Carson football players moving on

They've developed a bond over the past six years, so it's not surprising that the paths of six graduating Carson High seniors will continue to cross as the move on with their careers in football.

Eric Walther, Zach Taylor, Jason Dittenber, Scott Witter, Bryan Maffei and Ryan Jesse will all have one more chance to play together when they participate in the annual Sertoma All-Star Football Game on June 16. Carson coach Shane Quilling will serve as one of the assistants in the game to Hug's Rollins Stallworth, who will serve as one of the head coaches.

All six players earned at least all-Sierra League first team honors last year and Quilling said that wasn't an accident. For Jesse the Sertoma game will be his last chance to suit up, but for the other five the all-star contest will just be a step on their way to the next level.

And all five players will cross paths in some way as they play in college. Maffei and Walther will attend Carroll in Helena, Mont., the four-time defending NAIA national champion. Taylor and Dittenber will be teammates at Feather River Community College. Witter will play for Santa Rosa, Calif., which just happens to play Feather River.

"The six of us have played together for four years," Walther said. "We're real close. It's going to be good to get out on the field one more time."

Walther, a 6-2, 240-pound lineman, received numerous honors on both offense and defense last year and was an all-state first team choice as an offensive lineman. He originally signed with NAIA Southern Oregon.

He was orginally told by Carroll that recruiting offensive linemen wasn't a priority. But since that time, Carroll has lost some offensive lineman and came after Walther.

"They had smoe money and they had some open spots," Walther said. "I couldn't pass up a chance to play for the national champions."

Walther said Southern Oregon told him his signing with that school was "basically a hand shake" and that if he wanted to leave "there would be no hard feelings."

"I kind of held them to it," Walther said. "They weren't happy about it but they let me go."

Walther said the chance to play with Maffei and to reunite with former Carson assistant coach Russell McCarvel, who's Carroll's running backs coach, was also a major factor.

Maffei, who has 4.4 speed, was won of Nevada's top running backs last year. Although there's still a chance that Walther could be blocking for Maffei at Carroll, the school is looking at him mainly as a safety.

"I got really close to him," said Walther about McCarvel. "It will be nice to just know people there."

Quilling said Maffei is one of the most special athletes he's ever coached. "I've only seen a couple like that in 20 years of coaching," he said.

Maffei also made a bold prediction. "It's going to be the fifth straight this year," said Maffei about winning another national title.

The 6-5, 240-pound Taylor was a first-team all-Northern 4A choice as a defensive lineman and an all-Northern 4A second team choice as an offensive lineman. It's likely that Taylor will be a defensive lineman at Feather River.

"It's nice to know somebody that you've been playing with," said Taylor about joining Dittenber.

Taylor also laid down the gauntlet to Witter. "We're going to whip Scott's ---," Taylor said.

Dittenber, 6-2, 215, will play linebacker at Feather River. It could be an interesting meeting between Witter, a 6-2, 215 receiver, and Dittenber, if Witter goes over the middle to catch a pass. "I've done it in practice," Witter said. "I'll do it again.

"That will probably be more exciting just because it's somebody you know," said Dittenber about the two schools playing each other.

Both Dittenber and Witter were all-Northern 4A second team choices. Witter was one of Northern Nevada's leading receivers the past two years. Witter said he chose Santa Rosa because it throws about 80 percent of the time.

Jesse was an all-state second team choice last year as a defensive back. Jesse said he plans "to go all out" in his final game in the Sertoma Classic. "I have nothing to lose," he said.

"Those are six kids who earned all they got," Quilling said. "They grew physically and matured. The awards come to those who work hard. Everyone of them were all-league. When you work hard and make a commitment good things happen.

"They're a good example of what it takes to be a good high school football player. They just worked hard to become what they are. They're great kids. That's what it takes to get postseason honors. They're a great representation of what it takes to be great football players."