Douglas High senior Trace Estes takes down North Valleys’ quarterback for a sack, during the Tigers’ 35-0 win over the Panthers Friday night.
Photo by Carter Eckl.
The Douglas High School football team got the running clock going early in the third quarter Friday night en route to a 35-0 win over North Valleys.
The Panthers came in with a 1-5 overall record and an 0-2 clip in Class 5A Div. III league play.
Douglas didn’t waste any time, making sure the Panthers knew it was the Tigers that were going to leave victorious.
On the first play from scrimmage, Connor Jackson jumped and brought down an interception – his fourth of the season – to quickly give Douglas possession.
After a decent return, Jackson needed just one more touch to give the orange and black a 7-0 led.
Douglas kept its foot on the pedal, opting for an onside after their opening score.
The Tigers recovered and Jackson got his number called on six of the first eight offensive plays before scampering in a four-yard touchdown run.
North Valleys put together a six-play drive that ended in another interception, courtesy of Austin Dekruyf who was able to maintain his grasp on a bobbled ball.
Jackson put his head down and behind his offensive line marched the Tigers down to North Valley’s 31. Jackson ended the night with roughly 160 yards rushing, per Douglas head coach Kyle Mays.
On the ensuing play, Jackson Ovard rolled to his right and spotted his tight end, Kyle Koontz running toward the corner.
Ovard put it where only his 6-foot-4 teammate could get it as Koontz beat out double coverage to haul in his second touchdown reception this season.
"We got Kyle loose deep and we knew it would be there," said Mays. "Kyle used that big body and long arms to come down with it."
Koontz wasn’t satisfied with one receiving touchdown, grabbing a second to open up the second half and give the Tigers a 35-0 lead.
Late in the first half, following a rare Douglas turnover, the defense picked up the offense, punching the ball away from the Panthers on a quarterback sack.
Junior Braden Lenz found the rock at his feet and took it to the house on a scoop-and-score. Lenz's touchdown marked the fourth defensive touchdown of the season for Douglas High, tying a new school record.
It was all the Tigers would need to move to 7-1 on the year and 3-0 in Class 5A Div. III.
UP NEXT: Douglas will look to take full control of the new league with a home date against Wooster (5-3, 3-0) after the Colts beat Hug Friday, 24-3.
(Jack Ross (61) and Sage Adie (72) get up field to block for the Tiger run game Friday night in a 35-0 win over North Valleys. / Carter Eckl)
Senators looking for answers against Galena
It’ll be back to the basics this week in practice for Carson after a 37-0 loss to the Grizzlies of Galena.
The two teams were even in the turnover battle, but yellow laundry was ever-present Friday night.
Both teams made their fair share of miscues, but the Grizzlies showed their ability to overcome and string together effective offensive series.
It’ll be interesting to see where the final total in penalty yards ends up once the calculations are complete.
Carson went into the halftime locker room trailing 19-0 and the Senators wouldn’t get any closer.
Galena opened the second half with a nine-play drive, ending in a Colson Kermode to Ben Imse nine-yard touchdown connection.
The Grizzlies kicked an onside on the following kickoff, but the Senators recovered and moved the ball down to Galena’s 21.
However, Carson stalled out when a run on fourth-and-six was stopped short of the sticks.
Galena tacked on two more touchdowns before the final whistle with the two squads mostly trading personal fouls in between.
“We need to go down to a little bit of basics. We need to get these guys making sure they know exactly what they have to do when they have to do it and why,” said Carson High head coach Ryan Boshard. “It’s 100 percent down to the basics on offense.”
UP NEXT: Carson (2-6, 1-2 in Class 5A Div. III) will host North Valleys (1-6, 0-3) Friday at 7 p.m.
(Lucas Wold (22) stands in to make a tackle against Galena Friday night on the road. The Grizzlies came away with the win 37-0. / Carter Eckl)
Area scores
Douglas 35, North Valleys 0
Galena 37, Carson 0
Spanish Springs 16, Reno 14
Wooster 34, Hug 7
Bishop Manogue 45, Reed 0 (Thu.)
Fernley 21, Lowry 14
Fallon 40, Spring Creek 8
Sparks 6, South Tahoe 0
Battle Mountain 43, Yerington 8
Editor's note: The Douglas high football team *tied* the school record for defensive touchdowns with four. The previous version of this story had set Douglas broke the school record.
