The Douglas Tigers were down 14-0 before they took an offensive snap Friday night.
The early 14-0 deficit was a sign of the night as the Tigers dropped a 49-7 decision to McQueen in a Northern 4A crossover game at Keith Roman Field.
The Lancers, 5-0 on the season, were too powerful on offense with running back J.D. Kolb, quarterback Dominique Stallworth and receiver D.J. Beckham all making big plays throughout the night. Kolb and Beckham were also a force on special teams with long returns setting up the Lancers’ offense.
The Lancers’ defense also was strong, holding Douglas to 57 total yards unofficially.
McQueen took the opening kickoff and put together a nearly four-minute drive before taking a 7-0 lead on a 19-yard run by Kolb. Douglas had a chance to stop McQueen on fourth-and-1 but jumped offside giving the Lancers a first down.
On the ensuing kickoff, the ball hit at the Douglas 20, but the Tigers failed to pick it up and McQueen recovered at the 21-yard line. The Douglas defense was strong, but Stallworth shuffled the ball to Kolb on third down and Kolb took it 29 yards for a 14-0 lead with 7:54 to play in the first quarter.
Douglas’ offense would be forced to punt on its first possession, setting up McQueen at the Tigers’ 47. Kolb would go 29 yards and the Tigers were down 21-0 with 5:07 to play in the first quarter.
The Tigers special teams play rebounded as Luke Gansberg had a nice night on returns. He returned the ensuing kickoff to the 49 of McQueen. The Tigers offense would put together its best drive of the night. Behind strong running from Trevor Kruger, the Tigers would convert on fourth-and-goal from the seven-yard line to cut the lead to 21-7. Quarterback Colton Weidner would hit tight end Claudio Magana for the score.
Kruger, who showed some tough running, is a sophomore for the Tigers. Last week at Reno, he ran for 116 yards on 18 carriers.
On the ensuring kickoff, Beckham would go 99 yards for a score giving McQueen a 28-7 lead after the first quarter.
Stallworth would hit Jalen King on a seven-yard touchdown pass with 10:19 to play in the second quarter to give McQueen a 35-7 lead. The Douglas offense would struggle against McQueen for most of the second and third quarters. McQueen, however, couldn’t add to its lead missing two field goals in the closing minutes of the first half.
Douglas was able to break McQueen’s two-game shutout streak. McQueen shut out Carson two weeks ago (44-0) and Wooster (51-0) last week. On the year, the Lancers have scored 222 points and allowed only 34. Stallworth would get the game to running clock on a three-yard TD run with 9:25 to play in the third quarter, giving McQueen a 42-7 lead. McQueen running back Nick Ryan would score on a 13-yard run with 2:08 to play in the game to cap the scoring.
Douglas (2-2) travels to Wooster on Friday at 7 p.m.
NOTES: Douglas honored the military in its third annual Military Tribute Night in a ceremony before the game. Every player honored a veteran or active military member. A flyover also was provided by the Naval Air Station Fallon. Two Douglas football players have early enlisted for the military: Gabe Wood, U.S. Marines, and Gabe Hirt, U.S. Army.
