Douglas High football seniors prior to kickoff against Bishop Manogue on Thursday. From left to right are Braden Lenz, Caden Martin, Raiden Barnes, Evan Youmans, Brenton Weston, head coach Kyle Mays, Michael Cahill, Jackson Ovard, Dustin Danen, manager Mason Britton, manager Owen Mecak and manager Coby Anderson.
Photo by Ron Harpin.
With the way realignment has shaped the high school sports scene, rematches in the opening rounds of the postseason are a certainty.
Friday night’s Class 5A Division II football postseason opener between Reno and Douglas High schools should be an entertaining affair after the two sides played to a 20-13 final in late September.
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. in Minden.
There may not be many secrets between the two sides after their initial meeting, but there are still areas of concern for the Tigers if they want to keep their season alive.
“They’ve been running the ball pretty effectively. We kind of plan to see a little more of that,” said Douglas head coach Kyle Mays. “They run it with that quarterback, he’s really good at running the ball and making plays. We plan on seeing a little bit more running the ball out of them.”
The Reno offense was a near 50/50 split in the first meeting, but Husky quarterback Braylon Wilson is capable of changing the game through the air and with his legs.
Wilson extended multiple plays in their last meeting, but the Tigers did a good job of containing the quarterback when he got outside of the pocket. Wilson finished 18-of-28 for 198 yards and two touchdown passes, but was limited to 34 yards on 16 carries on the ground.
Douglas sacked Wilson six times.
“We have to keep the pressure on him (Wilson) because he’s extremely dynamic,” Mays said. “He created some real hell for us because he runs side to side and we would lose track of some of the wide receivers.”
Mays said he’s not necessarily expecting the Husky defense to do much differently, but he has noticed Reno’s execution has continued to improve.
“They make disciplined reads, they bring pressure and they stick to their assignments. We have to try to make a man miss if we are going to be successful,” said Mays.
Tickets for Friday’s contest must be purchased online at www.niaa.com/tickets.
TIGER X-FACTORS
Given how important Douglas’ defensive pressure will be, Mays says his x-factor will be at linebacker.
Junior Ayden Orr (No. 44) is third on the team in tackles with 73 and Mays fully expects Orr to be a big piece Friday.
“If he plays to the level he’s capable of playing, we will be just fine,” said Mays.
On the offensive side, Mays said wideout Nate Priou could be another big weapon.
Looking at the box score from the late September matchup indicates one area of success for Douglas – the running game.
Junior Zack Jackson had 182 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns for the Tigers while Evan Youmans had an additional 74 yards on nine touches.
As a team, Douglas averaged more than 10 yards per carry.
“Our entire gameplan revolves around running the ball. The plan is always to try to run the ball and control the clock,” said Mays.
Douglas only threw for 36 yards, but plenty of that was dictated by the Tigers’ lead throughout the second half.
This past Thursday, Douglas celebrated its senior class against Bishop Manogue and Mays had high praise for the outgoing class, which consists of Jackson Ovard, Dustin Danen, Weston, Youmans, Michael Cahill, Raiden Barnes, Braden Lenz and Caden Martin.
“They were the first class when I took over,” said Mays. “They fought through adversity. We still had all the COVID stuff going on. They are doing a tremendous job leading this team. Nobody thought they’d be having the success they are having this season. They are leading in a manner that makes me proud.”
Mays said this season’s team managers – Coby Anderson, Owen Mecak and Mason Britton – have been everything he could’ve asked for.
“Coby has been absolutely amazing. Both of them (Owen and Mason) are managers because of knee injuries and do such a good job all week long with filming and other manager duties,” Mays said.