Carson High School football practice offcially started on Monday.
The three-time defending Sierra League champion Carson Senators held their first football workout of the season Monday morning, focusing mainly on offense and special teams under the watchful eye of head coach Blair Roman and his staff.
There was one noticeable absence, however.
Wingback Greg Wallace, who rushed for 857 yards and scored 11 touchdowns last season, and caught 14 passes for 125 yards, didn’t attend practice and could miss at least three weeks of the season after suffering a torn meniscus recently.
“I think he actually did it last season (originally) and played through it,” Roman said after the two-hour workout. “It was during spring ball and he was running out of the huddle toward the line of scrimmage and he stopped awkwardly. It had been bothering him. We’re hoping to have him back in time for the Reed game and worst-case scenario he’s ready for league play.
“Today was a good first day, but we have a lot of work to do between now and Aug. 27 (opener versus Desert Mountain-Arizona 6 p.m. at CHS). We have 10 hard practices before our scrimmage on the 19th. By the time we scrimmage, I expect us to be in mid-season form in terms of conditioning.”
Senior quarterback Jace Keema agreed.
“Some guys come in a little behind, but we do a good job of getting them in shape quickly,” Keema said.
Keema, who has inherited the starting job from the graduate Joe Nelson, admitted he had a little rust throwing the ball.
“Just a little bit,” he said. “I didn’t get to town until early morning from a family trip. I was a little shaky, but I haven’t thrown for the last week and a half.”
Roman is excited about Keema, who guided the team to a couple of wins last year when Joe Nelson was injured. Keema completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 266 yards and four scores, and he rushed for 140 yards and six scores.
“Jace is very similar to Blake Plattsmier,” Roman said. “He is a good runner and a solid passer.”
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Carson will have two practices today, Wednesday and Thursday and one on Friday and Saturday. Next week the Senators will practice once a day.
The scrimmage on the 19th against Spanish Springs and Fallon begins at 6 p.m. The freshmen and JV begin at 4:30 p.m.