When Douglas and Las Vegas line up for the opening kickoff Aug. 29 at Keith "Duke" Roman Field, there will be very little that hasn't changed for the Tiger football team.
Gone are defensive coordinator Bob Bateman and line coach Steve Wilcox " not to mention all but four starters from last year's league runner-up squad.
Gone is the Sierra League in its original format as Reno, Hug and North Valleys ship out to be replaced by Galena, Manogue and Fallon.
Without a doubt, it is a transition year for the Tigers.
And in the spirit of that transition, coach Mike Rippee has gone ahead and shaken up the offensive and defensive schemes that Douglas has riden to two league titles, five playoff berths and a regional runner-up finish in the last five years.
"We are going to change things up a bit on both sides of the ball," Rippee said. "Offensively, we'll be running some more open sets, going with no tight end and single backs. We'll be spreading it around a bit more than we have in the past and forcing defenses to cover us all over the field. We'll throw it a lot more than we have traditionally."
On the defensive side of the ball, Douglas will be departing " at least for the first few weeks of the season " from its 53 set (five linemen, three linebackers) in order to deal with the spread offenses featured at Las Vegas and Reed. Reed was the only team to score more than 30 points on the Tigers last year, taking the season opener 38-15 and running away with a 43-6 playoff win.
"We have to change it up," Rippee said. "It's a dynamic offense when you have people that can run it. We just have to be better prepared. We can't do what we did against Reed last year. We tried some things in the second matchup with them, some things worked and some things didn't.
"We took a long look at it during the offseason, looked at what other people do and developed some things from that. No matter how we scheme it, the kids will have to go out there and take care of business."
Not that the Tigers will be dropping their traditional sets completely.
"We'll still be running the 53 on defense," Rippee said. "So many teams up here rely so heavily on the run and that is the set that we've found to be most effective against the run.
"Offensively, we will be passing more, but we know that you still have to run the football effectively if you want to succeed."
Douglas takes on Las Vegas (ranked No. 1 in the state by some polls) Aug. 29 to open the season and follows with road games at Reno, Reed and Fallon. The Tigers return home Oct. 3 to take on Galena, giving them matchups against three of last year's four regional semifinalists in the first five weeks of the season.
"The kids are excited about the schedule," Rippee said. "This is the level we need to be playing at. This is where we want to be. We need to learn how to play these games. It's not simply about putting a team out there and hoping to survive. It's getting out that and playing for a championship. You have to play good teams to win championships."
Senior Tim Rudnick (5-11, 155) is one of Douglas' four returning starters heading into the year, and a kep component to the Tigers' plans to throw more often this season.
He completed 42 of 78 passes in five games last year for 687 yards and eight touchdowns.
"Timmy is the guy," Rippee said. "He'll be carrying a lot on his shoulders this season.
Junior Luke Peterson enters the season as the No. 2 guy after a strong season at the junior varsity level last year.
While seniors Nico Barker and Barron Santiago each put up about 78 yards in reserve duty last year, the starting nod will most likely go to a junior varsity call-up.
Junior Johnny Pollack has been making noise since his freshman year with his hard, physcial running style and Jordan Cruz is one of the faster players in the region this season.
"Johnny probably gets the ball right now," Rippee said. "He runs hard and he's a tough kid. He's not a blazing guy that will dazzle you with his speed, but he is a punishing runner.
"Jordan has good speed and is very strong. Both guys will probably see a lot of time."
While Rippee said he doesn't expect to employ a two-back set as much this season, he said Santiago, Cruz and Matt Garren will be fighting for the fullback spot when they do.
Senior Zach McFadden (6-0, 157) leads a talented but inexperienced group of receivers after hauling in 25 catches for 339 yards and four touchdowns last year.
He'll be joined by James McLaughlin (6-3, 205), Davey Fisher (6-2, 165), Tanner Thomas (5-7, 160), Connor Dillon and Danny King.
"Depth-wise, this is probably our strongest suit for the skill positions," Rippee said. "Between those guys, we should find a solid combination of three."
With more spread sets, Douglas won't be using tight ends as much as they have in the past two seasons, but Eric Guzman and Luis Pina-Duarte will be battling it out for playing time there.
"They're both good, hard-working kids," Rippee said. "They'll bring a lot of energy to the line."
Senior tackle Parker Robertson (6-3, 275) heads the group while Sam Barragan (6-1, 231) will assume the role at opposite tackle.
"Sam has come a long way," Rippee said. "He worked extremely hard in the offseason and probably had the most improvement in the weight room out of the entire team. He earned a starting spot and he's a guy we believe that will just get better with time. He'll have a baptism of fire the first few games, but he is willing to put in the work and he should be a good one."
Nick Mortenson (6-0, 200), who saw some action at tackle last year, will shift to center, where he'll compete with Jacob Phillips for time.
"Nick got better and better last year, but it was just hard to break in with that line we had," Rippee said. "He's got a big job to do in the middle, but he is more than capable. He's just a tough, hard worker."
A committee of players will be sharing time at the guard posititons with junior Ryan Moglich expected to turn some heads this season.
He was posting 400-pound-plus squats during the offseason and is considered Douglas' top option at guard.
"He came up to varsity at the end of last season and we could see then that he was going to be a good player," Rippee said. "He's been outstanding in the weight room so far."
Senior Jeff Kelly, Garrett Tenney and Danny Bloom will be rotating in at guard.
"All four of those guys will be seeing time on the other side of the ball, so we'll keep a healthy rotation going," Rippee said.
Robertson again slides in at tackle and will be joined on the opposite side by Robert O'Dell (6-2, 278).
"O'Dell is strong and he is looking good up front there," Rippee said.
The duo will line up around Moglich at nose guard while Tenney, James Lawrence, Chris Winberg and Cruz will be seeing time at the ends.
Jeff Kelly will be Douglas' closest thing to a returning starter on its front eight after showing promise in limited action last season at middle linebacker.
He'll battle with David Kolbe, a player Rippee called one of Douglas' strongest, for the starting spot.
Pollack, Santiago, Pina-Duarte, Joe Ramos and Nikolai Vasquez are all expected to be in the mix at outside linebacker.
"We definitely have some depth," Rippee said. "We'll find a starting three out of that bunch. The most important spot is the middle and Jeff has the edge there."
Douglas will employ both three and four-back sets heading into the year, opening up an extra safety spot.
Thomas, an all-league selection at cornerback, will return to his spot after four interceptions and a touchdown last year.
Barker, Dillon and Rudnick will see time at the other corner.
Fisher, McFadden and Brad Gonzales will be competing for playing time at safety.
"Gonzales can hit," Rippee said. "He probably had the best day during our first day in pads. He saw time there last year and he's doing OK. He had some big hits."
Vasquez and Pina-Duarte are competing for the starting spot with Vasquez holding the slight edge.
Vasquez, whose father, Milko, coaches the boys' soccer team, is coming back from a knee injury during basketball season. Even so, Rippee said Vasquez is looking good on field goals from anywhere inside the 40 and that he is getting the ball high and deep on kickoffs.
"He's consistent on his kicks and he's getting stronger as his knee continues to heal," Rippee said.
Thomas and McLaughlin have been competing for the punting position.
