Douglas High routs Hug in home opener

The Douglas High football team spent its home opener celebrating from start to finish Friday night as the Tigers picked up a 63-14 win against Hug after inducting five former members of their football team into the program’s Hall of Fame.

Kody Gray got the evening started for the Tigers with a pick-six on the third play from scrimmage as he secured a bobbled pass and returned it 25 yards to the end zone.

On the ensuing Hug possession, Douglas forced a three-and-out and Cameron Swain put the Tigers right back in the end zone.

It was a 53-yard reception on a go route for the junior wideout to give Douglas a 14-0 lead less than five minutes into the contest.

Running back Trevor Kruger continued to capitalize on the pregame energy and followed with a 48-yard touchdown carry on his first touch of the game to put the Tigers in front 21-0. Kruger ended the first half with 84 yards and three scores.

The offense continued to need little time to develop as quarterback Isaac Shaver hit Swain a second time for a score on a screen pass that Swain took 72 yards down the home sideline to make it 28-0 before the first quarter concluded.

Douglas finished the night with three offensive possessions that resulted in touchdowns on the opening play.

The Tigers ended the opening half with a running clock, up 42-7.

Out of the locker room, not much changed for Douglas as its first two drives went for touchdowns.

Kruger scored his fourth and final touchdown of the game to open the second half on a 10-yard run up the middle.

“He’s just a pinball. The guy runs more yards east and west to get to whatever his total was tonight,” said Douglas head coach Ernie Monfiletto of Kruger, who has eight touchdowns in two games. “He’s a special kid.”

On the following drive, Race Coman reeled off a 55-yard touchdown run, weaving his way back across the field to evade Hawk defenders.

Johnny Morrison capped the scoring with Douglas’ final touchdown, coming in the final few minutes of regulation.

Five inducted into the Tiger football Hall of Fame

Prior to the opening kickoff, Douglas honored five previous members of its football program with a lifelong achievement.

Billy Nickerson (Class of 1984), Dan Senger (’03), David Silvestro (’03), Johnny Pollack (’09) and Sean ‘Mo’ Molina (’06) were each honored, recognized and handed a plaque for their accomplishments with the Tiger football program.

For Molina – who lives in Virginia while working for the Department of Defense – trips back home are infrequent and provide a chance remember the community atmosphere he grew up around.

“Seeing the tradition, the energy that Douglas provides … it reminds me of what Douglas County is about,” said Molina. “It’s absolutely a homecoming for me. Douglas County is such a unique place.”

Molina was the Defensive Player of the Year in the Sierra League in 2006 and helped lead Douglas to its second league title while playing every game on the road while the field was being redone.

Monfiletto echoed Molina’s sentiment about the community atmosphere at Douglas and reminisced about the players he coached, who now have their names etched permanently into the Tiger record books.

“It says a lot about what the Douglas way is and how people feel about this program,” Monfiletto said.

UP NEXT: Douglas (2-0) welcomes another unbeaten in Reno High School (2-0) next Friday as the Tigers look to respond from a 51-24 loss to the Huskies in 2018.