Wes Hundley.
MINDEN — Wes Hundley scored the go-ahead touchdown and Douglas High School’s defense made the lead stand Friday night for a 26-16 Sierra League football victory against Bishop Manogue.
Hundley scored on a 13-yard quarterback keeper to give Douglas (1-2 league, 2-6 overall) a three-point lead with 6:21 left to play and the defense came up with a big stop on the ensuing series to preserve a win that kept the Tigers alive in the Northern Division I playoff picture.
Zach Kinder put an exclamation point on a big night for the defense when he recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown with 1:31 left.
Manogue (1-2, 3-3) had taken its first lead of the night, 16-13, on Tanner Westby’s 28-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
Douglas answered immediately with an eight-play, 60-yard scoring drive that was capped by Hundley’s touchdown scamper. Taylor Souza’s diving 13-yard reception gave the Tigers first down at the 24 and Bailey Vidaurri followed with an 8-yard sweep to set up the score.
The Tigers were unable to kick the conversion to increase the lead, however, when a bad snap forced Hundley to scramble and throw a pass. Hundley’s pass was completed, but the play was negated by an ineligible receiver downfield call that resulted in a loss of down — and another shot at converting the PAT.
After receiving the kickoff, Manogue only needed five plays to cross midfield before the Tigers’ defense rose to the occasion. On second-and-7 from the 41, defensive end Andrew Jensen sacked Manogue quarterback Jack Sanders for a 5-yard loss. Then, on fourth-and-12, defensive back Garret Rice swatted away a pass over the middle intended for speedy Manogue wideout Juan Aparicio with 3:10 showing on the clock.
The Tigers picked up one first down before they faced a fourth down situation, and Rocky Hanson responded with a 36-yard punt that rolled out of bounds at the 6. After three straight incompletions, Manogue’s last-gasp hope vanished on a bad snap in the end zone that Kinder recovered in the end zone for a touchdown.
Tay Simms gave Douglas an early 6-0 lead on 31- and 27-yard field goals. Simms also missed a 30-yard attempt with 9.8 seconds left before halftime.