RENO — After leaving yards and points on the field in the first half last week against Reed, Carson High worked extensively on execution this week.
It was time well spent.
The Senators, 1-1, chalked up 517 yards rushing and scored on five of their first six possessions en route to an easy 59-14 win over McQueen Friday night at Ken Dalton Field.
The win was believed to be the first at McQueen since 1987 when Carlos Mendeguia, current Carson High hoop coach, played for the Senators. It was Carson’s fourth straight win over the Lancers, dating back to 2013.
The offensive line of Eddie Duarte, Logan Menzel, Corey Jasper, Kevin Rusler, Austin Ackerman and Josh Thompson picked up some well-deserved praise from head coach Blair Roman and quarterback Joe Nelson.
“Our line dominated,” Roman said. “I thought we moved the ball well against Reed last week. I don’t know if it was the best (a line group) it has ever played, but it was pretty darn impressive.”
“We ran the ball at will with every back and on every play,” Nelson said. “That is a testament to our linemen and the way they played. We worked really hard on execution this week.”
What was impressive is it wasn’t just one guy as Nelson said. Carson used eight different running backs, and all of them gained positive yardage. Sophomore Abel Carter led the way with 135 yards on 13 carries, while older brother, Asa, added 89. Elijah Fajayan gained 66 and Tyler Huling added 44. Nelson scrambled for 50 himself.
“We have a stable of good running backs,” Roman said. “We have a lot of depth in the backfield. We rotate a lot of guys in there to keep them fresh.
“Abel is a dynamic runner. He ran well tonight. We ran the ball whenever we needed to.”
The younger Carter, who got just three touches last week against Reed, had a coming out party of sorts against McQueen.
“The line did a great job,” Abel Carter said. “Without them, I’m nothing. The first game I was a little nervous.”
“He did a good job,” said Asa Carter. “He has great vision.”
The Carters were much more than McQueen could handle. They were responsible for four of the first five Carson scores.
Fajayan returned the opening kick-off 64 yards to the McQueen 22, and after a short gain by Vic Castro V, Nelson found Asa Carter with a 20-yard scoring pass. Johnny Barahona’s PAT made it 7-0 before fans could get settled in their seats.
After the first of three consecutive three and outs, Carson’s offense was back on the field moving the ball.
Nelson opened the second possession with a 35-yard run to the McQueen 19. Three plays and a penalty later, Asa Carter scored on an 8-yard run. Barahona’s PAT made it 14-0 with 8:35 left.
After McQueen’s third punt of the first quarter, Carson went back to work.
The Senators put together an impressive 82-yard 8-play drive that ended with Fajayan scoring the first of his two TDs, this one from the 3. Another PAT by Barahona capped the 21-point opening quarter.
The younger Carter keyed the fourth scoring drive. He carried the ball four times for 19 yards to spark the 60-yard drive that made it 28-0 early in the second quarter.
Carson stretched the lead to 35-0 on Asa Carter’s 29-yard TD run, capping a 71-yard scoring drive. Nelson threw a 15-yard pass to Connor Pradere and also had a 9-yard run on the drive.
McQueen answered back with a 46-yard scoring drive set up by Brandon Aiyuk’s 48-yard kick-off return. Jeremiah Lesniak, who was contained nicely by the CHS defense, scored on a 2-yard run. The PAT cut the lead to 35-7.
Aiyuk scored the Lancers’ final TD when he took back a Brandon Gagnon punt 82 yards for a score to make it 35-14. Barahona kicked a 21-yard field goal to make it 38-14 at the half.
Carson scored three times in the second half, two of those by Vic Castro and one more by Fajayan.
Overshawdowed in the overwhelming effort by the offense was Carson’s defensive unit. McQueen had just 159 yards total offense and one offensive score.
“We flew around,” Roman said. “The effort was there. We had a couple of small breakdowns. We handled their up-tempo game well. Coach (Steve) Dilley did a great job of preparing this week.”
McQueen didn’t get a first down until the final minute of the first quarter.
“I thought we played well,” said Asa Carter.
“We had three straight three and outs to start the game.”