Sertoma just the next step to the next step for some

Through the last 28 years, the Sertoma All-Star Football Classic has stood as one last shot for a number of the area's best high school football players to play with their peers.

For athletes from Douglas High, more often than not, the game has been a symbolic end to their football career overall.

This year, for three just-graduated former Tigers, it's simply a short stop before competing at the next level.

Douglas placed six players on the Silver team all-stars for tonight's game, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Mackay Stadium on the University of Nevada, Reno campus.

Of those, running back Johnny Pollack, defensive end Garrett Tenney and kicker Nikolai Vasquez will be continuing their careers in college, despite a rollercoaster recruiting season that saw no concrete offers on the table when February's national signing day rolled around.

Pollack has signed with Adams State, an NCAA Division II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference school in Colorado, Tenney signed with Jamestown, an NAIA Dakota Athletic Conference school in North Dakota, and Vasquez is headed for Butte College, a junior college in Oroville, Calif.

All three players were first-team Las Vegas Review-Journal All-State selections, All-Northern 4A selections last fall while Pollack was selected as the regional player of the year by both the area's coaches and media.

Pollack led the Northern 4A in rushing with 1,054 yards and 11 touchdowns and recorded 95 tackles on defense with 10 going for a loss. Tenney was the Sierra League's Co-Lineman of the Year as a junior in 2008 and Vasquez nailed a 51-yard field goal against McQueen in the playoffs.

Despite the numbers and the accolades, the recruiting interest - particularly from Division I schools - simply didn't materialize the way any of the three had hoped.

"It was kind of a bummer," Pollack said. "But you have to take things in stride, no matter what. You just can't stop trying. That's how the ball rolls. Sometimes it doesn't go your way, sometimes it does.

"The fortunate thing about football is that it's not as much about talent as it is your desire to work hard. If you work hard, you'll be good. There will be some place for you to play."

Tenney said he wasn't really even considering college until recruiting letters started coming in at the end of his junior year. Ironically, Jamestown was one of the first schools to contact him.

"They were there from the start and they stuck with me," Tenney said

Vasquez fielded interest from more than 20 schools, but most of those weren't offering any aid.

Butte came into the picture looking for a kicker after former Galena standout Chris Ewald graduated and signed with Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

"We thought it was a great fit because they are very competitive and they are able to place a lot of kids to the next level," said Nikolai's father, Milko Vasquez. "There last few starting kickers ended up getting scholarships at four-year schools. They do a good job."

Butte went 8-3 last season, defeating Sierra College in the Premiere West Bank Bowl, and won the national championship in 2008, going 12-0 while winning the conference, regional and state championships as well.

Pollack, who set the overall school weightlifting record in the power clean this spring at 305 pounds along with the squat record in his weight class at 425, was weighing his options, with Menlo College in California rising to the forefront, before Adams State came into the picture about three months ago.

"We sent film up there and I guess they liked what they saw," he said. "They said they wanted me to play running back, but I just want to play, whatever position that is. It seems like a great program. I'm going up for a visit this summer."

Tenney narrowed it down to Jamestown and national NAIA powerhouse Carroll College.

"It was a tough choice," he said. "When I visited Jamestown, it had just snowed. I really liked it. It had a better feel for me. I really liked the people and the atmosphere."

Jamestown is coming off a 5-5 season which concluded with a lost to Minot State in the DAC Bowl.

Tenney said he's being looked at to play inside linebacker in Jamestown's 3-4 defensive set.

"They like to move a linebacker up in the line and create kind of a rushing end," he said. "It's not too much different from what we ran at Douglas last year so hopefully it won't be too much of an adjustment."

Also playing for Douglas Friday will be wide receiver Danny King and offensive linemen Ryan Moglich and Jacob Phillips.

All three were second-team all-region picks last season.

Adding intrigue to the matchup, the Blue team will feature all-stars from Carson and McQueen - the only two Northern Nevada teams to beat Douglas last season.

"That's something we're talking about," Tenney said. "It's a chance to make up for that a little bit. That adds motivation to the game."

The Silver all-stars are coached by Truckee's Bob Shaffer and include players from Douglas, Lovelock, Spanish Springs, Truckee, Reed, Hug, Whittell, North Valleys, North Tahoe, Wooster, Elko and Damonte Ranch.

Because a number of players selected for the game withdrew (and teams are not allowed to select replacements), some of the Douglas standouts may be seeing double duty.

King was the only receiver left on the Silver roster, so Vasquez will be starting at receiver as well.

Pollack, Tenney, Moglich and Phillips all played on both sides of the ball last season and could do so again tonight.

Carson coach Blair Roman will coach the Blue all stars, which include players from Fernley, Carson, Galena, Manogue, Yerington, McQueen, Fallon, Reno, Dayton, Silver Stage, Spring Creek and Battle Mountain.

Admission to the game is $10 and children 5 and under are free.