NEVADA UNION FOOTBALL OUTLOOK - MCQUEEN 2012

The lights of Hooper Stadium on the campus of Nevada Union High School will be lighting up the night sky in Grass Valley on Friday at 7:30 for Friday Night Lights for their first football game of the season when they take on McQueen of Reno.

This is a rematch game from 2011 where the Miners played on the road and won 27-6. This years NU team is bigger, faster, stronger and has more experience than that of last years team. The only statistic which will be competitive between these two football team is the number of players who will be standing along the sidelines during the game. McQueen carries a roster of 43 players while NU has 45.

If the final score were 45-43, it would be shocking. Dave Humphers' Wing-T offense will surely put up that many points against the much lessor opposition. If the defense were to give up 43 point at home during their season opener that would be the shocker. In speculating , which I will do every week, I see the Miner's defense out scoring the Lancers offence by a touchdown. The final score will be 45-6.

The Lancers will rely heavily on the running game of senior RB Mathew Strebel (5'11", 190 pounds) who was McQueens second leading rusher in his junior season. He carried the ball 105 times which resulted in 545 yards and 4 TDs. This is a run first program, in 2011 they ran the ball 406 times while throwing the ball 142. GOOD LUCK RUNNING! The Miners defense is built around a linebacker core of experience, size as well as speed. Tanner Vallejo who is attending Boise State to play football in the fall of 2013, is a beast at 6'-3" and 225 pounds, Hank Humphers 6'-2" and 195 pounds and Cole Hannum who transferred to NU from Marrysville is 6'-2" at 225 pounds. Run you will not!

So if you can not run the ball, then you must go by air. That would be a great game plan if you had a quarterback who had a spent his junior season on the field and not the bench. The Lancers might look to senior Tyler Fritsen who could be the team's QB (5'10", 160 lbs) who threw the ball three times and completed two passes which was good for 10 years and a touchdown or they might look to their other option also a senior, Christian Stolo (6'1", 170 lbs) who threw the ball 12 times completing only two while giving up two picks.

The Union Newspaper spoke with NU's senior quarterback Kyle Cota (5'11", 200) who is bigger than the Lancers RB Strebel.

The Miners will dominate McQueen from the first play of the game. They may have good football in Reno, but Nevada Union's 2012 team could prove to be one of the best.