Douglas High running back Gabe Foster (13) stiff arms a Galena defender Friday evening. Foster ended the night with 226 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
Photo by Ron Harpin.
A 31-20 win at Galena Friday night couldn’t have been more timely for Douglas Tiger football.
After giving up 20 points in the first half, Douglas held the Grizzlies to just one first down in the second half while pitching a shutout.
On the offensive side of the ball it was the Tiger line and senior bulldozer Gabe Foster.
When all was said and done, the one-man wrecking crew had posted four touchdowns on 215 yards rushing.
Foster ended the night with 29 carries overall, unofficially.
“Gabe is just a beast,” said senior wide receiver Trevor Middaugh. “I’m really proud of our performance and I know we all wanted to win.”
The last Foster touchdown sealed the contest as he scampered 32 yards to the end zone on a 4th-and-1 where he was positioned as the up-back.
His other three touchdowns were of two, three and four yards.
“Gabe is a monster and he works hard every day. He builds up excitement around the team,” said senior captain and defensive end Hunter Ulmer.
It was an offensive breakout the Tigers had been looking for after scoring 12 points through their first three games.
“I think it was motivation and all of the hard work our offense has been putting in,” said Ulmer.
Tigers lose Smalley early
Just moments into the first quarter, the Tiger sideline had the air sucked out of them.
Senior captain Christopher Smalley, who was returning from a finger injury for his first game of the season, broke off a 50-yard run.
On his way down, Smalley suffered a broken arm and was out for the rest of the game, following his first carry.
“My heart breaks for that kid,” said Douglas head coach Kyle Mays. “He is a great kid and a great ballplayer.”
Galena quickly posted 14 points to jump in front 14-7 with 4:05 left in the opening quarter.
The Tiger sideline might’ve felt deflated, but Douglas kept pushing.
“Oh yeah, it was a big loss,” said Middaugh. “He dedicates his life to this game. It was sad to see one of our brothers go down.”
To start the second quarter, Douglas’ Camden Altringer jumped on a fumble to give the Tigers the ball.
Douglas proceeded to march 95 yards on 14 plays, burning over six minutes of clock in the process.
Foster had his number called nine times over the course of the drive and capped it with a two-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14-14.
“You can see he is a very violent runner,” said Mays.
Douglas’ defense nearly forced a quick punt on the ensuing drive, but offsetting penalties allowed Galena to rekick.
The Grizzlies opted to fake the punt and ran the ball down inside the 10 before Ben Primka punched in a 1-yard touchdown on a quarterback sneak.Douglas' defense forced two three-and-outs and had interceptions by Altringer and Rock Gignac on five Grizzly possessions in the second half.
UP NEXT: Douglas (1-3) will host Reed (1-2) next Friday night, hoping to hand the Raiders their second loss in a row.Area scores
Carson 17, Reed 13McQueen 34, Spanish Springs 27Lowry 39, Sparks 36Fallon 46, South Tahoe 0Bishop Manogue 17, Reno 14Damonte Ranch 31, Acalanes (CA) 30North Valleys 49, Dayton 0
