Krupp goes out strong for Blue in losing effort

RENO — Carson High’s Logan Krupp said he wanted to end his high school football career on a high note.

Krupp registered 10 tackles and a hurry from his outside linebacker position, and was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dismal performance by the Blue team in Friday night’s 32nd annual Sertoma Football Classic at Damonte Ranch High School.

The Silver squad, led by Reed’s Devin Gray (5 catches, 85 yards) and Truckee quarterback Erik Holmer (317 yards passing), rolled to a 28-0 halftime lead en route to a 49-6 victory.

Eight of Krupp’s stops came in the first half. Despite the loss, he was all smiles after a short post-game meeting with the Damonte coaching staff.

“I just wanted to go out with a bang,” Krupp said. “I loved playing outside linebacker. Getting a chance to fly around out there, drop into pass coverage sometimes and go after the quarterback.”

Krupp was joined in the game by Carson offensive lineman Levi Carter, linebacker Sage Smith, quarterback Matt Nolan and punter Casey Wolfe. Joe Zinda was selected, but didn’t play.

Nolan, who started at quarterback, completed 7 of 9 passes for 89 yards and the Blue team’s only score, a 26-yard toss to Reno High’s Justin Crow. Nolan also carried the ball five times for 10 yards. Wolfe had two touchbacks on kickoffs and averaged 38.2 yards on five punts.

Nolan didn’t get off to a good start. The Blue team ran a flea flicker, and Nolan underthrew his intended receiver, and Reed’s Dom Montenegro picked the ball off at the Silver 48.

“It was a little underthrown,” said Blue coach Shawn Dupris. “There was another receiver that we should have gone to. It was a gamble.”

The gamble didn’t hurt the Blue. The Silver squad ran off 14 plays all the way down to the Blue 9, but Holmer threw incomplete passes on third and fourth down. Krupp pressured him on the third-down pass.

The Blue failed to move the ball, and Ryder Lowry of Spanish Springs returned Wolfe’s punt 33 yards to the Blue 14.

That’s when the Holmer-Gray combo started to inflict damage. On the first play after the return, the duo combined on a 14-yard scoring toss. Tyler Griffin’s PAT made it 7-0 with 7:01 left in the opening quarter.

That started the Silver barrage. The winners scored on five of their next six possessions, and even had a defensive score when Fallon’s Dalton Johnson intercepted South Tahoe’s John Cefalu and returned it 75 yards for a score.

What was interesting is that Truckee coach Bob Shaffer, the Silver head coach, is known for his ground game. The Silver squad threw 32 times and ran 32 times, and the passing game was more effective. The Silver squad was especially effective with the screen pass. It was a different Shaffer offense to be sure.

“Well since I didn’t have spring practice, I had a lot of extra time on my hands,” Shaffer said. “I worked up a no-huddle offense. After the first couple of days, I was thinking about scrapping it. Thursday it looked a lot better.”

Shaffer was hoping for the element of surprise, and the Blue defense was no match for. Shaffer admitted that he had the weapons to do this, and do it well. Holmer completed 22 of 32 for 317 yards. After Douglas’ Michael Nolting opted not to play, Holmer was the only QB on the roster, and he was able to stay upright most of the night and injury free the entire night.

Gray caught TD passes of 19 and 23 yards to make it 21-0 with 3:35 left in the half. The 19-yard grab came despite the fact that he was well defended by Sparks’ Marco Guadro. Gray just went up and grabbed it over the defender in the left corner of the end zone.

That set the stage for the defensive score, as Johnson stepped into the left flat, picked off the pass and rumbled 75 yards for the score. Griffin’s PAT made it 28-0 with 1:37 left in the half.

Gray caught his fourth scoring pass of the game on the opening drive of the second half, a deflected 23 yarder. The PAT made it 35-0.

Nolan came back into the game to start the second half, and immediately took the Blue squad on its lone scoring drive. Nolan accounted for 69 yards (rushing and passing ) of the 80-yards scoring drive which culminated with a 26-yard TD toss to Crow.