Growing Grizzlies beat Tigers

MINDEN - The growth of the Galena High football program could be seen by the reaction of the Grizzly players after the game was over.

Many of the players had stunned looks on their faces and some were even hanging their heads. This after a victory.

Galena coach Greg Sakelaris had to remind his team of the proper perspective it should have after the Grizzlies won 14-8 at Douglas High on Friday.

"Hey, why are we hanging our heads?" Sakelaris asked his players after the game.

Sakelaris made the point that his players could be a little upset - but never that upset about a win. "Be a little pissed off," he said. "Nobody said you had to be satisfied."

Galena's players were a little upset because the final score was only so close because Douglas scored as time ran out and then tacked on a two-point conversion at the end of the game. The Grizzlies also missed two field goals, fumbled the ball away at the Douglas 1-yard line and failed to score on another occasion when it had the ball inside the Tigers' 10.

"We had a couple more opportunities to score," said Galena's Luke Penrose, who had 112 yards on 22 carries. "I think it could have easily been 28-0."

Galena took a 6-0 lead in the second quarter on Penrose's 3-yard touchdown run that was set up by a 37-yard pass from Pat Flynn to Vann Adams. Galena drove down to the Douglas 1 on its next possession on the strength of the running of Robbie Lund, who had a 14-yard run, and Penrose, who rushed for 32 yards on four carries on the drive. But the Tigers' Erik Olson picked up a fumble and returned it to the Tiger 20.

Galena went up 12-0 early in the fourth quarter on Penrose's 2-yard scoring run. The key plays on the drive included an 11-yard run by Brandon Hendrix and a third down pass of eight yards from Flynn to Tre Rager down inside the Tigers 10 to keep the threat alive.

Galena took a 14-0 lead after Graham Munro's punt pinned Douglas at its own 2. Darrell Faircloth and Pat Blair combined to tackle the Tigers' Monte McCann in the end zone for a safety.

Douglas received new life when Andy McIntosh forced Flynn into a fumble when he made his second sack of the game. Kevin Jones recovered the ball at the Galena 31 for Douglas, but the Tigers couldn't take advantage.

The Tigers were able to strike on the game's final play when Luke Rippee hit McIntosh on a 25-yard scoring strike. McIntosh then caught a pass from Rippee for the two-pointer for the final margin.

"They're an awfully tough team," Douglas coach Mike Rippee said. "They play real hard, tenacious defense.

"We just never seemed to get in a rhythm. We just got whipped by a team that played better than us this week."

But coach Rippee said he was pleased with his team's effort. "I have no complaints about these kids," he said.

McCann ran for 64 yards on 14 carries, Olson caught four passes for 69 yards and Mike Garren had a tackle for a loss for Douglas (1-2). Matt Fry intercepted a pass and Adams recovered a fumble for Galena (2-1).