RENO - The Douglas defense was downright dominating Saturday afternoon at Manogue - except when it came to those crucial third and fourth downs.
The Tigers limited the strong Miner running game, which had averaged over 200 yards a game over the first two weeks of the season to just 170 yards (Including holding them to minus-1 rushing yard in the second half), but were crippled by breakdowns at inopportune times as Manogue hung on for a 31-30 victory.
Four of the Miners' five scores (four touchdowns and a field goal) came on third and fourth-down situations, including a 65-yard scamper byquarterback Zach McElroy late in the first half and a fourth-and-goal, 1-yard keeper from McElroy early in the fourth that proved to be the difference in the game.
"We just have to quit giving up the big play," Douglas coach Mike Rippee said. "Those mental breakdowns caught up to us. Those are things we have to correct.
"Their effort is there, the kids played hard and they shut down the run. (Defensive tackles) Zach Falanga and Trevor Hemsath) absolutely dominated the inside today. August Greth was playing both ways for us on the line and Shane Connelly stepped up and started to really lead this team. I couldn't be more proud of them. But we have to make those stops on third and fourth downs and obviously that didn't happen today."
Douglas trailed 31-17 after McElroy's keeper in the fourth but drove right back down the field to cut the score to 31-24 on a 3-yard keeper from junior quarterback Sam Cochran, who saw his first varsity playing time in place of Zack Williams, who was out with an injured foot.
Cochran ran for 23 yards and a pair of touchdowns while completing six passes for 72 yards.
"I'm very happy with how Sammy performed today," Rippee said. "He was pressed into duty and led this offense to 30 points against a very, very good defense. He did a great job today."
Douglas senior Ryen Ake took the ball 26 yards for a touchdown with 2:31 left, setting up what was to be the game-tying PAT but the snap was bobbled and Manogue stopped the desperation pass attempt.
From there, the Miners were able to run out the clock, thanks to a 20-yard completion from McElroy to Brennan Hogan on fourth-and-3 with 1:45 left.
Despite the loss, Ake, who had 34 carries for 199 yards and a touchdown, enjoyed a breakout game along with the offensive line of Trevor Shaffer, Matt Wylie, August Greth, Ben Reed, Zach Tierney and Spencer Fellows.
"I challenged those guys up front this week to be the ones to carry us and that's exactly what they did," Rippee said. "Ryen ran like the back we think he is. He did a great job and got a lot of yardage on second effort. He was strongest when we needed him in the fourth quarter."
The Tigers will host North Valleys Friday at 7 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
DAYTON TOPS ELKO, SPRING CREEK
DAYTON - Dayton opened its Northern 3A season with wins over Elko on Friday (25-14, 25-14, 25-17) and Spring Creek (25-11, 25-18, 25-18) on Saturday.
Dayton is 2-0 in conference and 17-2 overall.
Against Elko, Dayton rolled to an easy 25-14 win in the opening game, and when coach Monica Halverson went o her bench, the attack started to sputter. The Dust Devils still won Game 2 25-14. In the third game, Halverson played quite a few players, and the Dust Devils completed the sweep.
Jamie Darragh led Dayton with 18 kills, while Madison Foley finished with nine kills, two aces and six digs. Kathie Arias contributed six kills, while Taylor Hill had four kills and three blocks. Amanda Arana had 11 digs and Mackenzie Kielty had seven assists and four digs.
"Jamie hits it with good accuracy," Halverson said. "The bench did a better job in the third game. We did a good job serving. We missed only four serves the entire match."
The match against Spring Creek was no contest, and again Dayton's bench got some good work in.
Darragh had seven kills and Foley added five. Kielty had 11 assists and her back-up Cora Jeffreys added seven assists in the third game. Brittney McArthur had six digs off the bench, while Hill had two kills, two assist and two blocks.
"Madison and Jamie played well at the net," Halverson said. "It was harder for the girls to stay focused, but they played through it."
COLEVILLE TOPS V.C.
COLEVILLE - It didn't take long for Coleville to win its second straight Northern 1A vollleyball match - 49 minutes to be exact.
Coleville handled Virginia City 25-8, 25-16 and 25-15 Saturday afternoon. Coleville improved to 10-4 and 2-0, while Virginia City is 3-5 overall and 1-1 in league.
Lela Gnuse-Stokes led Coleville with 13 kills, while Linzy Garcia added six kills andf nine aces. Tori Park contributed 13 assists. Jill Dupre led VC with five kills, two aces and a block. Denali Fickus finished with seven assists, while Jamie Poston had five digs.
In Jv action, Coleville beat VC 23-25, 25-22 and 17-15.
Brenda Pineda led Coleville with six digs, two kills and seven service aces. Cori Defebaugh led the Muckers with eight kills, while Brooke Harrower had eight assists.