About the only thing the Douglas Tigers were missing in their 2006 storybook football season was that elusive happy ending.
Just hours before the Galena Grizzlies celebrated their first regional championship Friday, the bulk of the Tigers' roster was out with other Douglas lettermen doing Thanksgiving dinner shopping for needy families in Carson Valley.
But such was the makeup of this year's Tiger football team: Hard workers and strong characters to the end.
Douglas (8-3, 7-0) played flawless football throughout its seven-game Sierra League slate and captured its first league title since 2003, doing almost all of it on the road while the renovation at Keith Duke Roman Field was completed.
It all ended prematurely in a fog-covered heartbreaker at home against traditional power McQueen, but the season that was, was still spectacular in itself.
Defensively, the Tigers boasted its boasted what some have called its best front eight ever, which wreaked havoc on opponents all year.
Offensively, Douglas progressed every game and had quite a multi-faceted look going through the final three or four weeks of the year.
The Tigers struggled out of the gates, dropping a 21-0 decision to eventual High Desert League champion Reed, but still looked strong defensively as they held down two of the region's most explosive players in Tony Maldonado and Jerel Clark.
They came back with a strong 19-7 effort against Spanish Springs, shutting out the Cougars until the final few minutes and nearly shocked McQueen in a 34-31 overtime loss at Manogue High School during the first of what would be four neutral "home" games.
McQueen jumped out to an early lead in that match-up, but Douglas rallied with 22 unanswered points through the middle of the game to tie it up. McQueen pulled out the win on an overtime touchdown run.
After that Douglas regrouped to beat Carson, Damonte Ranch, North Valleys, South Tahoe, Hug, Reno and Wooster in order, outscoring its opponents 234-54 during that stretch.
The strong defensive front was led by defensive ends Phil Mannelly (six sacks, one forced fumble) and Nate Whalin (five sacks, two fumbles recovered), defensive tackles Jeff Nady (seven sacks and two fumbles recovered) nose tackle Anthony Alvitre (11 sacks, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble) and linebackers Brent Koontz (one sack, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, four interceptions and one touchdown), Ryan Pruitt (one sack, one interception) and Brock Peterson (one interception, one forced fumble).
As a group they applied extreme pressure on its opponents, allowing the defensive backfield to break loose for an impressive 23 interceptions on the year.
Cornerbacks Niko Saladis and Sean Peralta each finished with six interceptions apiece, but safety Cole Hamzik was perhaps one the top cover backs in the region, picking off four passes of his own and delivering some tough pass breakups along the way.
Koontz, Molina, Alvitre and Saladis each scored touchdowns for the ball-hawking defense, which allowed an average of about 220 total yards a game and posted two shutouts.
Offensively, the strong line of Keith Lowe, Kevin Rogers, Mike Colyer, Curtis Hartzell, Trevor McCarthy, Kevin Emm and Koontz opened up the way for 2,229 yards on the ground.
Reese Kizer (165 carries, 804 yards and seven touchdowns) and Tyler Tinstman (121 carries, 664 yards and six touchdowns) split the load carrying the ball, but juniors Will Sheerin (27 carries, 231 yards and four touchdowns) and Brandon Lowrance (20 carries, 206 yards and two touchdowns) were impressive in limited action.
Quarterback David Laird spread the ball around to 14 different receivers on the year for 963 yards on 75 completions and six touchdowns.
His top targets were tight end Kevin Emm (15 catches, 236 yards, three touchdowns) and Kyle Heidt (14 catches, 225 yards and one touchdown), both juniors as well. Senior Steven Passalacqua caught eight passes for 80 yards and one scored and Drew Hughes caught five passes for 44 yards.
Tinstman was quite arguably the top return specialist in the region with four punts returned for touchdowns and a number of others that came very close. He consistently set Douglas up in good field position throughout the year.
Douglas loses a large number of key players, but returns 10 starters and will benefit from a crop of junior varsity players coming off a JV league championship season and a freshman team that took second place in its league.
DOUGLAS
SEASON WRAP-UP
Finish: Northern 4A Regional quarterfinalists, Sierra League champions.
Record: 8-3 overall, 7-0 Sierra League
MVP: Brent Koontz, MLB/TE, sr. Koontz was a tremendous on-field leader aside from being an outstanding playmaker and a rock wall on defense. He had four interceptions with one returned for a touchdown, one fumble forced, one fumble recovered and one sack. He regularly in on tackles and was the leader of what was arguably Douglas' best front eight ever. He also had four catches for 65 yards as a tight end and was a standout blocker.
Gamebreaker: Tyler Tinstman, RB/PR, sr. Tinstman was nothing but electric on punt returns this season, taking four back for touchdowns, including three in the first half alone against South Tahoe, and set the Tigers up with fantastic field position all year long. As a running back, he ran for 664 yards and six touchdowns while averaging 5.48 yards per carry. He also had long game-sealing touchdown runs against North Valleys and Hug.
Unsung hero: Keith Lowe, OL, sr. Lowe played the majority of the season with a broken metacarpal in his left hand and yet led a solid offensive line as Douglas tallied an impressive 2,229 yards on the ground as a team. Lowe entered the season with fellow senior Kevin Rogers as the only linemen with any varsity experience, but the two helped lead the line to quick maturity, allowing only a handful of sacks during the course of the year.
Most Improved: Tie. Reese Kizer, RB, sr., and David Laird, QB, jr. Kizer opened the year with mediocre 45- and 82-yard games and then came alive during the first matchup with McQueen, running for 146 yards and one touchdown. He completed the season with 804 yards and seven touchdowns despite missing games against Damonte Ranch and most of the game against South Tahoe with an injured leg. He finished his career with 1,553 yards on the ground, which ranks fifth at Douglas since 1980. Laird opened the season passing for just 64 yards against Reed. But he improved with every game, throwing for 983 yards and six touchdowns. His statement game came against Reno, when he calmly led the Tigers while converting a number of big third downs late in the game in a 24-21 win.
Best game: Douglas 24, Reno 21 at Reno, Oct. 20. The Douglas-McQueen tilt in the third week of the season was a game for the ages, both in terms of tradition and actual play, but Douglas' inspired upset win over Reno gets the edge here. The Tigers came out and scored three touchdowns in the first quarter after Niko Saladis picked off two Jon Dankworth passes. Saladis later kicked a game-winning field goal and the Tigers rode Kizer's sure hands to the win late in the game.
Starters lost: 14
Returners: 10 starters, 5 key reserves, 22 special teams/reserves.
-- Joey Crandall can be reached at jcrandall@recordcourier.com or at (775) 782-5121, ext. 212.
