Photos by Shannon Litz/Nevada AppealChris Steele, 81, hauls in a pass during Thursday's game against Reno. Carson lost 21-17 despite having a 17-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
RENO - The streak is over.
Reno converted three Carson High mistakes into three touchdowns in the final 5 minutes 54 seconds to stun the previously undefeated and top-ranked Senators 21-17 Thursday night at Foster Field.
The loss was huge in many ways. Not only did Carson, which played without Dylan Sawyers for the fourth straight week, miss a chance to become the first team in school history to win its first nine games, it also lost the top seed going into the playoffs. The Senators, McQueen and Reed all finished with 7-1 league records. Carson, 8-1 overall, is the No. 2 seed and will host Spanish Springs next Friday.
"They got the momentum with six minutes to go, and we couldn't stop them," said a disappointed Blair Roman, Carson head coach. "We had less than 100 yards rushing (actually 102). We could not move the ball on the ground and became one dimensional."
It was two Trey Jensen interceptions - on consecutive passes - that turned the tide in Reno's favor.
It was indeed Carson's worst offensive effort of the season. The Senators managed just 168 yards. They came into the game averaging 400 yards a contest.
"It was an eye-opener for a lot of people," senior center Danny Gall said. "Anybody can beat anybody and that's what happened. We can definitely rebound from this, though."
Already leading 17-0, Carson looked like it might put the game away with another score after Reno quarterback Anthony Hascheff was thrown for a 4-yard loss on a fourth-and-2 play.
With 8:32, one would think that Carson would run some time off the clock. However, Carson went to the air three straight times, and Jensen's third-down pass thrown into the middle of the end zone was picked off by Josh Haley.
"That was a bad call by me," said Roman. "Trey was just trying to fit one in there."
That's all fine and good, but when you have the best kicker in the 4A, an incomplete pass wouldn't have hurt in that situation.
Reno clicked off an 80-yard, 9-play drive capped by Zach Werbekes' 4-yard run. Alec Staley kicked the PAT to make it 21-7 with 5:54 remaining. The big plays in the drive were completions of 29 and 11 yards from Hascheff to Jake Pinocchio on successive plays.
It got worse three plays later.
After two running plays netted minus-2 yards, Jensen tried to throw. He rolled right under heavy pressure and threw the ball in the direction of Colby Blueberg. The ball was picked off by Tanner Petrilla at midfield and returned it to the Carson 42.
On first down, Hascheff completed a 28-yard pass to Haley down to the 14. After an incomplete pass, Hascheff completed two straight to Pinocchio, the second a 10-yard TD. The PAT cut the Carson lead to 17-14 with 3:27 left.
Reno tried an onside kick and appeared to have recovered it, but the officials didn't see it that way and gave Carson the ball at midfield.
Disaster struck on the first play when Connor Beattie fumbled the ball at the Reno 47 after a short gain.
A 15-yard keeper by Hascheff and a 21-yard completion to Nick Norton gave the Huskies a first down at the Carson 17. On first down, Logan Peternell broke through the Reno offensive line and sacked Hascheff back at the 22. On the next play, Hascheff scrambled for 18 yards down to the Carson 4. Hascheff fumbled on the play, but the officials ruled he was already down. Hascheff was hurt on the play. A dead-ball foul against Chance Quilling moved the ball down to the 2. Haley scored on the next play. The PAT gave the Huskies their first lead of the game, 21-17, with 1:08 left.
Carson threw two incomplete passes and then Jensen was forced out of bounds for a 4-yard loss on third down. An incomplete pass on fourth down ended the game and Carson's dream for an unbeaten regular season.
Carson's problems actually started right before the half.
Leading 7-0 after a 3-yard scoring run by Jon Parker, Carson had an opportunity to put another seven points on the board after taking over at the Reno 8 following a bad fourth-down pass which resulted in a loss of 20 yards.
Carson actually went backward on the drive, losing nine yards thanks to a holding penalty. Austin Pacheco came on to kick a 35-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead at the half.
After a scoreless third quarter, Carson was again blessed with good field position, taking over at the Reno 42 following a 27-yard punt.
Thanks to a 21-yard run by Beattie and an 11-yard pass completion to Blueberg, the Senators got the ball down to the Reno 6-yard line. After an incomplete pass, a 2-yard loss by Beattie and a no gain for Jensen, Carson lined up for a 25-yard field goal. Blueberg, the holder, took the snap and rolled left. Seeing nothing but green in front of him, Blueberg tucked the ball and beat the Reno defense to the end zone. The PAT made it 17-0.
"I saw they had overloaded (to one side)," Blueberg said. "It was supposed to be a dump-down pass. I pre-read the defense and took off."
That was the last good thing that happened to Carson the rest of the game.