Off and running: Prep football teams begin practice

The countdown has started.

Thursday marked the first day of practice for area football teams, which means that the season opener is just two weeks away. The first day area football teams are allowed to play a game is Aug. 25, but for Carson and Dayton High the wait will be just a little longer. Carson starts the season Aug. 27 at Spanish Springs, which beat the Senators in last season's opener. Dayton starts its season Aug. 29 at South Tahoe.

"We started today in preparation for them (Spanish Springs)," said Carson coach Blair Roman, who put his team through two two-hour practices Thursday. "We practiced against their offense against a couple of their top plays."

While Carson was already warming up for the competition, Dayton was busy trying to find a place to practice. The Dust Devils were supposed to begin practicing on their new synthetic turf field, but won't be able to step a cleat on it until after it is inspected and signed off sometime today. As a result, players had to practice on a grass field between the softball field and large gym.

"It's tough," Dayton coach Rick Walker said. "We adjusted and did what we could tonight."

Regardless of the practice situation, Walker was just happy to get players on any field after spending part of the summer camping because there wasn't enough players to participate in offseason camps.

"I've been waiting for a long time," Walker said. "During summer, we only got a couple 7-on-7s; I didn't get a enough kids to sign off on going to a camp. So other than the weight room and a couple 7-on-7s, I've been going crazy."

Carson quarterback Blake Plattsmier echoed the statement as he looks to improve on last season where the Senators went 3-7.

"We're ready," said Plattsmier, who threw for 881 yards last year. "We're ready to take the next step, go to the next level. We're getting better at doing the little things."

Plattsmier will be working with his third different offense in as many years. The Senators will show some WIng-T and Pistol on offense. Plattsmier said the play book has been simplified, and Roman admitted that he threw too much at his young team last season.

One thing that Roman stressed is how important leadership is, especially from older players. He makes no bones about the fact that he's relying on guys like Plattsmier, running back Mark Sinnott, wide receiver Ean Witter, defensive back Josh Peacock and junior center Danny Gall, who started several games down the stretch last year.

"One of the things you need to be successful is to have great senior leadership," Roman said. "Seniors have to lead; have to make it happen. Danny is a junior, and I'll tell you he is a leader. He has worked really hard."

Leadership can be done one of two ways. It can be done vocally or it can be done by example.

"It's pretty important," Sinnott said. "I try to do both (vocal and by example) as much as I can."

One of the keys this season will be keeping key guys like Sinnott healthy. The running back missed three games with a hip and groin injury. He gained 615 yards and scored nine touchdowns.

"It's important to keep everybody healthy all year, and Mark is no exception," Roman said. "Unfortunately injuries are part of our game."

For Dayton, the focus will be finding players to improve on its 3-7 mark from last season. The Dust Devils had just 62 players turn out for the first day of practice, compared to Carson's 144, which means they will go without a freshman squad for the second consecutive season. Walker said there will be 28 players on varsity, which should mean competition for those slots will be high.

"We don't have a ton of guys, but we're going to have some competition for some spots," Walker said.