Carson knocks off Elko

ELKO - Two games into the 2006 season and as far as talent goes, Elko has been every bit as good as its opposition, however, for the second straight week, the Tribe has walked away with the loss.

Friday's 27-13 setback to Carson at Warrior Field came down to mistakes by the Indians as they turned the ball over five times, the same number they had last week against Spring Creek. And the turnovers are killing them.

"We can't turn the ball over," Elko coach Dan Chappuis said. "We have to work in practice on securing the football."

Late in the first quarter, the Tribe's Keith Allen had a 36-yard punt return to set up the first score of the game. On the first play of the ensuing drive on the Senators' 14, Taylor Porter, who finished with a team-best 51 yards on 14 carries, took the handoff and found paydirt.

The PAT was missed, but Elko had its first lead of the young season.

The Senators took little time to respond. After trying to throw the ball most of the first quarter, they changed things up and went with the option. The adjustment paid off as quarterback Mitch Hammond repeatedly ran the play to perfection.

On Carson's first scoring drive, Hammond faked the handoff and ran down the right side of the field for 17 yards. The Indians' defense did manage a pair of sacks on the drive, but a pass interference call put the ball on the Elko 8.

Two plays later, Hammond found Wes Reddick for the 7-yard touchdown pass.

After forcing Elko into a quick punt, Carson's Richie Norgrove nearly returned the punt to the house but was brought down by punter Aaron Byers, who made a touchdown-saving tackle.

During the series that followed, running back Travis Lamborn took over. He carried the ball four straight times for a total of 27 yards, and he set up Kyle Banko's 2-yard scamper into the endzone with 11 seconds remaining in the first half.

In the second half, the Tribe turned the ball over five times.

On the Indians first four drives of the third, they lost four fumbles and had a pass picked off.

The Tribe's defense kept Carson from scoring on three of the four turnovers, but Hammond ran another option play and kept the ball for a 2-yard score late in the third.

In the fourth, Elko finally got one of those turnovers back as Allen jumped on a Carson fumble to give his team the ball on the Senators' 32.

After a pass interference call, Elko quarterback Justin Pollard, who replaced starter Bryce Carlton in the fourth quarter, found Everett Brill for the 16-yard scoring pass.

"We were trying to change momentum. Justin came in and gave us a spark," Chappuis said.

The Tribe's defense forced a Carson punt giving the offense one more chance to tie the game, but the offense ran four plays for just six yards.

On the next series, Carson sealed the win as Lamborn ran around the left side and down the sideline for a 48-yard score.

Lamborn led the Carson offense with 132 rushing yards on 16 carries. Hammond added 71 more yards with his feet. The quarterback also completed 7 of 19 107 yards, including a 48-yard strike to Norgrove.

Carson outgained Elko 339-133 and CHS coach Shane Quilling said his team could have had 450 yards of total offense had it not dropped several passes.

"It shouldn't have been as close," said Quilling about the outcome. "We can play better. "We moved the ball all over the field. The kids played really well."

Quilling praised Hammond's play. "He made some great throws," Quilling said.

The coach also said Lamborn gave an outstanding effort despite suffering from cramps.

"Travis Lamborn was a beast," Quilling said. "He just sucked it up and got after it."

Quilling also praised his defense, which didn't allow any sustained scoring drives. "The defense stoned them," Quilling said.

Wes Reddick and Jamie Greene had outstanding defensive games, accounting for all five turnovers. Reddick intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble and Greene recovered two fumbles.

"We we just better on offense," Quilling said. "We just executed better. We really mixed it up.

"Were going to get better. The kids played hard and made big plays when they needed to."

Pollard finished the game 5-for-7 for 55 yards. Porter had three grabs for 22 yards, and Bryan Skinner had a 23-yard reception.