RENO - After a season that has had more than its fair share of heartaches, near misses, rough patches and bad breaks, the Douglas High football team was due to have some of its hard work pay off.
The Tigers took control from the opening play Friday night and rolled to a 63-7 win over Hug.
Douglas recovered a fumble on Hug's opening kickoff return and scored on three of its first 11 plays from scrimmage to cruise to the win.
The Tigers improved to 2-5 overall and 2-3 in league while Hug dropped to 0-6.
"We appreciated the win, especially for the seniors," Douglas coach Mike Rippee said. "They deserved it. They have worked hard.
"We were concerned about coming out a little flat after last week (a 31-29 loss on the final play from scrimmage to rival Carson). We did what we had to do and it was a great opportunity to see a lot of people play - guys who haven't seen a lot of time because games have been so close. We're thankful for that to have happened.
"Offensively we did what we were supposed to do. Defensively we need to tackle better and continue to get better, but there were good things there too. We played them hard and got after it. It's a good result and the kids deserved it."
Quarterback Michael Nolting led the Tigers, completing five of his six pass attempts for 101 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for another 73 yards and two touchdowns on four carries.
Running back Conner Peterson carried 13 times for 94 yards and a pair of scores, and Connor Hughes and Nick Maestretti each caught a pair of passes for 48 and 24 yards respectively.
Maestretti opened the second half with an 86-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, Nate VonAhsen had a 42-yard interception return for a score, Cole Melhus picked off a pass and Ryan Simons and Cody Hayes each had a fumble recovery.
Douglas' starters sat the entire second half, giving the Tigers a chance for their second and third-teamers to get some good playing time.
Quarterback Sam Cochran carried three times for 82 yards, Ryan Simons had seven carries for 26 yards and Cory Dillon had four carries for 15 yards.
Trevor Shaffer caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Nolting on Douglas' second drive of the game.
One big negative in the game was starting cornerback Brandon Josifko went down with an apparent knee injury early on.
"It looks like we've probably lost him, and that is a tough loss," Rippee said. "He's a great kid, probably one of the best to ever put on a uniform around here. Just a wonderful young man. He'll go on to bigger and better things in this life, but we'll get his knee checked and you never know. We're hoping for the best."
Douglas will turn its attention to Damonte Ranch next week. The Tigers and Mustangs lock up Friday at 7 p.m. in Minden.
