The Carson Senators football team has never been at a loss for enthusiasm this season. But a new field, a refurbished stadium and a fresh attitude have not been enough for the Senators to climb into the winning column.
The Senators, 0-3 and coming off a 47-14 loss to Reed two weeks ago, are hoping a bye week and some "me time" will result in a successful Sierra League opener Saturday against winless South Tahoe at the Viking Bowl.
First-year Senators head coach Blair Roman said his team divided its two-week break into several parts in preparation for its showdown with the 0-3 Vikings.
"The first week we spent a lot of time on fundamentals " tackling and open-field tackling," Roman said. "We spent a lot of time blocking and on blocking situations with our linemen, backs and receivers. We focused a lot on ourselves, I'd say, in terms of execution."
Taking one day and parts of two others off, Roman said, went a long way toward healing up some midseason bumps and bruises.
"From that standpoint we feel pretty good," Roman said. "We've got our legs back under us. The skill level in terms of tackling and blocking has improved. This week we prepared for Tahoe. We spent one week on ourselves and one on Tahoe."
With the exception of starting H-back Maciek Kuroczka, who injured his shoulder during a reception against the Raiders, the Senators are relatively healthy headed into their meeting with South Tahoe, which will be missing three key starters in spite of coming off its own bye week.
South Tahoe, which lost to McQueen 48-7 two weeks ago, will be without leading receiver Chris Klug, tight end Garrett Tinlin and running back Thomas Eidam, who are out because of disciplinary issues.
The Vikings will try and plug those holes with Jayvon Rich (who picked up 43 yards on eight carries against the Lancers) and Eric Taylor and Roman said he expects South Tahoe to still be a formidable opponent, especially on its own home field.
"Through the years, Tahoe-Carson games have proven to be good games up at Tahoe," Roman said. "We've had some barnburners up there. I expect a tough game on Saturday."
Carson, which was held to negative yardage in a 52-0 loss to McQueen, actually outrushed Reed 101-98, with 65 of those yards coming from lightning-quick tailback Mark Sinnott, who started in place of injured Jake Madden.
Madden, who was out with a thigh contusion, and Sinnott are expected to share the ball against the Vikings defense, which Roman said usually puts eight men in the box to stop the run.
"It's kind of nice to have both (Sinnott and Madden)," Roman said. "As I've said, Jake is a slasher and does well between the tackles. Mark does well on the perimeter. It's a nice combination."
In addition to trying to fill the alleys against running backs, South Tahoe plays a lot of man coverage and, according to Roman, brings another important element to the game.
"Their defense has a couple of hitters," Roman said. "We have to prepare for that."
Particularly in the fourth quarter, Carson junior quarterback Blake Plattsmier seemed to grow more comfortable as the Senators mixed in some plays under center to accentuate its newly installed Pistol formation.
Junior wideout Ean Witter gave Plattsmier a good pressure-release outlet on short passes and senior tight end Blake Davidson caught four balls for 61 yards and a touchdown.
"With Blake at tight end, we feel real confident throwing to him," Roman said. "He does a nice job blocking and he's a good receiver. He's definitely a threat. It helps the offense if we can get the ball in his hands."
In the capable hands of quarterback Tyler Pine, who completed 21-of-27 passes for 372 yards and five touchdowns (he ran for another), Reed carved up the Senators defense for 470 yards.
Roman said South Tahoe also boasts a spread, but utilizes it a bit differently than the Raiders, who employed it out of a modified Pistol.
"It's all under center," Roman said of the Vikings' spread. "Their offensive coordinator likes to throw the ball. Their philosophy is to spread the ball out and run it, too. Over the years, they've run well out of the spread. We have to try and pressure the passer and tighten up our coverage."
In spite of their rough start, the Senators have retained their ardor " in practice, on the sidelines and on the playing field. Roman said there is another reason for his players to have an extra bounce in their step Saturday.
"It's our first league game of the year," he said. "In nonleague play it's important to gain confidence. We want to start league 1-0. We want to start on the right foot again. That's our goal " 1-0 on Saturday."
Kickoff is 1:30 p.m. at South Tahoe High School.
Notes: The Senators won last year's game, 28-21, at Carson High School. Carson has won the last four meetings with the Vikings, who last beat the Senators in 2004.