Four inducted into Carson Hall

Four former football stars were inducted into the Carson High School Football Hall of Fame Saturday night at the school's kick-off dinner.

Carson, which has won or shared two straight league titles, opens its season Sept. 3 against Highland High School in Pocatello, Idaho.

The inductees were:

• Matt Weston, a defensive lineman on the 1992 team.

• Eric Weston, a defensive lineman, on the 1994 squad coached by Bob

Bateman.

• Bart Dover, a three-year varsity star, who graduated in 1997 and was

all-league all three years at the varsity level.

• Woody Healy, a running back on the 1984 squad.

Dover said he found out about his induction three weeks ago when Carson coach Blair Roman called him at his home in North Carolina.

"He (Dover) is probably one of the best athletes to ever come out of here," said current Carson athletic director and former head coach Bob Bateman. "He was probably one of the toughest individuals around.

"We brought him up to varsity as a sophomore and he played linebacker at all of 150 pounds. We went 8-1 that year and he was all over the field."

Dover, who also rushed for more than 1,000 yards in junior and senior seasons, received a scholarship to Washburn, a Division II school in Kansas, but never played a down there.

"I was young and didn't know any better," said Dover when asked why he left Washburn.

Dover knocked around for several years before joining the Army. He is an infantryman, a perfect place for a tough guy. He has had two tours of duty, one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.

Could the military become his career?

"I'm learning a lot," he said. "I still have a while to go before I have to decide if I do want a career. The Army has been great for me. It's not your typical job. We're always doing something different."

Dover said he's followed Carson since he left, especially when he's not overseas on assignment.

The Weston brothers, after success in high school and college, currently live in Boise. Both are involved in real estate and avid Boise State Bronco fans.

Bateman has fond memories of Eric Weston, who played for two years at Butte College, including a win in the Dairy Bowl, and then went to Weber State. Weston is Weber State's single-season record holder with 13 sacks.

"Eric was an excellent player," Bateman said. "It was my first year as a head coach (1994). I inherited a team that didn't win a game the previous year and we went 5-3 and missed the playoffs by six points.

"Eric was one of the guys to really buy into what we were trying to do in terms of conditioning and weightlifting. He led by example."

Weston remembers that season well.

"We went through a complete shake-up," Weston said.

Bateman said Eric Weston came back and talked to Carson players whenever he was in town.

"They were some of the most important years of my life," Eric Weston said. " I wouldn't trade them for anything."

Matt Weston, who graduated in 1992, was a member of two CHS teams that went a combined 3-14. He played in the Sertoma Classic his senior year.

He then went to Butte where he starred for two years and was named the Golden Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year his sophomore season along with being named to the JC Grid Wire and California All-America teams.

That earned him a scholarship to Boise State. He helped the Broncos win a Big Sky title in 1994 and reach the 1-AA national title game against Youngstown State.

"I had a great experience at Carson High," said Matt Weston, who praised coaches Paul Croghan and Ferd Mariani. "They were good coaches and great guys."

The Westons, who weren't at the dinner, said they will return to Carson for the annual rivalry game against Douglas.

"It's unbelievable, a huge honor to be inducted with my brother," Matt Weston said. "He (Eric) was probably a little better football player than me. We're pretty honored (by being named)."

The Westons know Roman from his playing and coaching days at Butte. Roman was on the Butte staff in the early 90s.

"When coach Roman got the job at Carson, he kept us in the loop," Matt Weston said. "We found him on Facebook and we've been friends ever since. We talk back and forth."

Healy was a running back on the 1984 team, and he helped the Senators to a 7-2 record and gained more than 1,600 yards on the ground.

Roman has made several attempts to find Healy, but to no avail.