South Tahoe High hadn't forgotten the 75-7 shellacking Douglas administered in their previous confrontation.
Although the Tigers scored three first-quarter touchdowns on Saturday in Viking Bowl, South Tahoe kept the score respectable in a a 40-13 Sierra Division football defeat.
"Give credit to South Tahoe. They are a much-improved team, and they are hard workers. At no time did I see them lay down," said Douglas coach Mike Rippee.
STHS coach Chris Morgan, who was coaching at Incline when the blowout happened last year, didn't use the massacre as a rallying cry during practice this past week.
"No doubt last year was tough," Morgan said. "I think I mentioned it before the season started. We didn't talk about it at all this week. The kids that did play in that game last year did bring it up themselves."
Junior Chris Klug, who led the Vikings with three receptions and a touchdown, and two-way lineman Chris Ewing said the Vikings had more resolve and tenacity on Saturday.
"I think we had more heart than last year and more key injuries last year," said Klug, who was questionable for the game because of a leg injury. "We could have beaten Douglas if we would have gotten into the weight room and did what we were told to do."
The Vikings also traded shots with one of the most physical teams in the league.
"The score still didn't show it, but we were playing physical out there," said junior Chris Ewing, who recovered a pair of fumbles, one of which followed a punishing hit by Cory Wells on a punt return. "We didn't give up either."
A 20-yard touchdown run, the first of four touchdown rushes by senior running back Brock Peterson, put Douglas ahead 6-0. Peterson wound up with 143 yards on 17 carries.
The Tigers kept the pressure on the Vikings as Sean Peralta picked off a Willy Ervin pass and sprinted 30 yards untouched to the end zone.
Senior defensive end Jeff Nady pressured Ervin throughout. Nady, who is being recruited by Cal, Colorado State and Nevada, finished with two sacks and several batted-down passes. He almost gave Douglas back-to-back interception returns for touchdowns, but a holding penalty wiped out the score.
The indiscretion didn't slow down Douglas. Quarterback Tim Rudnick hooked up with Ross Bertolone on a 60-yard scoring pass - one of only seven attempts by the Tigers.
South Tahoe (1-5 league, 1-8 overall) pulled within 19-7 on a 26-yard pass play from Ervin to Klug. Klug got free under Douglas' cover-two defense with a well-executed post route.
"We knew going into the game that the post was going to be a big play for us," Klug said. "Willy threw a nice ball."
Peterson, however, dashed the Vikings' hopes by scoring twice more before halftime. His seven-yard TD run followed a 65-yard pass reception by Brandon Lowrance. He added his third TD run just before halftime, running 45 yards on a draw play.
There was little scoring after halftime as both teams seem content to play smash-mouth football. Peterson's 10-yard run was the only score of the third quarter, and STHS tight end Mike Burns left the Douglas secondary behind on a 73-yard pass reception with 2:33 remaining.
"I just knew the end zone was in front me, and I just ran as hard as I could to get there," Burns said.
Burns started the season on the offensive line due to a series of preseason injuries.
"We knew Mike could run, and, boy, he surprised us how fast he was," Morgan said. "When we had some guys back and could move them into the O-line, we put Mike at tight end. We knew he's be a serious weapon for us."
After the two first-quarter interceptions, Ervin settled down and didn't throw another pick. He finished with 134 yards through the air.
"We just hurt ourselves. That's just part of the growing process," Morgan said.
