MOODY: Carson needs Friday night lights

I talked to Carson High principal Ron Beck for a few minutes at a recent baseball game, and he said that the school is looking into replacing lights at the football stadium.

If you've been hiding under a rock, recent heavy winds approximately three weeks ago caused one of the light standards to fall onto the JV softball field. As a result, all the light standards have been removed.

A friend told me that it wasn't right to replace the lights with teachers being laid off. I understood where my friend was coming from when she made that statement.

Folks, it comes from a different fund and anybody who knows anything about business knows that. The same coffer that pays teacher salaries isn't the same one that pays for projects/improvements at the school.

Carson has drawn some amazing crowds the past two seasons with Blair Roman at the helm, and Beck knows that attendance would drop off dramatically if the school is forced to play Saturday afternoon football. I think the student attendance would go way down. Friday night football is an event; a community happening.

I know that if the school replaces the lights this year it means some other project slated for this year might not get done. It will certainly make for some tough decisions, and Beck also said that not having lights affects other sports like soccer. He pointed out that not having lights would mean playing afternoon games.

It would affect the band, too. That group often uses the stadium for evening practices.

Another possibility is the school could go out and solicit funds from the public to help defray the cost of the project. Not sure how well that would do considering the unemployment situation.

A third option would be to bring in portable lights for every game.

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Former Carson High track and soccer standout Kayla Sanchez is enjoying her best-ever season at Arizona State.

At the recent Mt. SAC Relays, Sanchez placed second in the 400-meter hurdles in 57.76, a scant .05 behind teammate Jasmine Chaney, the top 400 hurdler in the nation. Chaney has a best of 56.61.

Sanchez ran in the Olympic Developmental Elite heat.

The Sun Devils took second in the 400-meter relay (44.53) and took second in the 1,600 relay with a 3:33.22, the sixth-fastest time in the nation. Sanchez is a member of the 1,600 team.

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WNC is on an amazing run these days. The Wildcats have yet to lose a home conference game, going 4-0 against Colorado Northwestern, Eastern Utah and College of Southern Nevada.

That streak will be put to the test in the next two weeks when third-place College of Southern Idaho and second-place Salt Lake CC come calling the next two weekends.

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Unless something drastically changes, Carson will open its 2011 football season in Pocatello, Idaho, against Highland High School as part of the 2011 Rocky Mountain Rumble.

The event is Sept. 3, and the Carson game is scheduled for 7 p.m.