RENO - Carson High's football team is 5-2 after seven weeks of the season. That's right 5-2.
Carson scored 28 first-quarter points en route to an easy 48-13 victory over winless Damonte Ranch on Friday night.
Carson is 5-2 overall and 3-1 in Sierra League play. Damonte dropped to 0-4 in league and 0-6 overall. It's the first time since 1998 that Carson has started 5-2, according to school officials.
"I can't remember the last time I was on a team that was 5-2," linebacker Luke Carter said. "It feels really good."
"I'm really happy for the kids," Carson coach Blair Roman said. "We have three real big games (Galena, Fallon and Douglas) coming up. This was a better team than we played last week. The kids were focused and treated it like a championship game."
Just as it did last week against Wooster, the Senators' offense was in high gear from the outset. Carson scored on six of its eight first-half possessions en route to a 41-0 lead.
Carson rolled up 275 yards of its 356 yards of total offense in the first 24 minutes, while Damonte managed just 28 in the first half and 144 total. Carson's defense intercepted three passes and recovered a fumble in the first half leading to 21 points.
The Senators drove 58 yards for their first score, as Mark Sinnott (35 yards rushing) scored on a 1-yard plunge. Ean Witter's extra point made it 7-0 with 8 minutes, 36 seconds left in the quarter.
Carson's ball-hawking defense came up big three snaps later when Levi Bloxton stepped in front of a Max Heckendorn pass in the right flat and returned the ball 71 yards down to the Damonte 20.
Sinnott carried down to the 15, and Dylan Sawyers gained 14 yards down to the 1. Sawyers scored the first of his three first-half scores from the 1. Witter's extra point made it 14-0 with 6:29 left.
Carson's defense again held Damonte without a first down on the next drive, as Ryan Hoskins sacked Heckendorn for an 11-yard loss on third down.
The Senators started their next drive at the Damonte 47 and needed just two plays to get into the end zone. On second-and-2 from the 39, Blake Plattsmier threw a pass in the right flat to Sawyers, who roared past a couple of Damonte defenders to score. Witter's kick made it 21-0 with 4:08 remaining in the quarter.
Three plays later Carson got the ball back when Luke Carter stepped in front of a Heckendorn pass at the 33 and took it down to the Damonte 1.
"We were in a cover 2," Carter said. "The quarterback was looking at the tight end. I got a bump on him and got underneath and he threw it right to me."
Sinnott scored two plays later to make it 28-0 with two minutes left in the quarter.
Heckdorn threw another interception three plays later, as Josh Peacock came down with the ball at the Damonte 45.
Five plays later, Plattsmier lofted a pass to the end zone, which Witter came down with for a 29-yard score to make it 34-0 with 10:56 left in the half
Plattsmier had a sensational half, completing 8 of 9 passes for 139 yards.
"He was real confident in what he could do coming in," Roman said.
"Our timing was real good," Plattsmier said. "I watched a lot of film this week and got their reads. Their coverage was kind of soft. It was a good night."
Sawyers, who gained 53 yards on eight carries, capped the first-half scoring with a 15-yard run to make it 41-0.
Carson had a chance to score before the half, but reserve quarterback Trey Jensen fumbled and Damonte Ranch recovered at the 10.
The Senators scored their final touchdown seconds into the third quarter when Jeremy Cannon scooped up the fumbled kick-off and took it nine yards for a score to make it 48-0.