A Raider-sized test comes to town Friday

Douglas High School football is set for a showdown against Reed this Friday evening in Minden.

The Raiders boast an offense that is averaging 40 points per game and rarely makes mistakes in the turnover department.

Meanwhile, Douglas’ offense has proven it’s more than capable of putting up crooked numbers of its own.

The matchup to watch will certainly be the Tiger defense against the potent Raider offense, which has been successful in both the passing and rushing departments.

For years, Reed has presented a major speed bump for Douglas, winning 21 straight contests over the Tigers and 25 of 27 meetings dating back to 2004.

Douglas hasn’t beaten Reed since a 40-13 win over the Raiders in 2008.

Prior to the opening kickoff, Douglas will be honoring the 1974 Douglas football state title winning team. 

RAIDER KEYS

Don’t be fooled by the Raider nickname, Reed has already proven to be plenty more competent than the NFL franchise down in Las Vegas.

Under center will be quarterback Nishaan Bajwa (No. 3), who has been a model of consistency this season.

Bajwa has tossed the pigskin for 1,005 yards this season along with 14 touchdowns.

He has yet to throw an interception this season.

Bajwa has also run for 230 yards and two scores, proving he’s got the potential to be a threat with his arm and his legs.

Their main weapon in the ground game has been Bronwyn Rios, who has put together 942 rushing yards this season and 14 touchdowns of his own.

Reed’s offense as a whole barely turns the ball over with only two fumbles lost on the season.

“They have a lot of athletes all over the field, starting at quarterback,” said Douglas High School head coach Kyle Mays. “They take care of the football. They are the definition of ‘take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves.’”

The skill position players will of course be the ones that the Tigers will be forced to keep an eye on, but Reed’s size and speed on the lines is a big reason why the Raiders have been so successful this fall.

“They’ve beaten some pretty good teams and they were in that game until the bitter end against Manogue,” said Mays. “I remember last year when we played those guys, the line was significantly faster than we expected.”

Offensively, the Raider offense will run a lot of zone concepts with their lineman looking for ways to open holes by getting to the second level.

Defensively, Reed will be based around its four-man front on the defensive line.

Shaysan Rivero (No. 2) leads the team in tackles with 56 this fall, including three tackles for loss. Oscar Casarez (No. 26) is another name that Mays and the Tigers will keep their eye on.

Reed’s defense has 22 sacks through seven games and has forced 15 turnovers in total.

“Their linebacking core just flies around,” said Mays. “They have some pretty big size on that defense line.”

TIGERS HEALTHY OFF A BYE

Mays hasn’t been shy to note that Douglas has had some players banged up this fall.

After a week off, the Las Vegas Raider Tom Flores Coach of the Week thinks the Tigers should be feeling good after a week without a game.

“The bye week got us healthy. Our kids should be feeling 100 percent by the time we kick off,” said Mays.

Tiger tight end and outside linebacker Dustin Danen (No. 6) has been a big piece for Douglas this fall and rarely comes off the field between offense and defense.

“He hardly ever comes off the field. He’s played some really, really good games,” said Mays. “He works his tail off. He blocks for us and when we throw him the ball he’s ready for it. He doesn’t take plays off.”

On offense, Danen has 137 receiving yards this season while also racking up 34 tackles and four tackles for loss on defense.

Danen has a sack and two fumble recoveries on defense, too.

With Reed’s ability to limit mistakes in the form of turnovers, Mays knows it’ll be crucial for Douglas to do the same.

“We’ve made some youthful mistakes throughout the year. If we can limit that against a very well coached team … that’s what it boils down too,” said Mays.