ZEPHYR COVE - It didn't take long for the Douglas football team to put this one away.
Tyler Tinstman returned three punts for touchdowns and ran another one in - all in the first half - to lead the Tigers to a 75-7 blowout victory over South Tahoe at Whittell High School Thursday afternoon.
The Tigers did anything but run up the score on the Vikings, attempting only three passes in the game and going all the way back into their third and fourth string on offense as 10 different players carried the ball and seven different players scored touchdowns on the afternoon.
Douglas did not attempt a pass in the second half and ran basically the same play, straight up the middle, for the entire second half.
The story of the afternoon was Tinstman, who punched in a touchdown from a yard out after Sean Peralta intercepted a pass and returned it 60 yards on the Vikings' opening drive, and then blistered past the South Tahoe special teams units for touchdowns on three of the Vikings' next four drives.
He had punt returns of 55, 40 and 50 yards before he was pulled in favor of Julius Bailey.
Tinstman finished the afternoon with only four carries for 24 yards on the ground and Reese Kizer carried twice for 13 yards before the game was turned over to the Tiger second-teamers in the middle of the second quarter.
"We're real proud of what Tyler has done these last few weeks, stepping in for Reese while he was hurt," Douglas assistant coach Ernie Monfiletto said. "Now that they are both back to full strength, we're going to depend on them heavily the rest of the year. We'll need them next week against (defending Sierra League and Northern 4A champion Hug)."
Douglas did little wrong on offense or defense Thursday afternoon, piling up 286 yards on the ground on offense and 75 yards on two completions in the air.
David Laird hit Kevin Emm for a 65-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter.
Bailey scored on a two yard run, Laird scored on a 10-yard scramble, Will Sheerin scored on runs of 36 and 31 yards while rushing for 67 on the day, Brandon Lawrence scored on a 70-yard run while running for 99 yards and Brock Peterson scored on a 16-yard run on his only carry of the afternoon.
Ryan Pruitt had three carries for 49 yards, Raymond Feldmiller had a carry for two yards and Bailey finished with three carries for 11 yards.
Bailey also had what would've been a 90-yard kickoff return after South Tahoe's only touchdown of the game, but that was called back on a block in the back at the 20-yard line, which came after Bailey had already broken into the clear down the sideline.
Defensively, Douglas continued its stifling ways, allowing just 11 yards on the ground on 26 carries and giving up 112 passing yards.
South Tahoe's Anthony Stagnaro hooked up with Chris Klug for 100 yards on six completions, including a 43-yarder and an 11-yard touchdown play early in the fourth quarter.
Before the Vikings' touchdown, Douglas had run its scoreless quarters against total to 14 in a row.
Sean Peralta had two interceptions, and Brian Mann had a phenomenal interception, diving for a ball that Kyle Heidt had tipped on South Tahoe's final drive of the game. Peralta also made an impressive over-the-shoulder catch on his second interception.
Jeff Nady and Rylan McDougal each recovered fumbles for the Tigers and Phil Mannelly and Luke Wartgow each had two sacks.
Anthony Alvitre, Nate Whalin, Forrest Scott and Nady each had one sack.
Head coach Mike Rippee was unavailable for comment as he had to leave directly after the game to be with his family in the wake of his brother, Tom's, death earlier this week.
Douglas (5-2, 4-0) takes on Hug in Reno next Friday at 7:30 p.m.