Special to the R-C
The Douglas Pop Warner Midgets got back on the winning track last Saturday with a 33-6 win over the Fallon Greenwave.
The Tigers played solidly on both sides of the ball despite some players being in new positions due to injuries or illness.
One of those players was Michael Darby.
He was moved to strong side tackle from tight end to fill for Colton Whitaker who was out with strep throat. Darby blocked well as did the rest of the offensive line, Derek Gilmore, Austin Park, Kevin Capone, Tim Owens, and Sam Amador.
They provided ample running room for backs Jon Ortega, Ryan Simons, and Corey Dillon. As usual, quarterback Justin Tenney ran the offense calmly and efficiently.
He also showed off his arm a bit, completing several passes. One was a nice catch and run by Dillon for a thirty-yard gain, and another was to wide-out Tyler Radtke whose first catch of the year was good for an extra point conversion.
On defense, the Tigers also stepped up their performance.
Jorda Kynett, making his first start on the defensive line, was joined by teammates Shawn Castillo, Pierce Dykes, Ray Bedow, WilE Derbyshire, and Ryan Moore in providing very little room for the Fallon ball carriers to run.
Park, Steve Campbell, and Zach Schultz provided support at defensive ends.
Seeing extensive two-way action, linebackers Dillon and Simons seemed to be in on every tackle. Cornerbacks Conner Love, Alan Bolanos, and Adrian Duenas-Quinonez provided outside support against the run and safeties Caymen Hoshizaki and John Ortega made sure Fallon couldn't get its passing game.
Late in the game, several of the linemen had an opportunity to run the ball. The biggest gain went to Dykes who broke off tackle near midfield and was all the way to the ten before being dragged down.
Next up for the Midgets is South Lake Tahoe at Stodick Park tonight at 8:00 p.m.
JUNIOR PEE WEES
Douglas topped the Sparks Raiders 31-0 to win the battle of the two unbeaten teams.
From the opening kick-off, the Tigers dominated both sides of the ball. Foster's booming kick combined with excellent coverage by the kick team pinned Sparks deep in their own territory. After the Tiger defense shut the Raiders' first possession down, a futile attempt at punting into the wind only made matters worse for Sparks.
Douglas wasted no time putting points on the board. Led by a strong performance from the Tiger offensive line, halfback Reid punched in the first score for Douglas.
Halfback Lippincott rushed for another touchdown later in the first half to make the score 12-0 at halftime.
The Tiger D dominated the entire game, allowing only two first downs for Sparks.
Led by the blitzing and the sure tackling of linebackers Foster, Gervais, Lippincott and Curtis, the Tigers gave their best defensive effort of the young season.
Cornerbacks Simons and Carter blitzed from the outside, making big tackles in the Sparks backfield. The corners, along with free safety Peck, shut down the Raiders' passing game as well.
The defensive line, anchored by Curtis & Goodman, pushed Sparks back consistently. Defensive tackles Vidaurri, Loshbough, Fricke, Englund, Valenzuela, Lewis, Herman, Oleshak, Lawrence, Kaliman and McNeill fought hard in the middle to stop Sparks all night long. Defensive ends Abreu, Reid and Goodman shut down the outside, with Goodman and linebacker Foster recording big sacks.
Following a 35-yard kick return by Lippincott to start the second half, the first play from scrimmage saw quarterback/halfback Lyons bust a 45-yard touchdown to give the Tigers an 18-0 lead. Big runs by Abreu and Lyons, as well as a solid rushing attack from backs Lippincott, Reid, Carter, Curtis, Peck and Foster, led the Tigers' complete dominance, with Lippincott and Lyons adding another score each.
Tight end Gervais caught a Lyons pass for an extra point, and tight end Werth made a nice catch at the goal line. Led by center Leonard, the Tiger offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage with a rotation of Garduno, Peters, Pelcher, Loshbough, Melhus, Long, Wass, Rooker, Clinger and O'Connor.
This Tiger team continues to improve each week and looks to go to 5-0 on the season Saturday against Feather River in Portola, Calif.
PEE WEES
An overwhelming defense was the key to victory for Douglas over the previously undefeated South Lake Tahoe Vikings last Friday evening.
The Tiger defense created four turnovers--three fumbles and an interception--establishing good field position throughout the contest, while prevailing 18-7.
Tiger cornerback Reid Winans recovered an early fumble at midfield, which the offense converted into a touchdown. The Tigers marched to the one-yard-line behind several strong runs by fullback Cody Hayes and a swing pass completion to tailback Sullivan Cauley, who ran it for a thirty-yard gain to the Viking one.
Quarterback Wes Hundley then sneaked the ball in for the first of his two touchdowns on the night. The teams then traded possessions without scoring, and the first half ended with the Tigers up 6-0.
The Vikings returned the opening kickoff oflthe second half to the Tiger 35-yard-line and scored three plays later on a 30-yard pass completion, before converting the point after to go up 7-6. The Douglas defense then took over the game against the older, bigger, heavier team from the Lake. Nose guard Kyle Adams sacked the quarterback and caused a fumble, recovered by the Tigers, safety Cole Melhuse intercepted a pass and made a nifty runback, and linebacker Matt Jones made the third recovery of a Viking fumble. Connor Miller also made two saving on-side kickoff recoveries.
Meanwhile, the Douglas linebacker corps dominated the game, seemingly all over the field and punishing the Viking offense relentlesslly until it wilted behind waves of big hits from Sullivan Cauley and Tyler Seamons and the netlike field coverage of Joey Petrali and Matt Jones. Cornerbacks Cody Hayes, Winans and safety Melhuse shut down the Viking passing game during the second half after it showed some first half success.
The defensive line was anchored by Seth Trivitt, Wyatt Eichorst, Cody Tindel,Tailor Seamons and Andrew Bigam, with defensive ends Brennan Neillon, Taylor Souza and Dalton Grisell.
The Tigers sustained a number of key injuries by halftime of the very physical contest. A number of players filled in admirably, most notably Tyler Seamons who replaced injured place kicker Taylen Lopez-Simms.
The big play of the game was a 50-yard touchdown pass from Hundley to wingback Melhuse, putting the Tigers up 12-7 early in the fourth quarter.
After this score the Tigers played ball control offense, culminating in their third touchdown drive and putting the game out of reach. Running back Tyler Seamons and quarterback Hundley had several long runs for first downs during the fourth quarter to keep drives alive. The Douglas offensive line wore down its opponent during the fourth quarter, opening big holes in the defense behind the tireless efforts of Ryan Philips, Ben Cochran, Ian
Pieler, Connor Miller, Colton Waggoner, Kevin Owens, Austin Dickey, Joe Almeida, Kyle McDaniel, Mitchell McIntosh, Dylan Waldrep and Joe Curcio.
The Pee Wee Tigers play the Sparks Wolfpack tonight at 6 p.m. at Stodick Park on the big field.
JUNIOR MIDGETS
Douglas came from 13-6 down to win 21-19 over the previously unbeaten Sparks Steelers.
The Tigers assumed control of first place in the league with the win.
