Joe Kramer (1) reaches up for an interception against Carson on Friday.
Photo by Ron Harpin.
After a tough loss to its rival last week, Douglas High football is looking to close out the regular season on a high note when the Tigers take on Spanish Springs (4-5, 2-3) on Friday.
As of Wednesday morning, Douglas sat in eighth in the Class 5A North, which would put the Tigers in the playoffs once the regular season is over.
Game planning for the Cougars will have some similarities to last week for Douglas.
Much like Carson, Spanish Springs will look to get to the perimeter of the field to give their playmakers space.
“They’re not afraid to stretch the field,” said Douglas head coach Kyle Mays. “JJ Dain does a really good job getting the ball downfield. … Honestly, their offense is kind of fun to watch.”
Dain (No. 1) is the Cougars’ quarterback and he leads the Class 5A North in passing yards with 1,405 so far this season.
The Cougars will target a number of guys on the edge such as CJ Stinson (No. 3), Malachi Thomas (No. 2) and Trace Patterson (No. 80) to name a few.
“Carson got on the perimeter on us a few times and took advantage,” said Mays. “Spanish Springs does that as well as anybody. That’s where we are really going to have to tighten things up.”
Defensively, Jake Penney (No. 24) is second in Class 5A North in tackles with 101 so far this season.
Douglas’ Gabe Foster sits eighth on that list with 65 tackles through seven games.
The Tigers put together two long, sustained touchdown drives against the Senators on Friday.
A few of those against a stout Cougar defense could go a long way to giving the Tigers a shot at the upset bid.
“We have to try to keep building some confidence,” said Mays. “I hope this week we are able to express how big of a step we took last week.”
Spanish Springs’ presents a front seven defensively that will be physical and Mays hopes the Tiger offense can continue limiting turnovers.
Douglas seniors honored Friday night
Prior to kickoff last Friday, the Tigers honored their seniors on field.
Mays took his time to talk about what each senior has meant to him since watching them grow from his time as freshman coach to now.
“After doing this as long as I have, there are some special groups, but this one is definitely one of the more special,” said Mays.
Though he’s seen these seniors grow, it’ll be Mays’ first senior class under his tenure as head coach.
Joe Kramer, Martin Luna, Robert Costello, Anthony Menzer, Mason Anscott, Foster, Gavin Ross, Kamden Butterfield, Chris Smalley, Hector Mata Sanchez, Benjamin Hirt, Hunter Ulmer and Trevor Middaugh will all play their final regular season game in a Tiger uniform Friday.
“We share so many memories with these kids. My mom passed away a little over a year before I got to coach those kids. These seniors, I shared a lot of grief with them,” said Mays. “We built that bond where these kids call you when they need stuff.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Spanish Springs.
