SPARKS — Carson High showed its quick-strike ability on Friday night.
Asa Carter and Greg Wallace scored on runs of 72 and 74 yards, respectively, and Joe Nelson threw two touchdown passes to lead the Senators to a 28-6 win over Spanish Springs Friday night in a nonleague game.
The victory extended Carson’s win-streak to three since an opening night loss to Reed. The Senators will attempt to make it four straight when they will host Hug at 7 p.m. Friday.
For the fourth straight game, Carson gained more than 400 yards total offense. The Senators, thanks to tremendous offensive line play and a deep stable of running backs are a dangerous offense, one of the best in the region.
It was a case of feast or famine at times offensively, however.
Besides the two aforementioned scoring runs, Carson also got a 49-yard TD pass and a 58-yard run by sophomore sensation Abel Carter. Those four plays alone accounted for 253 of the team’s 413 total yards.
“We’ve done a good job of moving the ball, even in the Reed game,” Carson coach Blair Roman said. “Tonight, we broke off a few big runs, and that was the difference in the game.
“We didn’t have the same intensity in the second half. Spanish Springs did a better job of defending us in the second half. We have got to do a better job of catching the ball, though. We had a couple of balls tonight that I thought should have been caught.”
The Senators got off to a fast start, driving 80 yards on their first possession for a score. Nelson, who completed 9-for-19 for 143 yards, threw a 49-yard TD pass to Abel Carter, who has scored at least one time in each of the last three games.
Carson made two big plays on the opening drive. Nelson completed an 11-yard pass to Wallace for a first down at the CHS 30. On the next play, he tossed a screen pass to Abel Carter for 20 yards to midfield, and three snaps later CHS was in the end zone.
Spanish Springs, thanks to a 35-yard pass play from Ian Check to Cody Schaefer, moved the ball down to Carson’s 32. On fourth-and-11, Check threw the ball inside the 5, but it was dropped by Schaefer.
Carson hit paydirt again on its second drive of the second period following a Spanish Springs punt.
Asa Carter took a handoff and raced 72 yards into the end zone. Johnny Barahona’s PAT made it 14-0 with 9:16 left in the half.
After getting into Carson territory twice and failing to get any points, the Cougars finally found success. The Cougars put together an 8-play 80-yard drive which ended on a 29-yard scoring run by Travis Vargas to make it 14-6.
The key play was a 43-yard pass by Schaefer on a third-and-19 which gave Spanish Springs a first down in Carson territory.
“I think we had some big letdowns on third down,” Roman said. “They completed three or four balls over the top.”
Two plays after the SS score, Wallace came up with his long TD run. The Senators had taken over at their own 20, and Wallace gained six yards on the first play. On the next play, he burst through the line, shook off one tackle, and raced into the end zone. Barahona’s kick made it 21-6 with 5:54 left in the half.
“I really don’t know (how to describe it),” Wallace said. “I just saw an opening and took off. The blocking was great. I think one guy touched me.”
Spanish Springs got to Carson’s 26 on its next drive, but yielded the ball on downs when Check’s fourth-down pass, under heavy pressure by Justin Tschetter and Jace Keema, fell incomplete.
Carson ended the third quarter with a nice drive, but came up empty when Barahona missed a 39-yard field goal.
Three snaps later, Vargas fumbled at his own 20, and Jacob Drahos recovered for the Senators.
On third-and-12, Nelson kept the drive alive with a 13-yard completion to Wallace for a first down at the SS 5. Three plays later, Nelson threw a 4-yard scoring pass to Asa Carter. Barahona’s PAT made it 28-6.
Spanish Springs, thanks to its short passing game. Made two more trips into Carson territory, but turned the ball over each time.
The first turnover was a Spencer Rogers interception at the Carson 38, and the second was a fumble, which Asa Carter recovered inside the Carson 5.
Roman said he knew Spanish Springs would throw the ball short a lot, but he felt that didn’t hurt the Senators. He was more upset st the several deep balls.