (skiing); Ryan Olsen (wrestling) and Cody Spates (wrestling).