Douglas' Anthony Menzer escapes the tackle of a Lowry defender.
Tony Erquiaga | Nevada News Group
Friday, August 20, 2021
While much of the opening week of the high school football season was wiped out because of smoke, COVID and contact tracing issues, Douglas High School was able to make the trip east to Winnemucca Friday night to open its season against Lowry.
The Tigers were without University of Nevada commit Christopher Smalley and Douglas used a two-quarterback system in Anthony Menzer and Owen Evans for much of the night.
Douglas found it tough sledding on offense for much of the game, as Lowry won the contest 24-6.
Lowry jumped on the board with four minutes left in the first quarter after taking advantage of excellent field position after Douglas had to punt from the 1-yard line, following a bad snap over Menzer’s head.
Lowry quickly drove 29 yards in 74 seconds, scoring on a 11-yard run by Giovani Sapien to make the score 7-0.
On the ensuing possession, Douglas looked poised to counter with a score, as the running game with Gabriel Foster moved the ball inside the Lowry 20-yard line.
However, the drive stalled out on downs and turned out to be the Tigers’ best drive of the first half.
Lowry extended its lead to 14-0 with nine minutes left in the first half on an 8-yard run by quarterback Joseph Vankuiken.
After picking off Vankuiken early in the third quarter, Douglas got its offense going and drove inside the Lowry 20-yard line once again, only to see the drive end on downs.
Lowry added a 25-yard field goal by Braden Hammargren midway through the third quarter to extend the advantage to 17-0.
Douglas took nearly eight minutes off the clock at the end of the third and began the fourth by getting on the scoreboard on a 2-yard run by Menzer.
Romaine Smokey did much of the damage on the drive for the Tigers with a handful of rushes to move the ball down the field. The Tigers missed the extra point and trailed 17-6 with 8:29 to play.
Any thought of a Douglas comeback was put to rest, as Sapien took the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for a Lowry touchdown and the final points of the night.
Lowry is scheduled to play at Galena next Friday and Douglas travels to Antelope Calif., to face Center High School.
