We recently asked on our Battle Born Preps X account which team’s record, at this point in the season, surprises you the most. The options were as follows:
Douglas, 6-2
Carson, 5-3
Reno, 2-4
Truckee, 7-0
The winner of the poll was the Douglas Tigers with their 6-2 record in the 5A II Division. Let’s take a quick look at how things stand, how we got here, where we might be going, and at some of the statistical leaders for the 5A North, according to MaxPreps.
5A II NORTH
1. Bishop Manogue, 3-0 league, 5-3 overall, 3 game win streak
2. Douglas, 2-1 league, 6-2 overall, plays Manogue on 10/24
3. Spanish Springs, 2-1 league, 5-3 overall, only one remaining game against team with a winning record
4. Reed, 2-1 league, 5-2 overall, final two games are at Douglas and at Spanish Springs
5. Reno, 0-3 league, 2-4 overall, Manogue next week and final game of the season with McQ
6. McQ, 0-3 league, 3-5 overall, last two games are at Spanish Springs and home for Reno
Manogue has all-but clinched another league title, first round playoff bye, and home field for the remainder of the playoffs. Freshman Demari Stacker leads the team in receiving yards per game, Pele Masina leads the team in rushing, and Brandon Mann has 18 touchdown passes. Reed came within a touchdown of the Miners, their closest league game since a home loss to McQueen in September of 2021.
Douglas are the darlings of 5A II football, and their meteoric rise last season has proven not to be a fluke. With league wins over Reno and McQueen, the Tigers are safe from being shifted back to 5A III next season. How far can this Tigers squad go in the playoffs, and can they give Bishop Manogue trouble?
Spanish Springs beat Douglas and has a league win over Reno. A matchup with Reed looms, beating McQueen and Reed combined with Douglas losses to Reed and Bishop Manogue would put Spanish Springs in the opposite side of the playoff bracket from Bishop Manogue and give the Cougars a valuable first round bye.
Reed have two tough games left: at Douglas on the 18th and at Spanish Springs on the 24th. The top of the 5A II standings are going to be tough to call. Two wins and Reed finds itself in the mix for the two seed, a split puts them anywhere from 2-4, and going 0-2 all-but assures them the fourth seed.
Reno and McQueen found themselves in a three-way tie for last place last season and by virtue of tiebreakers watched Damonte Ranch shift to 5A III; one of them isn’t going to be so lucky this year. Reno faces Bishop Manogue following the bye week before heading to northwest Reno for the last game of the year, at McQueen.
McQueen has Spanish Springs next week before hosting Reno for the final game of the year. That last game of the season, at McQueen, will be full of intrigue on top of it being a heated rivalry game.
5A III NORTH
1. Galena, 3-0 league, 5-2 overall, wins over Damonte and Carson City
2. Damonte Ranch, 2-1 league, 3-4 overall, plays Carson City October 24th
3. Carson City, 2-1 league, 5-3 overall, best season since they went .500 in 2016
4. North Valleys, 1-2 league, 3-5 overall, after the two games with Carson City last season, next week’s game is much anticipated
5. Wooster, 1-2 league, 2-5 overall, tough two final games: Damonte Ranch and Galena
6. Hug, 0-3 league, 0-7 overall, Galena and North Valleys to close out the season
Last year, Douglas and Galena battled, but it was Douglas that won the regular season title and promotion to 5A II. Galena went on to win the North and play for a state title. Their last two games of the season are Hug and Wooster, and it is unlikely they’ll lose either giving the Grizzlies their first regular season title since 2012, along with the first round by and home field advantage in the playoffs.
Damonte returns to action, following the bye week, at Wooster, before finishing the regular season in Carson City. Going 2-0 would earn Damonte the second seed, a first round by, and a second-round home playoff date.
Carson City are having a good year with remaining games against North Valleys and Damonte. North Valleys and Carson City played two fantastic games last season, don’t discount the Panthers ability to be a fly in the Senators ointment before the season ending showdown with Damonte. Two wins and the Senators claim the second spot in league, the first round by, and a second-round home playoff game.
North Valleys has Carson and Hug on the schedule, they’ll most likely go 1-1 or 2-0. They beat Wooster 42-14 in September, so, they appear to be fairly safely ensconced in the 4th spot which would lead to a home playoff date with those same Wooster Colts.
Wooster has two tough games remaining: a home date with Damonte Ranch and then at Galena for the last game of the season. Damonte needs this one and has not given up a point in two weeks, giving up an average of 7 point per league contest. Galena will be looking to cap an undefeated regular season march to a league title. The good news is Wooster is all-but locked into the 5th 5A III playoff spot.
Hug finish the season at Galena and then at North Valleys. The Grizz are marching toward a regular season title, doubtful they’ll allow Hug to spoil that. Their best chance for a win will come that last week at North Valleys.
STAT LEADERS
Tyson Mcneil is having a good season for Spanish Springs. He has 1633 yards, good for 204 per game and he has thrown 16 touchdown passes with just one interception.
Damonte Ranch’s Kobe Craig leads the 5A North in rushing this season. He has 961 yards with 12 touchdowns. He has run between the tackles and has shown breakaway speed. He is averaging 6.86 yards per carry with his longest run being 65 yards. Most remarkably, no fumbles for Craig this season.
Brenton Weston, Douglas, has 36 receptions this season, good for 649 yards and 10 touchdowns. He is averaging 81 receiving yards per game and 18 yards per reception.
Reed’s Bronwyn Rios is second in scoring to Weston (and second in rushing to Craig). Weston has 115 points this season, Rios has 16 touchdowns which is good for 100 points this season, in one less game than Weston has played.
Spanish Springs linebacker, Kyler Depaepe, leads the 5A North in tackles with 116 this season, 16.6 per game. 16 of those have been tackles for loss and he has two sacks – all in seven games, one less than most of the competition have played.
Brenton Weston makes his way onto this list again, as a kicker this time. He is 8-10 on field goal attempts for the Tigers this season. His long is from 50 yards, but Carson's Drake Hardcastle nailed a 55-yard field goal this season. Speaking of Hardcastle, he is Carson’s quarterback and punter. As a punter, Hardcastle is averaging 38.56 yards per punt.
North Valleys’ Zach Clarke is averaging 42.67 yards per punt return, but it is a small sample size, just three returns. Brenton Weston is averaging 51 yards per kickoff return, but also a small sample size, just three returns. The best 5A North returner this season might be Joey Thomas III, from Bishop Manogue, who has 15 total returns (punt/kickoff) for 356 yards.
REMAINING REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
October 18th
Reno High at Bishop Manogue
Reed at Douglas
SSHS at McQ
Hug at Galena
Damonte at Wooster
Carson at North Valley
October 24th
Bishop Manogue at Douglas
Reed at SSHS
Reno at McQ
Wooster at Galena
Damonte at Carson City
Hug at North Valleys
PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
First round games will be at the higher seed, Friday, November 1st, byes for top two 5A II and III seeds.
League Semifinal games will be a week later, Friday, November 8th, at the higher seed.
Northern 5A II and III Championship games will be at the higher seed, Friday the 15th of November.
The 5A II State Title Game will take place at Damonte Ranch High School on Saturday, November 23rd, time has not been announced
The 5A III State Title Game will take place at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Monday, November 25th, no time published yet.
Playoff tickets should be purchased in advance, go to www.niaa.com/tickets/
ABOUT YOUR AUTHOR - Lynn Ault covers high school athletics for Battle Born Preps. His wife teaches at Damonte Ranch where both his kids went to school. When not covering high school athletics, Ault can be found at Hope Community, a non-denominational south Reno church where he works with the middle and high school students.
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