Editor's note: I'd originally written this under the belief that Manogue's Radio broadcast team (920 AM) was responsible for the media timeouts. Chris Healy, the voice of Miner football, gave me a call to let me know it wasn't them. Apparently, Gustin Sports, which simulcasts the game of the week online, on the radio and later on TV, was responsible for the timeouts. My mistake! The following includes Manogue references corrected to Gustin Sports.
Saturday's Douglas-Manogue football game automatically goes down as one of
the top-five most bizarre high school events I've ever covered.
This is the first time that I've noticed a radio broadcast have such a noticeable effect on the flow of the game.
Media timeouts are a staple of every NFL game and more than commonplace at
the college level. Such situations are so rare at the high school level,
though, most teams wouldn¹t even think of addressing the extra time in
practice or incorporating it into their game plan.
With pro and college, there is a general protocol where only a certain
number of timeouts are taken per quarter (generally four, or in Notre Dame's
case this year, five), and those only come between quarters and halves,
after punts, scores and changes of possession and during actual game
timeouts.
Saturday, though, was one of the weirdest setups I've ever seen. Gustin Sports
employed all of the above timeout scenarios and then randomly threw some
timeouts in between plays without any rhyme or reason.
The results were almost dumbfounding. The two teams, both known for their power running attacks, combined to carry the ball 80 times. That type of game
generally pushes about two hours for 48 minutes of actual clock time.
Saturday, though, the game stretched on for nearly three hours. That's what
you'd normally expect for a matchup between two air-it-out offenses where
the clock will stop more often.
While more annoying than harmful, I couldn't help but notice the timeouts worked against Manogue early on as the Miners had full control of
the momentum with a 9-0 lead when the first media timeout was called.
That break allowed Douglas to catch its breath a little bit before its next
possession and the Tigers, who had looked shell-shocked offensively to start
the game, actually grabbed a 10-9 lead in the next six or eight minutes of play.
The really troubling thing, though, was the timeouts that came between
plays. Between drives, there's really no harm done -- just a little extra
rest for both teams. But random stops in the middle of a drive can really
mess with a team's game plan, particularly schools that like to employ a
quick-strike, no-huddle-type offense like Reed or North Valleys or some Reno
teams in the past.
i would not be surprised to see the issue addressed by the NIAA in the not-too-distant future.
Here's the top positive to take out of a tough situation last week:
Douglas has had seven different guys start at quarterback since 2004 and
five of them lost their starting debut (Tim Rudnick won his first start in
2007 against North Valleys and Luke Peterson won his first start against
Damonte Ranch last year).
Junior Sam Cochran was the seventh guy on the list, starting Saturday
against the vaunted Manogue defense in place of Zack Williams, who missed
the game with a foot injury.
He was as close as any of the remaining five have come to winning their
varsity debuts and, unlike Rudnick and Peterson, had never taken a varsity
snap during an actual game prior to his first start.
Cochran accounted for 97 yards of total offense in his first start, which
ranked in the middle of the pack among his fellow former QBs, but directed
the Tiger offense to a number of scoring drives including two within the
final eight minutes of the game to come close to tying the score.
The good news is that if, and when, Williams returns to the field, Douglas
will have two capable guys under center with big game experience. Depth at
quarterback, especially in this year's hyper-competitive Northern 4A, could
be a priceless attribute to have entering the playoffs.
If nothing else, Cochran gained valuable experience in preparation for next
year, when he figures to be the go-to guy for the Tigers.
There has been much said in recent years about the Sierra League's dominance
in boys' soccer.
The regional champion for at least the last 10 years has hailed from the
Sierra side, and the league has absolutely blasted the High Desert in
first-round of the playoffs over the past seven years or so.
It appears, though, that the tides are changing this year.
Through three weeks, the High Desert holds a 7-5 advantage over the Sierra
in crossover games, which all count toward league standings this year.
North Valleys is having a breakout season, which is contributing to the
turnaround, as is Spanish Springs. Reno appears to have returned to its
highly-competitive form of a couple seasons ago and Hug is looking strong as
well.
The only crossover wins in the Sierra have come from Carson, Galena and a
surprisingly upstart Damonte Ranch squad.
I'm predicting a Carson-Galena regional title game, but it'll be
interesting to see how the playoffs shake out, and what role the High Desert League plays, this year.
I'm planning to be at these games this week, so check online for updates
(Cover It Live is the tool we use to post automatic updates during games and
also allows for comments and questions from fans during the game, so be sure
to check out our Web site if you can¹t make it to the games I will be
posting from.):
Here's where I'll be
Tuesday: Volleyball vs. Wooster
Wednesday: Volleyball vs. Truckee
Friday: Football vs. North Valleys
If you happened to tune in for Saturday's football game at Manogue, you know
that about midway through the first quarter my computer up and quit on me. I
blame the increasingly-finicky wireless card which apparently is allergic to
heat. It's still on the fritz, so any online updates this week will probably be from me calling my editor and him posting it online.
- Just to quantify the Douglas girls' soccer team's state record
seventh-consecutive shutout Saturday: It's been over nine hours of actual
game time since Douglas has allowed a goal. The Lady Tiger defense has been
so strong that keepers Brianna Randall and Courtney McKimmey -- both strong
net-minders in their own right -- have only had to make a combined 15 saves
or so during that same stretch. By comparison, Wooster¹s keeper made 11
saves on Saturday alone.
- Of four captains for Douglas on Saturday, three were in street clothes due
to injuries. Tackle Patrick Miller is out for the year with a knee injury,
quarterback Zack Williams is out for at least another week with a foot
injury and tight end/defensive end Scott Rudnick will miss at least a month
with an arm injury. Lineman Spencer Fellows was Douglas' only captain to
play Saturday.
- Douglas football is sporting the ninth different helmet design of Mike
Rippee¹s 26-year tenure. It's only the third time in school history the
Tigers have gone with an entirely text-based design. The first two times
were Rippee's first two years at the helm.
- The Douglas girls' soccer team, which has been actively re-writing the
state and school record books over the last two seasons, has already begun
its assault this year.
As mentioned above, the team set the state record for consecutive shutouts
at 7 on Saturday. Junior Tia Lyons also tied the state record for assists in
a game against Wooster with five.
The only other record in danger in the next couple of weeks is the state
career shutout record of 30.
Douglas junior Brianna Randall has been in net for 27 shutouts in her
career, although only 16 of those have been solo efforts. It¹s unclear on
the exact definition of the record, although my best guess would be NIAA
only recognizes the solo shutouts.
Shutouts are a weird record, too, because it has so much to do with the
defense in front of you and the way your team possesses the ball.
Speaking of helmets, when was the last time Douglas High wore anything other
than the current black helmet/orange facemask color scheme?
FOOTBALL
1. McQueen (Last Week: beat Damonte Ranch 54-6. Previous Ranking: No. 1;
Record: 3-0, 2-0)
Why they should be No. 1: They've lived up to their billing every week and
have an impressive win over Nevada Union under their belt. The defense has
been dominant all year, including shutting down the potent North Valleys
attack. They haven't shown any reasons not to be No. 1 yet.
Why they should be ranked lower: Sure they've dominated the past two weeks,
but North Valleys and Damonte Ranch aren't exactly the top teams. It remains
to be seen how they stack up against some of the better defenses (Reed,
Manogue).
2. Carson (Last Week: beat North Valleys 45-26. Previous Ranking: No. 2;
Record: 3-0, 2-0)
Why they should be ranked higher: The offense hung 31 on a tough Del Campo
defense to open the year and that was with a primarily one-dimensional look.
Last week, they roll out Connor Beattie as a suitable complimentary back to
Super Sawyers and they looked next to unstoppable. McQueen's defense is as
good as they come, but remember even they struggled with this Senator attack
last year. Until someone finds a way to slow this ground game down, there's
no real evidence that Carson isn't the team to beat this year.
Why they should be ranked lower: Right now, that's a tough argument to make.
There's no shame in giving up 26 to North Valleys. However, the Panthers are
the only common opponent between Carson and McQueen and the Lancers
simply looked better, particularly on defense, in a 54-19 win.
3. Spanish Springs (Last week: beat Galena 34-21. Previous Ranking: NR.
Record 3-0, 1-0)
Why they should be ranked higher: At this point, they shouldn't. This is my
shakiest pick, but the potential is very real that the Cougars could be 5-0
overall after games against Damonte Ranch and Reno in the next two weeks.
The Cougar defense has been solid since a season-opening struggle against
North Valleys.
Why they should be ranked lower: 3-0 is nice, but the schedule hasn¹t
exactly been tough. The death stretch comes to end the year -- the most
crucial part of the season -- as the Cougars face McQueen, Carson, Douglas
and Reed to close out the season. They can't emerge from that stretch
unscathed.
4. Manogue (Last week: beat Douglas 31-30. Previous Ranking: 4. Record: 3-0,
2-0)
Why they should be ranked higher: They're 3-0 and the offense, particularly
quarterback Zach McElroy, has been great all season. Holding on against
Douglas avenges one of their few losses last season and sets them up for the
toughest section of their schedule (after a winnable game against Reno, they
see Carson, Reed, McQueen, Hug and North Valleys in order) with some good
momentum.
Why they should be ranked lower: Two wins have come against arguably the
bottom two teams in the league this season and the third came by one-point
at home against an injury-depleted Douglas squad. Douglas was moving the
ball at will on the ground toward the end of the game despite not having
established the passing game, which will spell problems against high-powered
running teams like McQueen and Carson. Plus, through their "Death Stretch"
Manogue only gets Reed and North Valleys at home.
5. Reed (Last week: Beat Hug 34-20. Previous Ranking: 3. Record: 2-1, 1-0)
Why they should be ranked higher: The Raider offense has gotten better every
week, which is bad news for their remaining opponents. A win against rival
McQueen this week would send tremors through the power rankings. It would
also set the Raiders loose on a mild end of schedule run that includes a
string five imminently winnable games against North Valleys, Galena,
Manogue, Reno, and Damonte Ranch. Depending on this week's results, the
Raiders could very well be 7-0 in league play heading into the season finale
against rival Spanish Springs.
Why they should be ranked lower: The offense is coming into line, but the
defense has struggled at times, first against Granite Bay and last week
against Hug. McQueen will go a long way toward defining what type of defense
this is going to be. Keeping the Lancers under 20 points would answer a lot
of questions. Anything more, and anything could happen over the remainder of
Reed's schedule.
On the outside looking in: Reno, Douglas.
VOLLEYBALL
1. Douglas
2. Damonte Ranch
3. Galena
4. Carson
5. Manogue
On the outside looking in: Spanish Springs, Reed.
BOYS' SOCCER
1. Carson
2. Galena
3. North Valleys
4. Spanish Springs
5. Hug
On the outside looking in: McQueen, Reed.
GIRLS' SOCCER
1. Douglas
2. Carson
3. Manogue
4. Reno
5. Spanish Springs
On the outside looking in: Galena, McQueen.
- Nike¹s line of Pro Combat uniforms are hideous. Each and every set looks
like something that belongs in Keanu Reeves' "The Replacements." I'm looking
at you, Boise State.
Sign-up is free and you will be competing for national prizes.
Visit recordcourier.com/profootball to sign up and make your picks.
I completely forgot to make my picks last week, so I'm already out of the
season survivor game. I'm back this week though, ready for another season of
utter mediocrity.
Last week's winner: Steve Canton, Minden. 11-of-16 picks.
My Week 2 picks:
Dolphins over Vikings
Falcons over Cardinals
Ravens over Bengals
Chiefs over Browns
Bears over Cowboys
Eagles over Lions
Packers over Bills
Steelers over Titans
Panthers over Bucs
Broncos over Seahawks
Rams over Raiders
Jets over Patriots
Chargers over Jaguars
Texans over Redskins
49ers over Saints
Tiebreaker: Giants 21, Colts 14
Season Record: 0-0. Last week: 0-0.
Time for this week's installment of Edd Roush's All-Stars (Formerly "This
Wacky World of Sports") -- Celebrating Edd Roush, the only player ever
ejected from a Major League Baseball game for sleeping in the outfield.
This won't require much explanation, but I'm sure soccer coaches around the
world will be showing this to their players to enforce the point that the
play is never over til the whistle blows.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhzexJTdN1U
- The Boston Herald reported last week that a Montgomery, N.Y., couple has
filed suit claiming they were harassed and abused during a Patriots-Jets
game last year because their 14-year-old daughter was wearing a Patriots
shirt.
Michelle and Randy Munoz filed suit against the New York Giants - the team
owns Giants Stadium where the incidents allegedly occurred - after a fracas
at a Pats-Jets game on Sept. 20, 2009.
The Giant's were like, "It's OK, that's the last time we ever co-habitate a
stadium with the Jets ... Oh, wait a minute."
There's no truth to the rumor that the new Meadowlands will have "No
opposing team shirts, no opposing team shoes, no fisticuffs," signs
installed at various points around the stadium.
- 1985. It was Mike Rippee's first year at the helm and the Tigers wore
black helmets with black facemasks along with a plain white "Tigers" in
Times font with orange outline.
