Football: Tigers looking for breakthrough year

8-3.

That's been the Douglas football team's final record in four of the last five seasons. During that same stretch, the Tigers have been to the playoffs each season and even won a Sierra League title in 2006.

Many programs might be thrilled with that type of finish. Even by Douglas' standards, it's exceptional.

Combined, those four seasons rank among the nine best in the program's 77-year history.

Of those nine, eight finished with eight wins (only the 2003 squad finished with more at 11 total).

But the Tigers simply want more. If not for a rash of key, and untimely, injuries in 2008, there's no reason to think it wouldn't have been more last year.

So this year, Douglas has re-tooled on both sides of the ball - getting back to its bread-and-butter on offense and shifting away from its main staple on defense - in an effort to break through.

The absence of those key starters last year opened the door for a number of younger players to get valuable experience. That returning experience, coupled with a solid overall performance in the offseason program, has coach Mike Rippee optimistic that this could be the year they get past the 8-3 mark.

"The commitment on their end has been tremendous," Rippee said. "We're looking forward to seeing what they can accomplish on the field.

"There's a lot of competition going on at a lot of spots on the field, but the guys have looked pretty good without the pads. We just have to get suited up and prepare for Las Vegas now."

Ah, Las Vegas.

Douglas welcomed the perennial powerhouse to Minden last year and nearly scored a monumental upset, falling short 41-35 with the ball on its own 40 as time ran out.

This year, the Tigers travel down south to open the year against the Wildcats on Aug. 28.

They follow with their home-opener against Reno the next week and enter straight into league play after a bye week.

"We were hoping to get a third non-league game in there," Rippee said. "We just couldn't find anyone to match our schedule up with."

He did add that he is talking with McQueen about adding a game in week 3 (Sept. 11), but that has not been finalized yet.

From there, Douglas opens up league play by hosting Fallon.

The major players in the Sierra League set up after Fallon, with Douglas taking trips to Galena and Damonte Ranch on back-to-back weeks and hosting Manogue a week after homecoming against Wooster.

After a trip to South Tahoe late in October, Douglas will close out the regular season on Oct. 29 at arch-rival Carson High.

Rippee said Douglas will shift back to a more run-oriented offense after exhibiting much more passing last season under the direction of eventual all-region quarterback Tim Rudnick, who finished the year with a school-record 2,550 passing yards and 23 touchdowns.

"We'll have a new starting quarterback one way or another, and whenever you do that, you try to be a little more basic with what you do to start out with," Rippee said. "We have some great experienced running backs that we think can carry a lot of the load early on, so we're going to be running the ball much more than we did last year.

"Our running game is going to be the key to our success."

While the focus on offense will go more toward the ground game, Rippee said the new focus on defense will be trying to stop the run against the modern era spread offense.

For starters, that means dropping the 5-3 defense, which the Tigers have employed for much of the last decade.

"We're changing it up a bit," Rippee said. "We've been running the 5-3 for a long time and this year we'll go more toward the 4-3.

"It's very difficult to adjust to the spread in the 5-3. With the 4-3, you add one more defensive back and remove a defensive lineman.

"The key to being successful is stopping the run, but when you look at our losses last year, that's exactly where we lost those games - we were very unsuccessful in stopping the run.

"We're giving it a different look out there simply for the fact that it gives us more leeway to adjust to the spread look we're seeing a whole lot more of."

In total, Douglas will be returning 14 players who saw starting time at one point or another during the 2008 campaign. Here's a look at how the lineup could shake out as the season progresses:

Perhaps the biggest battle heading into fall camp is under center. It's a battle, Rippee said, that won't last long.

"We'll know who our starting quarterback is by the first scrimmage (Saturday vs. Galena & Reed)," he said. "But even then, you're always a play away from being the guy. Whoever wins it, wins it. We're lucky enough to have two qualified players fighting for it."

Senior Lucas Peterson has the returning varsity experience, but he didn't attempt a pass last year in limited playing time.

Junior Zack Williams has led the incoming group from junior varsity to a 17-1 record at the developmental levels the past two seasons.

"They both bring different things," Rippee said. "Lucas is a very intelligent young man, a hard worker and a great character type of guy. He's competing real hard for this position and he's worked tremendously hard during the offseason.

"Zack is big and has a real strong arm. The big thing for him will be making the transition from junior varsity to varsity. You have to be more of a thinking quarterback at this level and make your reads. He works hard and is very coachable. Right now, they are both just battling it out. It's a great challenge."

"I feel we're as deep as we have ever been at running back," Rippee said. "We've always been a school with great running backs. I can go right down the line and name off some really great ones every year. This year, we have three that are as good as anyone around."

Leading the charge will be Johnny Pollack, who ran for 831 yards and five touchdowns last season despite missing the final five games of the year with a groin injury.

He posted marks of 221 and 195 yards in the two games leading up to the injury.

He'll share time with speedy Jordan Cruz, who ran for 549 yards and 10 touchdowns despite missing three games with various injuries last year.

"Those two guys are two of the hardest workers on the team," Rippee said. "There's not much separation between the two. Great work ethics and great attitudes on both of them. All they want to do is play."

They'll be joined by junior Ryen Ake, who started at the junior varsity level last year.

"Ryen is just an outstanding young man," Rippee said. "He showed the greatest improvement on the team in our max testing over the summer and is also our starting strong safety right now.

"All three guys are pretty interchangeable. We'll run more ace back sets with the occasional two-back set. It'll just be whoever is ready to go at the moment. They'll all spell each other at times."

Senior Connor Dillon is the team's top returner, having caught 17 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns last year, but he'll be coming back from a broken wrist suffered during summer weight lifting.

"He's been in a cast all summer, but he's just now getting back into form, catching some passes," Rippee said. "He played a lot last year and did a great job. We expect him to be ready."

Junior Austin Neddenriep, who was called up from junior varsity after James McLaughlin went down last year, finished with 13 catches for 160 yards and a touchdown.

He and Danny King (4-95-1) are the team's only other returning contributors at the position.

Rippee said he expects Christian Neilander, Kevin Quenga and Nikolai Vasquez to battle for playing time as well.

"They've all done a nice job so far," he said.

Douglas brings a total of six tight ends into the season, but only one with any varsity game experience.

Luis Pina-Duarte caught six passes for 107 yards last year and is the front-runner to be the starter at the position.

Junior varsity call-ups Scott Rudnick and Ben Reed will also be in the mix on the front end.

"Those three more than anyone else have stepped up and should see a lot of action," Rippee said, adding that Riley Griffith could figure into the mix as well.

The unit that took the hardest hit due to injuries last year is also the unit that took the largest hit from graduation on offense.

While that leaves three open spots, it also leaves a number of experienced returners to fill those spots due to the time they saw after the injuries last year.

The anchors to the line will be guards Garrett Tenney and Ryan Moglich. Tenney was the league's co-lineman of the year while Moglich was having a strong year before a season-ending knee injury.

Rippee said he'll be using that duo as more of a committee, mixing in senior Danny Bloom and some of the incoming juniors as well.

"We have a pretty good group coming up from junior varsity and one of their biggest strengths was up front," Rippee said. "We're looking to get three or four guys in there on a regular basis at guard because some of our best lineman will be playing on both sides of the ball. We don't want to get in a situation where the guys up front are going both ways too much."

Senior Walker Higgins is the frontrunner at center.

"He's not the biggest guy, but technique-wise, he does a great job," Rippee said. "He's inexperienced but heart and desire gets you a long ways at that position. Right now, he is the guy."

Jacob Phillips, who comes in at 6-3, 200-plus pounds, has all but nailed down a starting spot at tackle after jumping in when all-region lineman Parker Robertson went down with a knee injury last year.

"He played a lot last year and has gotten considerably stronger," Rippee said. "He has a good frame and is another hard worker."

Patrick Miller, who saw time on the defensive line last year, could also see starting time at tackle. August Greth, Spencer Fellows, Zach Falanga and Cody Baer will also be in the mix.

"I feel like we have some real depth on both lines, which is something we haven't had as much of in the last few years," Rippee said. "Moglich, Tenney and Phillips are really going to anchor that offensive line. We'll build the rest from there."

With the elimination of the nose guard position on defense (which was filled by Moglich last year), Tenney will move from defensive end to defensive tackle.

Falanga will slide into the other tackle spot after a productive summer in the weight room.

"Falanga did a nice job as a sophomore in those upper divisions in wrestling," Rippee said. "We believe his best days are ahead of him."

Bloom, Miller, Phillips and Greth should all play into the mix on the line, as will Chris Winberg and Riley Griffith at the ends.

Rippee said Scott Rudnick could also see time on the end.

"We feel pretty good about that front four," Rippee said. "There are some outstanding players and there is some good depth. That'll be the key, how well we utilize that depth this year."

Pollack will serve a dual role for the Tigers, doubling at the middle linebacker spot to lead a somewhat inexperienced group.

"He'll always be on the field," Rippee said. "The good ones here always have been. Johnny will be one of those guys. I thought last year, one of our weaknesses was at linebacker and he'll give us a good foundation there."

Pina-Duarte returns on the outside and Cody Spates, who missed all of last year with a knee injury, figures to be the other outside starter.

Rippee said Vasquez, Dillon, Alex Fuentes and Shane Connelly will compete for jobs on the linebacking corps. as well.

"We've definitely got some guys there," Rippee said. "We just don't have a lot who have played there before."

The defensive backfield represents the largest rebuilding project on the entire field for the Tigers this year.

Of four spots, all are open heading into the year.

Juniors Matthew Metz and Ake will start at safety and Quenga, Will Dornbrook and Jesse Cruz have the inside track at cornerback.

Rippee said King, Dillon Spates, Colton Hughes, Neddenriep and Williams will see time in the defensive backfield as well.

"We have four or five guys we can put in there and know they will do well," Rippee said. "We have some guys who saw a little time, but not a lot.

"We lost all our starters, so it will be interesting. They have some strength, but they have some learning in front of them."

Vasquez returns as the starting kicker after converting 42 of 47 extra points last season. He'll also take on some punting duties this year, but will battle Neddenriep and Pina-Duarte at the position.

"Nikolai will be a real weapon for us," Rippee said. "He's gotten stronger and he's worked hard. He went to a lot of camps and he can be a real force.

"I can't tell you enough the significance of a good kicking game. He'll be as good as any around. He was pretty good last year and he's only gotten better."