What was billed heading into the night as a game featuring two of the top running backs in the region quickly turned in the Tiger offensive showcase as the Douglas football team rolled over North Valleys 43-3 in Minden Friday.
Douglas High's Brock Peterson ran for 221 yards and three touchdowns and the Tigers rolled up 447 yards of total offense while North Valleys' Chris Castellanos, who came into the game leading the Northern 4A in rushing, left the game early in the first quarter with an ankle injury after gaining 12 yards on four carries.
The Douglas offensive line put on an absolute clinic, opening huge holes up for six different backs as the Tigers gained a total of 302 yards on the ground.
"That was Douglas football right there," Douglas coach Mike Rippee said. "They stepped up and came up with a big game against a really dangerous team.
"The line was dominating on both sides of the ball, but the offensive line had a great night."
From the opening play from scrimmage, it was clear what the Tigers' gameplan was going to be - run the ball hard and often behind Mike Colyer, Parker Robertson, Trevor McCarthy, Curtis Hartzell, Jordan Volk, Jeff Nady and Kevin Emm.
After Will Sheerin returned the kick to the 28 yard line, Peterson carried the ball for gains of 7, 2, 5, 16, 12 and 1 yards on consecutive plays before Douglas threw their first pass.
He scored on a three-yard run three plays later to give the Tigers the early lead.
"Brock has been getting better every game and he really set the tone tonight," Rippee said. "He runs hard and he knows how to finish the play. He always falls forward."
North Valleys went three-and-out on the ensuing drive, but Douglas' Tim Rudnick, who was making his first varsity start for the Tigers, was picked off on the next play, setting North Valleys up at its own 44.
The Panthers ran the ball on eight of their next nine plays but Castellanos came up limping after an awkward roll of his ankle on a 2-yard gain.
North Valleys then missed a 45-yard field goal attempt and Douglas took over at their own 20.
Peterson carried the ball on each of the next eight plays, scoring on an 8-yard run to complete a personal 80-yard drive.
Castellanos came back for the first play of the Panthers' next drive, but promptly fumbled the ball into the waiting hands of Douglas linebacker Tony Ferris.
After that, Castellanos' night was finished.
Rudnick completed passes to Jeff Nady (eight yards) and Brandon Lowrance (10 yards for a touchdown) to highlight Douglas' next drive, which put the Tigers up 20-0.
Rudnick finished the night 13-for-18 with 145 yards through the air and two touchdowns.
Sean Peralta quickly ended the Panthers' next drive with an over-the-shoulder interception at the North Valleys' 45 on second-and-10.
The teams traded possessions on the next two drives until Douglas' Jeff Nady booted a punt with a little over a minute remaining in the half that sailed 59 yards and rolled dead inside the Panther 1-yard line.
Defensive end Kevin Emm bolted around on the next play and sacked Panther quarterback Will Bell in the back of the end zone for the safety and the 22-0 lead.
Douglas received the free kick and Rudnick completed passes to Peterson (7 yards), Zach McFadden (12 yards), Kyle Heidt (8 yards), Peterson again (22 yards on a screen pass) and Ross Bertolone (15 yards for a touchdown) to put Douglas up 29-0.
North Valleys managed a 30-yard field goal in the third quarter, but Peterson tacked on another 4-yard touchdown run and Will Sheerin added an 11-yarder to complete Douglas' scoring.
Defensively, Douglas gave up only 152 yards of total offense, 97 of which came on the ground.
Jeff Nady had two sacks, Forrest Scott had one and Emm had one, and Baron Santiago and Peralta each had an interception.
"The defense really did a fine job," Rippee said. "That's a tough offense to defend and they stepped up and really outplayed the other guys tonight."
Ryan Quenga, Giovanni Gutierrez, Andrew DeWitt, Luke Wartgow, Lowrance, Emm, Nady, Ferris, Tanner Thomas, Hartzell, and Heidt all had a hand in slowing down the Panther attack early on.
Bertolone led the Douglas receivers with three catches for 45 yards while eight different receivers had at least one catch for the Tigers in the game.
North Valleys' Josh Maston led the offense with six carries for 34 yards.