The eyes of Connor Jackson (22) remain focused downfield during his 304-yard rushing performance Friday at Galena. Jackson has 989 yards and 14 touchdowns through six games.
Photo by Ron Harpin.
Douglas High football had 508 yards of offense in its 51-21 win at Galena last Friday, spoiling the Grizzlies homecoming.
This Friday night, the Hug Hawks will make their first trip to Minden since 2019.
Douglas won that 2019 contest, 63-14, and with the way the Tigers are playing through the first six weeks of the season it may be a similar outcome this year.
Hug will enter at 1-5 after losing 17-0 to Carson High last Thursday.
Douglas coach Kyle Mays doesn’t think you’ll see any sort of let down from the Tigers on Friday.
“We had a little bit of a rough start (Friday night),” said Mays. “This group seems to be pretty focused and locked in on their goals. You never know, it obviously could happen, but I don’t see it.”
Power run game
The recipe for success may be as simple as give the ball to Connor Jackson and let the senior tailback and the offensive line go to work.
Last week, Jackson gained 304 yards on 33 carries, averaging 9.2 yards per carry.
While Jackson saw most of the touches, fullback Andrew Strand picked up a couple of crucial first downs and also broke loose on a 40-yard carry late in the third quarter, which set up Jackson’s third score.
Evan Youmans had seven carries for 81 yards and a touchdown late in the game.
Hug will stack the box and try to force the Tigers to find success elsewhere.
When the Hawks are on offense, expect to see them try to stay away from Douglas’ top-tier linebacking crew.
“They try to spread the field. It’s really about maintaining our gaps and forcing everything to our leverage players,” said Mays. “Defensively, they try to pack the box and try to not let you run up the middle, which is where we like to run.”
O-line standouts
Jackson is steadfast in praising his linemen. Austin Pitts was a big part of that, returning from a preseason injury to hold down the guard position.
“You’ll see him pulling and wrapping around the edge. If he doesn’t see anyone coming, … he will be running with Connor. You will see him way down the field a lot,” Mays said.
At tackle, Michael White and Jack Ross have given Jackson room to maneuver.
“It’s great to just watch those guys grow,” Mays said.
Ledger Soule didn’t get the starting nod at center this past Friday, but got his name called and took advantage.
“We put Ledger in and Ledger did a great job,” Mays said.