R-C Sports Notebook: Playoff weather sets in again

The R-C Sports Notebook is a weekly online-exclusive column that appears every Tuesday on www.recordcourier.com. It contains observations, rumors, scoops and briefs from the Douglas County sports world.

It would be impossible to say whether the thick fog that set in on Keith Duke Roman Field during the second half of Friday night's Douglas-McQueen had anything to do with McQueen running back Styker Ngongseke's springing loose, straight up the middle and then to the left sideline, for the 53-yard game winning touchdown with less than six minutes remaining.

But it should be noted that the play was, by 13 full yards, the longest gain on the ground given up by the vaunted Tiger defense all season.

In one run, it covered more ground than the Tigers gave up in three separate games this season.

The question begs to be asked, was it simply an unprecedented breakdown by a staunch run defense against a team that had attempted only nine passes in the entire game?

Or was it that Ngongseke slipped in between the shrouds of mist at the line of scrimmage, disappearing just long enough to become a part of the growing Douglas home playoff lore that has included every bizarre weather pattern imaginable?

Of course, no one on the Douglas coaching staff will ever make the excuse that the weather had anything to do with anything, but there is no denying that the playoffs have thrown their fair share of bizarre twists the Tigers' direction when Douglas is playing at home.

"If you ever have a drought, just put us in the playoffs and we'll take care of it," Douglas coach Mike Rippee said after Friday's loss.

The thick fog, so dense at times that the jersey numbers on players standing at the near has marks couldn't be deciphered from the sidelines, rolled in about two minutes into the second half as Douglas was driving toward the end zone.

It settled, creating surreal shadowy suggestions of a football game somewhere in the midst of the cloud, until the very moment the final horn sounded, lifting off into the Carson valley sky and carrying the Tigers' dreams of a run toward the regional title with it.

In 2003, a snowstorm seemingly centered directly over the high school hit approximately one hour before kickoff of the Northern 4A Regional championship game.

Reno High school, a team the Tigers had beaten just weeks prior 34-14, came in and ran straight up the middle on Douglas, walking away with a 34-14 victory of its own.

The year before, Douglas clinched a home playoff game and promptly walked into what has come to be known as the Mud Bowl. Galena picked up a slim victory after a rain storm rolled in, turning the middle of the Tigers' field into mush.

With the new artificial surface installed this season, Tiger coaches had hoped to eliminate future weather problems during the playoffs, but no surface could have accounted for Friday's Fog.

Some say the Tigers are cursed.

But, much more realistically, most say they simply fall prey to the wiles of Northern Nevada November weather. The playoffs bring with them flurries and floods for many schools not dressed in the orange and black.

It's just risen to the forefront in Carson Valley with the Tigers' recent successes.

In the long run, it was simply a case of a playoff-tested team making a big play against the odds late in a big game.

- What the Douglas defense accomplished this season, however, simply can not be overlooked.

Douglas allowed just 112.1 yards on the ground per game and 108.5 yards through the air. The Tigers gave up just 18 touchdowns and piled up an amazing 33 takeaways.

They did so against some of the most potent offenses in the state - Reed, North Valleys, Hug and Reno.

Before Ngongseke's run Friday night, they hadn't allowed the Lancers to cross the 50-yard line.

Every starter could arguably make a case for a spot on the all-region team this season, but the most likely nods will probably go to nose guard Anthony Alvitre (11 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery), middle linebacker Brent Koontz (4 interceptions, 1 touchdown, one sack), cornerbacks Niko Saladis and Sean Peralta (six interceptions apiece) and safety Cole Hamzik (4 interceptions).

Tackles Jeff Nady (seven sacks), Sean Molina (six sacks), and ends Phil Mannelly (six sacks) and Nate Whalin (sacks) all have outside shots, and should make the all-league teams with ease. Linebackers Ryan Pruitt and Brock Peterson each deserve to be in the mix as well.

- Like father, like son.

The Tigers' home-debut against the Wooster Colts two weeks ago was a little bit of repeat history for two Carson Valley families.

Clay Peterson and Bobby Wartgow played for the Tigers in another first game at the new field when Douglas made the move from Fred H. Dressler field at Carson Valley Middle School to the current site at the then-new high school in the early 1980s.

Their sons Brock Peterson and Luke Wartgow, each linebackers this season for the Tigers, played in the Tigers 55-7 win over Wooster.

In the 80s first game, Peterson - playing quarterback for the Tigers - threw a late touchdown pass to clinch a tie with Hug.

- Enough football for now. The Douglas volleyball team put in a valiant effort in the regional semifinals, losing to Damonte Ranch in four games.

Although it was a bit of a rebuilding year for the Tigers, next year shows a lot of promise as Douglas will return eight of its 14 players, six of which were regular starters this season.

If that weren't enough, the Tiger junior varsity and freshman programs each won their respective league titles.