R-C Sports Notebook: Walking wounded retread

Just when the Douglas football team was getting back some key pieces lost in past weeks to injury (Parker Robertson, Johnny Pollack, Jeff Kelly), the Tigers got hit with another wave of bad breaks Saturday afternoon in a 47-13 loss to Manogue.

Receiver Zach McFadden (knee), lineman Ryan Moglich (knee), lineman Robbie O'Dell (dizziness) and kicker Niko Vasquez (shoulder) were the most notable injuries during the game.

The good news for the Tigers is that McFadden's injury turned out to be a bad strain and he will be gearing to return for the season-finale game against Carson. O'Dell is expected to be back and the extent to which Vasquez's injury will have on his play has yet to be seen.

That all being said, I can't remember a year like this where so many key players have been shaken up for the Tigers. There have been big injuries in the past, but when you step back and look at it, every single top skill player (with the exception of Rudnick) has been sidelined for a period of time this season.

When you add it up, running backs Pollack and Jordan Cruz and receivers McFadden and James McLaughlin have accounted for over 2,000 yards of the Tiger offense this season. The quartet has also produced 20 touchdowns this season.

Pollack and McFadden should be back, but the next two weeks will be a story of how the remainder of the roster steps up.

There have been some bright spots. Senior Tanner Thomas (who was already pulling double duty as a defensive back and punter) emerged as a strong receiving threat on Saturday with five catches for 108 yards and sophomore Austin Neddenreip recorded his first varsity statistics with five catches for 48 yards.

Barron Santiago has stepped up in the backfield with 268 yards and three touchdowns in only two games worth of sustained action.

It's the injuries to the linemen and linebackers, though, that have been the quiet back-breakers for the Tigers. That's a group that will need to get well in a hurry to overcome the type of game we saw on Saturday.

When a team outgains another 470-94 on the ground, the story of the day is the play in the trenches.

I was a bit surprised, getting my first look at Manogue, that their lines were so big (230, 203, 200, 205, 230, 260 across the offensive front). It's the only other team in the north I've seen that can compare with McQueen's size up front. I think we are realistically looking at seeing those two teams in the regional championship.

It could end up being quite a game.

- Douglas quarterback Tim Rudnick tied the school record for passing touchdowns in a season (17 with Luke Rippee) with his 67-yarder to Tanner Thomas on Saturday against Manogue.

He broke the school record for completions in a season (121), besting Rippee's 2003 mark of 120 and needs 67 yards to tie the school record for passing yards in a season with two games remaining.

He remains second place in career touchdown passes with 25 (trailing Rippee's 39.) Rudnick moved into second place on the career passing list with 2,588, but will not be able to catch Rippee's career mark of 4,064.

It should be noted that Rudnick has a better per-game average than Rippee, who threw for about 127 yards a game during his three-year career. Rudnick is averaging what has to be a school best for multi-season quarterbacks, with a 199 per-game clip in 13 games played and 12 starts. As a starting quarterback, he is 9-3 overall.

- Zach McFadden assumed sole possession of fourth place at 67 but after suffering the knee injury, it appears his chase for the top spots in the receiving categories (Andy McIntosh leads all three with 104 catches, 1,816 yards and 17 touchdowns), will fall short. He has 1,073 receiving yards and 11 touchdown catches in his two-year varsity career.

- Former Douglas standout Morgan LeFever's state record mark of 26 goals in a season survived a late push from a pair of current Tiger starts.

Senior Ally Freitas scored three goals in the regular-season finale against Fallon Saturday to finish with 24 goals, while freshman Tia Lyons went scoreless in the game and stayed at 23.

The duo assumed the No. 2 and No. 3 spots on the state and school lists and Lyons is off to a phenomenal start in the chase for the career mark of 59, held by Carson's Brandi Vega.

- Former LPGA great and Wooster High graduate Patty Sheehan passed out the awards at last week's NIAA 4A State Golf Tournament at Hidden Valley in Reno.

- Mike Rippee has accounted for 41 percent of the wins in the 76-season history of the Douglas High football program.

- There are five different coaching staffs who had winless tenures in the early years of Douglas High football. The program has had 17 coaches in total.

- Saturday's loss to Manogue brought to an end a 15-game win streak on the road. I'll have to go back through and see where this ranks officially, but it has to be one of the longest such streaks in the program's history.

Who was the first team Douglas High ever beat in football? Bonus Question: Who was the first team Douglas ever lost to?

- Damonte Ranch girls' soccer beats South Tahoe 1-0. The Vikings had been unbeaten in league play through the past two full seasons and Damonte has been trying to find its footing since the school opened several years ago. This was a huge win for the Mustang program. What this comes down to is South Tahoe's strong defense not being able to account for its lack of offense. In one game, the Vikings went from fighting for the league title to a No. 3 seed heading into the playoffs.

- Elko football knocks off North Valleys. Let's not forget that North Valleys was unbeaten heading into league play. Since then, the Panthers have lost five consecutive games. Elko has the leading rusher in the Northern 4A.

- Manogue football 47, Douglas 13. What can you really say? Manogue took rank advantage of an injury-depleted front seven for Douglas, piling up the highest rushing total (470 yards) against the Tigers in at least the last seven years, perhaps more (The highest total I have on record is 380 to Spanish Springs in 2005, but I don't have all the numbers from the 80s and 90s on record yet).

- Elko girls' soccer makes late push. After a series of midseason losses, the talented Elko girls' soccer team entered the final week of the regular season in sixth place in the High Desert League. A pair of big wins, though, vaulted the Indians into the No. 2 seed heading into this weekend's regional playoffs.

- Not-so-much. Galena football 21, Carson 20 in overtime. The surprise here would be that it was so close, except when you really think about, it makes sense. Galena is having a down year, no question, but in the grand scheme of things, they have been improving every week and should claim a playoff spot. You can't knock a team that peaks at the right time (just ask the 2003 Reno squad). Carson, though, has also been steadily getting better. I think they are still a year or two away from really being a player in the league, but this game is the type of confidence builder that can lead to one of those landmark wins a coach looks for. Remaining opponents Fallon and Douglas should be on high alert.

If I had a vote for overall player of the year in the Northern 4A Regional football honors ballots (and I don't), this is what it would look like, based mostly on their respective performances over the last week:

1. Kyle Van Noy, McQueen; 2. Tyler York, McQueen, 3. Patrick Riggs, Manogue; 4. Tim Rudnick, Douglas; 5. Ray Daniels, Damonte Ranch

The top athletes, regardless of sport, at Douglas High determined by production during competition, overall value to their team, ability to perform with consistency in routine situations, performance compared to others at the same position throughout the state/region, ability to come up big in clutch situations, versatility, attitude, sportsmanship, overall athletic ability, heart, potential at the next level, and a host of other intangibles (emotional leadership, role-playing value, work ethic, etc.) This is all, of course, just my opinion.

Fall Sports

1. Bethany Wurster, golf

2. Amelia Ritger, tennis

3. Megan Mitchell, volleyball

4. Tanner Thomas, football

5. Tim Rudnick, football

6. Ally Freitas, soccer

7. Tia Lyons, soccer

8. Johnny Pollack, football

9. Ross Gardner, soccer

10. Taylor Biaggi, cross country

If there were more spots on the list: Alex Laing, soccer; Taryn Williams, volleyball; Jourdan Burke, volleyball; Katie Dry, girls' soccer; Jessica Waggoner, volleyball; James TenBroeck, tennis; Parker Robertson, football; Brian Randall, soccer; Mysta Townsell, volleyball.

Would it be weird if my daughter wore a helmet until she figures out this whole walking thing?

I give up. This week, I'm picking mascots that would win in a head-to-head fight.

You can still sign up for the weekely contest at www.recordcourier.profootball.upickem.net.

Congratulations to the week 8 winner, Brad Essary.

Here are my picks for week 9:

Lions over Bears (I'm taking the king of the jungle over the dumpster scavenger)

Jets over Bills (let's say for the sake of argument the jet lands on the buffalo)

Bengals over Jaguars (Jaguars may be fast, but locked in a cage with a tiger?)

Ravens over Browns (I still don't even know what a Brown is - not existing counts as a forfeit)

Buccaneers over Chiefs (Pirates have swords and eye-patches)

Texans over Vikings (Don't mess with Texas)

Cardinals over Rams (The bird gets the nod for being spry and having a beak)

Titans over Packers (If we're talking about the Cal-State Fullerton Titan Elephant, this is a walk)

Broncos over Dolphins (Get a fish out of water and it's only a matter of time)

Cowboys over Giants (Hey Giants are big, but Cowboys tend to have guns and lassos)

Raiders over Falcons (Once again, swords)

Eagles over Seahawks (perhaps the only match this week that would make any sense, but I'm just guessing on which bird would actually win)

Redskins over Steelers (I'm picking against yet another mascot that doesn't technically or mythically exist)

Tiebreaker: Patriots over Colts (Never bet against that crazy cornered hat)

Season record: 57-59. Record last week: 6-8. Season survivor: Out.

- It will be revealed in the series finale that the entire show has been actually taking place within the dreams of Vincent the dog.

The answer to both questions is Fallon. Douglas lost the first game in the program's history to the Greenwave 102-0 on Oct. 6, 1923. It is the most points Fallon has ever scored and the most points Douglas has ever given up. Football was still relatively new to the area and Douglas had simply never seen a real game before.

The first win came after 26 consecutive losses in the first six seasons of the program. Douglas got off to an 0-11 start in its first two years, abandoned the program between 1925 and 1933, lost 15 consecutive games in its first three seasons back before finally picking up its first win, a 13-6 win over Fallon at home on Oct. 9, 1937 in their third game of the season.