BRAD HORN/Nevada Appeal Carson Chris McBroom runs upfield against McQueen at Carson on Friday.
The McQueen Machine wasn't perfect Friday at Carson High School, but it scored on seven of its nine possessions and added a defensive touchdown to take a 44-12 victory over the Senators in a nonleague matchup.
Senior running back Styker Ngongoseke had a team-high 98 yards on 11 carries, including two touchdowns and junior wide receiver Kyle Van Noy caught three balls for 100 yards and three TDs to help High Desert League powerhouse McQueen to improve to 3-0 on the season.
"They're a good team. The better team won," said Carson coach Shane Quilling, whose Senators fell to 0-3. "Hey, (Sierra League play) starts next week. We're 0-0 like everyone else."
Although the score was more lopsided than Quilling would've liked, the Lancers gained only 63 more yards offensively than the Senators - 294-231. Quilling also drew some more positives out of the game.
"The main thing is that we're healthy," he said. "I saw some positives on offense and defense. We had a big stand on D (the Senators stopped McQueen on a fourth-and-goal in the third quarter). On offense we had three drives over 10 plays against their ones (starters). They're a good team. They executed in all areas."
The question of just how dangerous the Lancers were was answered 21 seconds into the first quarter, when starting quarterback Spencer Downey hit Van Noy for a 76-yard touchdown pass.
The Lancers' special teams were also solid and kicker Anthony Martinez connected on a
47-yard field goal at 4:46 of the first for a 10-0 lead.
McQueen took a 24-0 lead into halftime after Ngongoseke scored from 29 yards out and backup quarterback Connor Brandt found Van Noy for a 21-yard score.
Downey completed 5-of-12 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns, while Brandt was 2-of-2 for 36 yards and one TD.
The only time McQueen didn't score when it had the ball in the first half was when coach Ken Dalton had his quarterback take a knee to go into the locker room.
Carson outgained McQueen rushing, 209-132, but it took the Senators 59 attempts to the Lancers' 18.
Carson managed to keep the game from being a total blowout when it chewed up the clock to begin the second half. Beginning on its own 20-yard line, the Senators went on a 19-play scoring drive, culminated by a Chris McBroom touchdown from the 1.
The drive consumed 9 minutes, 14 seconds and narrowed the score to 24-6. McQueen stopped Carson's 2-point conversion attempt.
Holbert led the Senators with 73 yards on 18 carries. McBroom added 62 on 14 attempts.
The Senators had its last real chance to get back in the game when it subsequently stopped McQueen on the fourth-and-goal from the 10, but junior defensive lineman Karrington Armstrong scooped up a botched handoff from Carson quarterback Mitch Hammond to McBroom and took it in for the score and a 30-6 lead.
McQueen kept up the pressure, adding two fourth-quarter touchdowns to make it 44-6. Downey hit Van Noy for a 13-yard score and Ngongoseke ran one in from three yards out.
Although the Senators took a defeat, they never lost their spirit and sophomore running back Mark Sinnott picked up 39 yards on nine fourth-quarter carries. Backup quarterback Gabe Ramirez scored on a 2-yard run with 2 seconds remaining in the game.
"He ran hard," Quilling said of Sinnott, who picked up 18 yards on a second-and-6 from the McQueen 21 on the final drive. "The kids never quit. We played with a lot of class - everybody got to play. We had our twos and threes in there and we scored against (the Lancers') ones."
McQueen picked up three sacks on Hammond, who was 5-of-9 passing for 22 yards and had 12 yards on 12 carries.
With the preseason over Carson opens up Sierra League play when it travels to Reno on Friday to face the Huskies, who are 1-2 after a 41-21 loss to Reed on Friday.
"It's league and we're 0-0 - we can't change the past," Quilling said. "It has everything to do with the future."