Under normal circumstances, Carson High School football coach Shane Quilling would be focused squarely on his team's season opener Friday night against McQueen.
However, practices during the preseason resembled a MASH unit and the situation only took a turn for the worse this week when senior lineman Cameron Leck was admitted to Carson-Tahoe Hospital with a case of what has been diagnosed as viral meningitis, according to a family member.
Coach Shane Quilling was understandably concerned at practice on Wednesday.
"He's in the hospital. It sounds like he's OK; he's getting it checked out," Carson coach Shane Quilling said. "Football's the farthest thing from his mind, I'm sure. He just needs to get healthy.
"Scary? Yes it is, especially when you've been around everybody. So, we're just hoping for the best."
Leck is a returning starter at offensive guard, so his absence on the field would be a setback for the Senators coming into their opener against McQueen, a game scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. He isn't the only Carson player who has been ill or injured since fall practice began in mid-August.
"The illness around here has been unbelievable," Quilling said. "I've had four or five kids the last week who have been home sick, flu, headaches, it's been going around. We actually got four guys back yesterday. We had 32 guys at practice yesterday, which is the most we've had in a while."
Senior Nick Shine is questionable to play after he sustained an ankle injury last Friday in Carson's scrimmage against Spanish Springs. Shine is coming into his third season as a varsity linebacker and tight end.
"It looks like he's all right going forward, but we don't know about the lateral yet," Quilling said. "We probably won't know until Friday. It will probably be a game time decision, to see how he does warming up."
Tsuyoshi Curtis returned to practice after sitting out with a quadricep injury, only to go down with an injured hand. Curtis, a transfer from Cimarron-Memorial in Las Vegas, has been projected as a starter at cornerback.
"Curtis probably broke his hand," Quilling said.
Playing the defending 4A state champion McQueen Lancers without two or three starters is not the way Quilling wanted to start the new season. The good news is that Carson doesn't begin its Sierra League season until Sept. 19 -- a game against Hug in Reno.
"It would be nice to have two key guys who have played some football," Quilling said. "But if we don't, then hey, we've still got to get after it."