The Douglas defense didn't need very long to convince its home crowd Friday night that it was going to be just fine.
Douglas held a potent Elko running attack to just 66 yards on the ground and wreaked havoc on quarterback Jerry Hassett, allowing only 70 passing yards in manhandling the Indians 41-7 at Keith Roman Field Friday.
"As a defense we really stepped tonight," said junior cornerback D.J. Brady, who picked off a pass and recovered a fumble in the game. "We've been going through their motions and their plays all week, we knew it, we stepped up and we played good."
From the opening drive, it was apparent that Elko would be in for a long night.
Douglas' Mike Buffo recovered a fumble on the third play of the game, and after Elko blocked a field goal attempt from the 30-yard-line, Tiger sophomore Brent Koontz blocked the eventual Elko punt on the next drive, which was recovered at the Douglas 26.
Four plays later, Roman Davis rolled right and found Brady in the end zone for an eight-yard touchdown pass.
"It all comes back to our line," Brady, who had a 17-yard catch later in the game, said. "I would have never had those if the line didn't protect. Roman did an awesome job. He ran the ball, he threw some awesome passes. I didn't have to even do anything, they were right there for me."
Elko's Dominick Robertson scored on a 3-yard run late in the first quarter, which would prove to be it for the Indians on the night.
Douglas linebackers Cory Hartzell, Keenan Copp and Kyle Luken were all over the field all night, and lineman Tyson Estes, who had a fumble recovery of his own, stayed in Hassett's face all night.
"Words do not do justice to the type of effort these kids gave tonight," Douglas coach Mike Rippee said. "They were ready to play.
"We challenged the guys up front to dominate and those guys did exactly that on both sides of the ball. When you do that, there's a pretty good chance you are going to win."
Estes, Datin Whatcott, Nate Newton, Trevor Freitas, Anthony Caldera and Tyree Holdridge all contributed to the line on both sides of the ball to dominate in the trenches.
The offensive line opened up big holes for Spike Agosta, who carried the ball 28 times for 174 yards and two touchdowns, and allowed Davis ample time to throw, as he completed 11-of-16 passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns.
"It was a huge game for our confidence," Davis said. "Our line won the game for us. They kept the ball moving down the field and it was an all-around great team win."
