Hey everyone we are having technical difficulties with our pod and we should have it posted at some point this weekend but in the meanwhile check out all of our takes below. Also please not J. Ray Dockter will post his picks in this article shortly as he is traveling but trust me if he goes undefeated in his picks we will be suspicious and take notes (just kidding we trust him to be honest) but thank you as always and hope you have fun at your perspective game or games this week.
Spanish Springs @ Shadow Ridge (Las Vegas, NV.) (Friday 6:00pm)
Dockter's Note(s): As is the case almost every year since Rob Hummel took over the Cougars football program they play a very robust and difficult non-league schedule. This year is no different, as the Cougs take their first road trip of the season, heading down to Las Vegas in a return game against the Mustangs of Shadow Ridge HS. The Mustangs have proven over the last few seasons that they are a southern contender having gone 26-10 over the last three seasons, winning 72.2 percent of their games in that same span, including a road victory against these same Cougars last season. Can the Cougars exact revenge on the Mustangs for last year's loss while also bouncing back after suffering a tough home opener that saw them give up 26 points after halftime last week against Simi Valley (Calif.)? Unfortunately I think the Cougs start their season 0-2 heading into week three.
Lynn's one liner: Maxpreps has Shadow Ridge ranked 7th in the state. The optimist will point out SSHS has played one game while this is the first game for SRHS, but that’ll make little difference, the Mustangs win their home opener.
J. Ray Dockter's Prediction: Shadow Ridge 28, Spanish Springs 20
Lynn Ault's Prediction: Shadow Ridge 31-17
Brady Raggio's Prediction: Shadow Ridge
Michael Reeves Prediction: Shadow Ridge 28-14
Chavez (Stockton, CA.) @ Galena (Friday 6:30pm)
Dockter's Note(s): Galena picked up where they left off last season and they seem to be on a mission this season. We'll see if they can keep up their torrid pace this week as they host Chavez HS from Stockton, Calif. Look for Colson Kermode, Ben Imse and Matthew Ritenhouse to put up big numbers this week against a Chavez team that has struggled as of late. I expect the Grizz to roll in this one.
Lynn's one liner: First game for a team that went 0-10 last year and is ranked 743 in CA + travel + Galana has played a game = Galena win.
J. Ray Dockter's Prediction: Galena 42, Chavez (Calif.) 10
Lynn Ault's Prediction: Galena 42-0
Brady Raggio's Prediction: Galena
Michael Reeves Prediction: Galena 28-14
Del Oro (Loomis, CA.) @ Reed
Dockter's Note(s): The Raiders started their season fast last week when they opened a can of "whoop-you-know-what" on the Churchill County Greenwave 38-7 and they showed everyone in Northern Nevada what they can expect this season. QB Nishaan Bajwa was nearly perfect last week in the victory and I expect that he can get better as the season continues. I expect RB Bron Rios to have a huge game against Del Oro, who beat up the Raiders at home last season by a score of 55-9, is making the quick trip over the hill from Loomis, Calif.
Lynn's one liner: Excellent matchup! Del Oro is a regional football power, currently ranked 105th in California, beat Reed last year 55-9, won two playoff games, they’ll make the trip to Sparks and leave with the win.
J. Ray Dockter's Prediction: Reed 28, Del Oro (Loomis, Calif.) 27
Lynn Ault's Prediction: Del Oro 38-36
Brady Raggio's Prediction: Del Oro
Michael Reeves Prediction: Del Oro 31-28
Carson @ Spring Creek
Dockter's Note(s): This might be the most difficult game of the week for me to pick because I was pleasantly surprised by Carson's result last week - anytime a team in the North defeats a team from the South it brings a smile to my face. I am not going to lie, I was very bullish on the Senators headed into last week's games and they dominated against Canyon Springs on their way to victory. Equally surprising was Spring Creek's result against Galena as the Spartans got rolled 42-7 in Reno to begin their season. Spring Creek will be looking to get back on track this week at home as they welcome in the Senators for their home opener, things will be popping in Eastern Nevada as Elko and Spring Creek both host home games.
Lynn's one liner: Spring Creek took one on the chin last week at Galena while Carson City comes into the game riding an emotional wave after shutting out Canyon Springs. The Spartans should put up more of a fight this week, but it’ll be Carson getting the win.
J. Ray Dockter's Prediction: Carson 17, Spring Creek 16
Lynn Ault's Prediction: Carson 29-21
Brady Raggio's Prediction: Spring Creek
Michael Reeves Prediction: Carson 14-10
North Valleys @ Fallon Greenwave
Dockter's Note(s): The Panthers introduced their new offense with fireworks last week as they crushed Sparks, 43-0, in The 'Rose' Bowl. As a Panthers alum I am happy they got off to a quick start to their season. However, anyone who has been around Northern Nevada football for five minutes over the last twenty years knows that playing Churchill County and playing Sparks are two wildly different things. I think we'll get a better, more competitive and complete glimpse of who these two programs are going to be moving forward by the end of this game tonight. The Greenwave will look to get the bad taste of last week's rough opener to Reed out of their mouths and they'll be motivated to prove they are a better team than what they showed last week.
Lynn's one liner: Fallon had a tough week one matchup with Reed while North Valleys had their way with Sparks; last year Churchill County beat Galena and only lost to Reed, at Reed, by a touchdown. Making the trip to Fallon is no joke, look for the Greenwave to bounce back this week.
J. Ray Dockter's Prediction: Churchill County 28, North Valleys 24
Lynn Ault's Prediction: Fallon 33-21
Brady Raggio's Prediction: Fallon
Michael Reeves Prediction: Fallon 35-21
El Capitan (Merced, CA.) @ HUG Hawks
Dockter's Note(s):
Lynn's one liner: No one liner for this game this week.
J. Ray Dockter's Prediction: Hug 10, El Capitan 9
Lynn Ault's Prediction: El Capitan 21-13
Brady Raggio's Prediction: El Capitan
Michael Reeves Prediction: El Capitan 48-7
Douglas @ Elko
Dockter's Note(s): The Tigers pulled off the road victory last week against the Fernley Vaqueros on a walkoff field goal. This is Elko's home opener this evening as they had a bye in week one. This game is a rematch of last season's slugfest that resulted in Douglas winning at home by a mere five points, 14-9, as both these squads played excellent defense. For anyone who has ever been to Warrior Field in Elko, the Indians and their fans create one of the best homefield advantages in all of the state. I look for the Indians to win this game in a close one.
Lynn's one liner: This has the potential to be a fantastic game; first game for 26th ranked Elko, Douglas is ranked 17th in the state and is coming off a last second win at Fernley 16-13. Last year, Elko made the trip to Douglas and lost a close one 14-9. Home opener for Elko will be spoiled by a tough Douglas squad, look for the game to come down to the last possession or two.
J. Ray Dockter's Prediction: Elko 14, Douglas 13
Lynn Ault's Prediction: Douglas 19-16
Brady Raggio's Prediction: Elko
Michael Reeves Prediction: Douglas 28-21
Palo Verde (Las Vegas, NV.) @ Reno (Saturday 12:00pm)
Dockter's Note(s): Reno High will be the talk of the town for some other media outlets as they break in a new QB this season. As Coach CJ Wintch told me in the pre-season, "[I] scheduled Palo Verde because they were my rival in high school, (Coach Wintch is a Centennial Grad) and I'd really like to beat them again." As someone who creates bulletin material I absolutely loved Coach Wintch's comments on this game. The Huskies are looking to get off on the right foot and contend in the upper half of the 'Northern 5A, D-II.' This game should be a fun one for fans who want to attend a high school-college doubleheader with Nevada playing just up the road from Huskies Field. I don't know much about the Panthers of Las Vegas but I am rolling with the North and the boys in Red, White and Blue on Saturday.
Lynn's one liner: Home opener for Reno High along with a new offense under the direction of former Nevada quarterback Carson Strong; Palo is a perennial playoff team in southern Nevada, strong history and a proud program but come into this one smarting after a lopsided loss to Las Vegas High School, thinking Reno High sends Palo Verde home even more upset.
J. Ray Dockter's Prediction: Reno 21, Palo Verde 17
Lynn Ault's Prediction: Reno 31-21
Brady Raggio's Prediction: Reno
Michael Reeves Prediction: Reno Huskies 24-14
Damonte Ranch @ Truckee (Saturday 1:30pm)
Dockter's Note(s): A rematch of last year's matchup that saw the Wolverines pull out a miracle victory in the last two minutes of the game on a rain soaked field that didn't live up to its billing. I was on the call for this game last season, shout out 'Tahoe Truckee Media,' and 'NFHS Network' for giving your boy the opportunity to increase his skills. In my personal opinion, because of the terrible weather, this game was not nearly as competitive or exciting as it should have been but the Wolverines won in the end, collecting the Mustangs as one of the notches on their belt along their path to a second consecutive state championship last season. Look for the boys of 'The Ranch' to be highly motivated this week across the state line as they look to avenge their loss from last year and deliver first-year head coach JJ Milan his first victory as a Varsity HC. Kobe Craig and Carsen Galvin will assuredly make their mark on this game for the Mustangs. Truckee Head Coach Josh Ivens will look for Joe Birnbaum, Jace Estabrook and Calvin Curtis to keep the train rolling in T-Town this Saturday. My prediction is that Truckee wins in a close one as these two teams produce offensive fireworks...
Lynn's one liner: Intriguing matchup, Truckee made the trip to Damonte last year and by virtue of a furious fourth quarter rally secured the win 20-17. Damonte has a game under the belt while this is Truckee’s first game and that’ll make a difference.
J. Ray Dockter's Prediction: Truckee 35, Damonte Ranch 34
Lynn Ault's Prediction: Damonte Ranch 21-17
Brady Raggio's Prediction: Truckee
Michael Reeves Prediction: Truckee 28-24
St Mary's @ Bishop Manogue (Saturday 2:00pm)
Dockter's Note(s): Bishop Manogue will look to keep their current 11-game winning streak going this weekend as they host St. Mary's in a battle of catholic schools. Bishop Manogue QB Brandon Mann will look to continue his hot start to the season as he sliced and diced the Mustangs last week en route to a 34-point victory. I think he might be the best of Manogue's recent run of highly successful signal callers as he only won the job during fall camp. I hope that the Miners fans enjoy this weekend's home game as they won't host another one until they welcome in the Spanish Springs Cougars on September 20th. Also of note the Miners defense seemed to lock in after they gave up a quick big gainer from Kobe Craig that he took to the end zone for a house call.
Lynn's one liner: St. Mary’s is ranked 40th in California, they went 11-2 last year averaging 40 points per game while allowing just 15 points per game. This has the potential to be the game of the week here in Northern Nevada. Manogue looked very good in their opening win at Damonte. Brandon Mann, quarterback, threw for three touchdowns and the team rushed for 137 yards (5.1 per carry) while holding Damonte to 7 points through 3 quarters, 14 for the game. St. Mary’s is a staunch foe, and will send Manogue’s crowd home disappointed.
J. Ray Dockter's Prediction: St. Mary's 31, Bishop Manogue 30
Lynn Ault's Prediction: St. Mary's 38-35
Brady Raggio's Prediction: St. Mary's
Michael Reeves Prediction: St. Mary's 35-28
Sparks @ Wooster
J. Ray Dockter's Prediction: Wooster 41, Sparks 20
Last Weeks Picks Results
By Michael Reeves
For J. Ray Dockter...
The Doc did well in his predictions week one going 7-2 tying Brady for second in last weeks predictions. His best prediction was definitely when he saw Pershing County upsetting Wooster 21-20, the only problem is the Mustangs won 49-7 far exceeding any of our expectations. His worst prediction was thinking the Vaqueros would beat the Tigers 21-10. Maybe it was his hometown bias maybe it was how everyone talked about the Tigers after this past offseason claiming they were "senior heavy" last year. Either way 7-2 is not a bad way to start the season.
For Lynn Ault...
Lynn had some home bias come into play this week and it showed in his worst prediction. He predicted the Mustangs would come out of the gates defeating the defending state champion Bishop Manogue Miners his prediction was 27-24 and while it was close in the beginning of the game the final score was anything but optimistic for Damonte Ranch ending in defeat 48-14. His best prediction was predicting Reed would beat Fallon 31-14 when the final score was 38-7 which I would take a 7 point swing for either team. This week Lynn came out 4th amongst us in picks and ended the week 4-5 but there is a ton of season left for him to win predictions and overtake the rest of us.
For Brady Raggio...
Brady because of his association with the NIAA has never predicted scores but in his "Moneyline" or "Pick Em" predictions he went 7-2 this past week which was tied for the best week with the Dockter. He like the rest of us did not see Carson winning (a team/situation to definitely monitor) and he thought the Tigers would lose to Fernley. His best prediction on the other hand is believing in Simi Valley while Lynn and I ate hometown cooking picking the Cougars to win. 7-2, is this a trend or is Brady getting some early season luck.
For Me...
I got my picks in late... sorry I was golfing on friday enjoying one of my last free days of the summer. If you are wondering what I think after everything I wrote below so here are a few of my quick thoughts...
The Damonte Ranch Mustangs need to clean some things up
Galena and Douglas are again for real even though people are acting as if last year was a one off for both of them
Reed will competed as the number 2 team at the end of the year
Hopeful for Reno's offense but I have been before and been let down so lets let things play out
Spanish Springs wins variance is always a wonder at the beginning of the year and this year is no different
McQueen, I like Matt Marner, I like the tradition, but I don't know if I put them in the upper echelon of teams in the North
Carson... sneaky team? another rough year? undervalued? not sure! I have so many different thoughts about the Senators and have to make a trip to the capital city to watch a game as they have me curious
It's Bishop Manogue's world and were all just living in it
As always after covering High School sports for nearly 15 years I encourage you all to tell me how wrong I am and tweet (or X I guess that's what you call it) at me @RenoReeves ... I look forward to seeing all of you out their on Friday Nights and please remember to give our podcast a listen as well as liking and subscribing it helps.
J. Ray Dockter has been covering high school sports since 2022. If you have a story worth telling let him know via Twitter @J_RayDoc.
Comments