FIRST THINGS FIRST
Congratulations to the Liberty Patriots! Friday night they defeated the 10-time state champion Bishop Gorman Gaels in a regional championship for the Desert Region in southern Nevada. The final score, 30-24, in overtime. The Patriots scored late in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime. In overtime, the Gaels had the ball first, but failed to score, missing a field goal. The Patriots picked up positive yards on their first down play and then scored on a run, up the middle, on second down. Fun fact, George Baker who left Vegas to coach at Damonte with Shawn Dupris, and moved back to Vegas, is on the Liberty coaching staff.
NEXT UP
The winner of the Damonte Ranch vs Bishop Manogue 4A Northern Title Game will play Liberty on Saturday, November 30th, site and time yet to be determined. This is the first time Gorman has failed to reach the state 4A Final since 2008 when the McQueen Lancers defeated Palo Verde 13-12.
BUT FIRST
Monday night football, Reno High School, 6:00 PM, Damonte vs Manogue! This has become a storied rivalry here in Northern Nevada. These two programs played for the 4A Northern Title last season, a game that went into overtime and was won by the Miners. To get there this season, Damonte defeated Reed, Wednesday night at Damonte, while Manogue defeated Spanish Springs back on Friday, November 15th.
The Damonte vs Reed game had been moved from Friday to Wednesday because of pertussis, AKA whooping cough. Unfortunately the other 4A Northern Semifinal was not moved; after defeating the Cougars, the Miners started a nine-day period of rest, recuperation, and planning.
Four days is 96 hours and nine days equals 216 hours. There is a significant difference between 96 and 216 hours. Anyone who has been to Hawaii will tell you there is a massive difference between four days on the Islands and nine. Would you rather work a four-day work week or nine straight days? Kids and adults agree, four days until Christmas feels very differently than nine days until Christmas.
Both games should have been shifted to Wednesday night. Had both games been played on Wednesday night, both victors would have had the same amount of time to recuperate from their previous game and to prepare for the next.
DOES HE REMEMBER NUMBER 23
I wonder if Christian Jamison can tell you about his final tackle Wednesday night, his 23rd tackle of the night. Christian has had quite the year for the Mustangs. A hundred tackles for the season is a significant number for a defensive player and would land that player in the top 20 in the State. Wednesday night, in a playoff game, Christian Jamison recorded 23 tackles, nearly a quarter of that 100 number. Those 23 tackles will propel Jamison to the top ranking in the State, surpassing Reyes Reynaga of Clark High School in Las Vegas. Jamison will have a chance to add to his impressive total Monday night when Damonte plays Bishop Manogue for the Northern 4A Championship. Jamison may have also broken the tackles for a loss record this season too, but that is not official yet.
HAYES LEADS THE STATE
Ashton Hayes continues to frustrate defenses and defensive coaches. He leads the state in rushing yards, total points scored, and touchdowns scored. One has to wonder if a sophomore has ever led the state in three top categories as Hayes is doing this season.
ABOUT YOUR AUTHOR
Lynn Ault is happily married to A’Laina Ault, the head of the math department at Damonte Ranch High School. His daughter played basketball and was a varsity cheerleader at Damonte. His son is a member of the Damonte Ranch Football Program, a senior on this year’s team. He handles a number of announcing duties for Damonte Ranch and is the Youth Pastor for Hope Community Church.