MINDEN - It was a game that the Douglas football team was never really out of, but never really found a way into either.
Manogue pulled away with a 29-7 win over the Tigers on Friday night, improving to 3-0 on the year. Douglas, on the other hand, was left having opened a season 0-3 for the first time since 1999. It is the program's first three-game losing streak since the end of 2001.
"We have good kids, they just feel beaten down right now," Douglas coach Mike Rippee said. "We have to bring them back as coaches. We have to keep it positive. That's my job. These first three losses are my fault. I have t figure it out.
"It's not like we've been playing bad football teams out there. That's a good football team (Manogue) over there. They're going to make a mark somewhere down the line. It's no excuse. If we want to be up there, we have to be in these games and winning these games. But we are playing good at times. It just need to be consistent."
The trouble started from the opening kickoff Friday night, when Douglas fumbled the ball over to Manogue at its own 20.
Manogue scored five plays later on a 7-yard pass from TJ Menning to Joey Garrett.
"I usually kick the ball off to start, but I wanted to change things up try to get points on the board right away," Rippee said. "We turn the ball over and they score.
"Even then, though, our defense is fresh. We need to get a stop in that situation and maybe hold them to a field goal. The play they scored on their guy is five yards open in the end zone. We have to make a play to take that away."
On the ensuing possession, Douglas appeared to be poised to answer right back.
Douglas moved the ball 46 yards on nine plays, highlighted by a 10-yard run by Conner Peterson, an 11-yard run from Cole Melhus and a 21-yard pass from Michael Nolting to Trevor Shaffer, to get the ball to the Miner 34.
The Tigers, though, failed to convert on third down and turned the ball over after an incomplete pass on fourth-and-8.
It was the beginning of a pattern that would hold throughout the game as Douglas converted only two of 14 third downs.
"We weren't making the big plays when we needed to make the big plays," Rippee said. "We'd battle and battle and put ourselves in position to make a play and it wouldn't happen."
It held true on defense as well.
Manogue had scored its first touchdown on a third-down play and converted a big third-down following Douglas' first drive to key a nine-play, 66-yard drive that finished with Menning again finding Garrett in the end zone.
Manogue led 13-0 after the ensuing kick failed.
"We'd hold them down and get them where we wanted them, and then they'd make a play," Rippee said. "That's where we need to be. We have to learn to make big plays. Right now, that's not happening.
"We saw good things tonight. We came off a tough loss last week and we battled them tonight. But when it really counted, Manogue was the on stepping up to get it done."
Following the Miners' second score, Douglas clamped down on defense. Nat VonAhsen intercepted a Menning pass to end the Miners' next drive and the
Tigers forced punts on Manogue's following two drives.
Douglas then drove the ball to the Manogue 37 before again turning it over on downs.
On the next play, Manogue running back Kenni Rogers broke free 61 yards down the right sideline before getting hauled down at the 1-yard line. Rogers punched it in on the next play with four minutes remaining in the half to five the Miners a 19-0 lead.
"That was a critical play (the 61-yarder)," Rippee said. "We had him stopped at the line of scrimmage, but he broke the tackle and took it 60 yards."
Douglas came out strong in the third quarter, forcing Manogue into a three-and-out.
The Tigers then drove 69 yards on nine plays to get on the board with a 10-yard pass from Michael Nolting to Dusty Fisher that cut the Manogue lead to 19-7.
Manogue answered right back, driving 60 yards to the Tiger 19 with the help of 17- and 10-yard keepers from Menning, before Patrick Beauchamp kicked a 36-yard field goal.
The Miners tacked on a 13-yard touchdown run by Brett Pilling with three seconds left in the third quarter to cap the scoring.
Rogers led the Miners on the ground with 10 carries for 119 yards while Tony Teglia had 10 carries for 63 yards and Menning had seven carries for 53,
Menning completed 12-of-22 passes for 126 yards and Garrett had 10 catches for 121 yards.
For Douglas, Peterson finished with 103 hard-fought yards on 22 carries while Nolting completed 17-of-37 passes for 161 yards and no interceptions in his varsity home debut.
Dusty Fisher caught eight passes for 75 yards and Connor Hughes had a pair of catches for 37 yards to lead the receiving corps.
Defensively, Cody Hayes had a sack.