BY MIKE HOUSER
Nevada Appeal Sports Writer
RENO " The only thing colder than the biting wind cutting through Joe Mac Sellers Field at Wooster High School on Saturday was the offensive play of the Carson Senators.
Beginning with the opening kickoff return, the Senators committed four first-half turnovers " including three in their first three possessions.
But the Carson defense was nearly impenetrable and the Senators scored 35 second-half points to take a 42-0 victory. Not only did Carson ruin Wooster's Homecoming, the Senators improved to 2-1 in Sierra League play and 2-4 overall.
Carson held the Colts to 96 yards on 42 carries, held Wooster quarterback Mike Sitton to an 0-for-11 day and forced two turnovers in dropping the Colts to 0-3, 1-4.
"Our interior linemen stepped up big " (Justin) Barlow, (David) Laumea, (Ryan) Hoskins. We couldn't have done it without them," said Carson senior linebacker Jeff Butler. "They stepped up huge and maintained the gaps. It was great " definitely. We needed to win. We were 1-1 in league " the same spot we were in last year. The guys just have to step up and have to want to move in the right direction."
Butler personified the physical play of the Senators defense, leveling Wooster's John Malcolm to force a fourth-quarter incompletion. The clean hit left Malcolm on the ground for several minutes before he got up and walked off the field.
The Carson defense wasn't the only ones doing the hitting as a bulldozing Justin Barlow helped spring senior Jake "Mad Dog" Madden, who broke loose for a highlight-reel touchdown run to put the Senators up 21-0 with 5 minutes, 47 seconds left in the third quarter.
"Probably a hundred," Carson coach Blair Roman said with a smile when asked about how many total yards Madden ran on his reverse-S path to the end zone. "It was quite a run. He cut it back against the grain three times, it seemed. That's the kind of player he is. He's pretty dangerous when he gets the ball in the open field. He showed that against (South) Tahoe and today."
For the record, Madden's first touchdown run was 54 yards. He gained 100 yards on nine carries and added a 3-yard score to put Carson up 35-0 in the fourth quarter.
Junior Mark Sinnott, who missed last week's game against Bishop Manogue with the flu, rebounded with 105 yards on 10 carries, scoring from two yards out to give Carson a 7-0 lead with 1:34 left in the first half. Sinnott added an 11-yard TD to make it 28-0 with 49 seconds left in the third quarter.
"The whole line stepped up," Sinnott said. "They made huge holes the whole game. The first half was rough, but we just opened it up in the second half. I think we're coming together as a team. We just need to work on getting a stronger first-half mentality and practice hard like we've been doing."
Carson had 376 yards of offense, with 237 of it coming on the ground. Junior quarterback Blake Plattsmier rebounded from a first-quarter fumble and a second-quarter interception to go 8-for-15 for 139 yards and one touchdown.
Plattsmier found wideout Steven Fowzer for a 40-yard catch-and-run that put the Senators up 14-0 with 9:19 to go in the third.
"The biggest thing is the game is finally starting to slow down a bit (for Plattsmier)," Roman said. "He's starting to see the field better. As a quarterback, when the game slows down, it's night and day what you are able to do.
"Give Wooster credit. They came out fired up for Homecoming. We had four turnovers in the first half and put ourselves in a bad position. On the positive side, our defense stepped up and kept them out of the end zone. That's indicative of our team: The defense picked us up when we weren't doing so good."
In addition to Barlow, Laumea, Hoskins and Butler, several other players stepped it up defensively for the Senators.
Jae Chun and Jonathan Parker had a big game up front. Chun deflected a Sitton pass in the backfield one play before Robby Barlow intercepted Sitton at the 50 and returned it to the 31 with 1:52 to go in the first half. Those plays set up Sinnott's first score.
Following Plattsmier's fumble during Carson's second offensive series, Senators senior Zach Bibee tipped a Sitton pass and junior Luke Carter intercepted it at the Carson 27.
On the first play of the game Robert Figuerora fumbled following a 38-yard return to the Carson 40. After the Carson defense stepped up to hold Wooster to negative yards on the possession, Plattsmier fumbled on his own 20.
Five plays after Carter's interception, the Senators coughed it up again when tight end Blake Davidson fumbled at the 50 after a 10-yard reception. But once again, the Senators 'D' stiffened and stopped the Wooster drive at the 34.
The Senators were called for 11 penalties (to Wooster's one) and a Plattsmier touchdown run was called back with 7:48 to go in the first half. On second-and-goal from the Wooster 7, Anthonie Wright picked off Plattsmier and hot-footed it 46 yards downfield.
Carson's Jeremy Cannon-Sanders rounded out the scoring when he took it in from nine yards out. Cannon-Sanders, coming back from a separated shoulder, had 25 yards on six carries during the series.
"He's been hurt most of the year," Roman said of Cannon-Sanders. "He played well on junior varsity last year. He's a good solid athlete back there. It was nice to see our second-string line open up some holes."
The Senators will host Damonte Ranch Friday at 7:30 p.m. in a battle for third place.
"It will be a big game, no doubt about it," Roman said. "We're both 2-1. We're playing a lot better; Damonte's playing a lot better. I expect a real competitive football game."
CHS JVS 20, WOOSTER 12
Trey Jensen contributed to all 20 points in Carson's win. Jensen scored on a 10-yard run and then hit Zach Herbert on a 20-yard scoring pass. Jensen followed that by hitting Gabriel Pongasi for the two-point conversion to give CHS a 14-0 lead.
Jensen went on to score on another 10-yard run to make it 20-6 in the fourth quarter. Interior defensive lineman Zack Hubacko, Chris Foss and Mike Bolanos dominated the line of scrimmage for Carson, holding Wooster to virtually no rushing yards. Hubacko also had two sacks.
- Contact Mike Houser at mhouser@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1214