Carson Douglas is the rivalry

There have arguably been three great Northern Nevada football rivalries in the last 30 years, including Wooster-Reno, Reed-Sparks and Carson-Douglas.

With the ever-shifting demographics of the area, Wooster is no longer a powerhouse and its once heated meetings with Reno have cooled. And with Sparks now a 3A program, a Sparks-Reed matchup no longer carries the significance it once had.

Fortunately, the Carson-Douglas rivalry is still alive and well and Saturday, beginning at noon at Bishop Manogue High School, the Senators and Tigers will once again do battle in a Sierra League matchup.

"It's an unbelievable rivalry because of the closeness (of the schools) and the people over the years," Carson coach Shane Quilling said. "In the last 17-18 years, it's intensified. It's a great rivalry and we're all great friends."

"I think it's (the rivalry) weathered the test of time," said Mike Rippee, in his 22nd year as head coach of Douglas. "It goes way, way back. There were years it was interrupted because of the size of schools, but since Douglas has moved from 3A to 4A, it's always been Douglas vs. Carson."

Although Douglas was to originally host the Senators, the game has had to be moved to a neutral site - Manogue - because the Tigers' new football field is still under construction.

"Right now it's just a gravel pit," Rippee said. "I don't think it will be done this year. Why is beyond me. But our No. 1 worry is Carson, and we've been doing plenty of that."

Rippee expressed his gratitude to Manogue for the use of its field.

"Everyone but McQueen has been gracious," Rippee said. "They fought it (the neutral site) and we had to go to the NIAA. Manogue was gracious enough to let us use their facilities. We'd do the same."

Both Douglas and Carson are 1-2 on the season and both are coming off losses. Carson lost its season-opener to Mojave, in Las Vegas, rebounded with a 27-13 road win over Elko and lost, 26-0, to Manogue on Friday.

For its part, Douglas opened up with a loss to Reed, followed with a win over Spanish Springs and lost a heartbreaking 34-31 overtime game to McQueen at Manogue High School.

"We were right there. We had our chances," Rippee said of the loss to the Lancers. "The only thing we can do is to go back and try to correct the things that put us in that situation. We're 0-0. The season starts now. We have to improve and go out there and get that first win and make it back to the playoffs."

Last season Douglas was the No. 4 seed and lost to McQueen in the first round of the Northern 4A Region playoffs.

Although Carson, which finished 4-6, didn't make the playoffs, it is hoping that its league-opener with Douglas can give it the boost it needs after its loss to the Miners at Carson High School.

After winning the coin toss, Carson was held to a three-and-out and immediately fell behind 6-0 when it had a punt blocked and recovered in its end zone. On the ensuing kickoff, running back/linebacker Kyle Banko was injured and had to be carried off the field.

"It looks like it's the MCL," Quilling said of Banko's injured left knee (Banko underwent an MRI on Thursday, but the results weren't known at press time). "The bone's good. Everything's stable. But it's not good. Hopefully he'll get healed up for wrestling season. He's a helluva wrestler.

"It's not good news for us. We have to deal with the injury, adapt and go from there. You hate to lose a senior. But his mindset's pretty good."

And, although they gave up a season-high 292 yards, the Senators' mindset isn't exactly gloomy. Quilling said things weren't as bad as the score looked.

"We have the film and we've watched every play," Quilling said. "We had three real good opportunities to score - twice in the first half. We didn't execute very well. When you play a good team - Manogue's solid, but they're not a great team - you only get two or three opportunities to score. We had those."

Quilling said Carson was able to threaten the Miners, but as has been the case throughout this season it wasn't able to close the deal.

"The only thing disappointing is we didn't finish," he said. "We didn't finish our drives and score. If we did, we could've beaten Mojave and scored 45 or 50 against Elko. (Against Manogue) we had opportunities to put two touchdowns on the board, maybe three. If we hadn't given up two early touchdowns, it would've been a good high school football game.

"The score wasn't indicative of how the good the game was. That's football. We have to overcome those (mistakes)."

Rippee said facing three tough High Desert League teams to open the season would ultimately benefit the Tigers.

"We had a tough preseason," Rippee said. "Reed...Spanish Springs is a strong team...McQueen...You find out who you are and what you're made of. We're willing to learn and work to get better. We have no problems with that. You don't want to sneak in the back door (to the playoffs). Our destiny's in our own hands. We're good enough to be there."

Quilling said junior quarterback Mitch Hammond is beginning to get a better handle on the new wrinkles in the Carson offense, which features some shotgun and shotgun-option formations.

"It's a learning process," Quilling said of Hammond. "We're doing something different. He's only started six or seven games (in his varsity career). Every day he gets a little more comfortable with what we're doing. If we could've added the pitches and the new wrinkles (against Manogue), it would've helped out."

Although he had two fumbles against the Miners, running back Travis Lamborn still picked up 69 yards on eight carries and added 25 more on one reception.

"Lamborn's playing real solid," Quilling said. "He's averaging almost seven yards a carry. He hasn't had a lot of carries. He's one of four players who play both ways (Lamborn is also an inside linebacker). He's doing a lot of good things. He makes the most of it. He's a good kid."

Both Rippee and Quilling see improvement but added their players have to get more consistent and execute better.

"We're getting better every week," Rippee said. "Against Reed, we definitely had a good first half, but we got off track the second half. In our second game (against Spanish Springs) we improved. In the fourth quarter we were a lot better offensively. Last week, we started badly the first half, but regrouped the second half - we played a fantastic second half.

"We still have to minimize mistakes. It was encouraging to see the kids come back. When you're down 28-6 to McQueen, it's almost impossible to come back. (The players) got us into overtime. We're finding our identity defensively."

Quilling said his team's passing and receiving must get on the same page.

"The one thing I'm not happy with is that we're not throwing the ball as well as we should," Quilling said. "We have a lot of dropped balls. You've got to catch the ball. They're great in practice. I'm happy with how we're progressing. Now it counts for real."

Rippee said he's put his time in watching Carson on film.

"They play very hard," Rippee said of the Senators. "They have some pretty good size up front. I like (Hammond and Lamborn). (Hammond's) a real competitor. Their fullback (Lamborn) is a hard-working kid. They don't quit. They get after it. Credit to Coach Quilling. They throw the ball well and can score from anywhere. What has hurt our team are mistakes. We have to minimize those."

Torn-up fields aside, perhaps it's fitting that this last great rivalry be played on a neutral field, sort of like a college bowl game or the Super Bowl.

Said Quilling: "It's kind cool. I know they can't play in Douglas, but Manogue has a great facility. The atmosphere, a Saturday afternoon, a great rivalry...That's what high school football is all about.

"Two evenly matched teams...It will come down to execution. (Douglas) could easily be 3-0. They've had their chances. We're both 1-2. Throw in that it's our first league game. It's usually out last game, but we have to play each other. It's gonna be a great game. I'm looking forward to it. It's been a while since I've played, but I wish I could play in it. I only get to watch, but it's a great seat to have."

Chances are, no matter where they get to sit, Carson and Douglas fans will be saying the same thing.