Carson High’s bye week couldn’t have come at a better time.
With a key Sierra League game against 6-0 Galena on Oct. 18, the 4-2 Senators have two weeks to fine-tune their offense and defense, and get some important healing time for some banged-up players.
“The big thing we’re going to focus on is fundamentals; a lot of little things we need to improve on,” Carson coach Blair Roman said. “Defensively, we’re working on our pass defense and pass rush. We’re just trying to get everybody in the right spot at the right time. The last two weeks we’ve given up big chunks of yardage. Galena has a real good quarterback (Brock Raggio) and probably the best receiver (Chaz Clark) in the league, Clark might be the best player in the league on both sides of the ball.
“Offensively, we’re going to work on a lot of situational stuff; second and third-down situations. Our special teams, we’re looking at a lot of little things. We’ve been pretty solid in that area all season. It’s such a key part of the game. We’ve put ourselves in good position (on special teams).”
Roman is hopeful that defensive tackle Jesse Medina and offensive tackle Aaron Cowee will be able to play against Galena.
“We’re going to test out Medina this week and see how he feels,” Roman said. “Right now it’s iffy. I’m hoping to have Aaron back for Galena. I would think Manogue for sure.”
Roman reported that the Senators came out of the Damonte game healthy.
Overall, Roman is pleased with the way the season has progressed. Other than a disastrous third quarter against Reed (35 points allowed in a 62-24 loss), Carson has been competitive the rest of the time.
“We could easily be 5-1,” Roman said. “I’m not disappointed at all, just the opposite. We got a huge win on Friday, and that put us in a good position. Obviously next week is a big game. We have to firm up a couple of things.”