"We’ve never played out of state," said Morris, though he recalls doing so once when he was a player.
That will all change the weekend of Sept. 18, when the junior varsity and varsity teams travel to Sparks, Nev., to challenge Spanish Springs High School in a pair of prep football contests.
The Cougars didn’t simply decide to play a game in Nevada. A former San Lorenzo Valley resident who now lives in that state donated money to help build the school’s track and field complex and suggested the Cougars make a trip to that neck of the woods. The donor also gave money specifically toward traveling expenses.
The donor wants to remain anonymous, Morris said, but the coach remembers being told, "You know, I’d sure like to see the Cougars come play in Nevada."
The estimated cost for the trip — including buses, hotel rooms and a substitute teacher for two days while Morris is away — is more than $9,200.
Spanish Springs High School sits just east of Reno and is home to more than 2,000 students, almost double the size of SLV.
That school is also home to the Cougars — though their colors are purple and teal, rather than the red and black of the local team.
The head coach at Spanish Springs was a former coach at Robert Louis Stevenson High School in Pebble Beach, Morris said.
"He knows who we are and where we’re from," Morris said. "He knows about the SCCAL."
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