Three former football stars were inducted into the Carson High Hall of Fame Saturday night at the annual Kick-off Dinner at the McFadden Plaza.
Nick Shine, who graduated in 2004, becomes the youngest inductee. He was joined in this year’s class by Eddy and Dan Madsen, who graduated in 1984 and 1989, respectively. All three were two-sport stars.
Shine, now a fireman in Las Vegas, played middle linebacker and tight end for then head coach Shane Quilling.
“I found out about a month ago,” said Shine during a telephone interview from his fire station. “Coach (Blair) Roman contacted me and let me know what was going on. I was definitely surprised. It’s a huge honor.”
There was never a doubt Shine would be honored. It was just a question of when.
“Nick was one of the most accomplished football players in Carson High history,” said Roman, who was coaching at North Valleys when Shine was at CHS. “As an opposing coach, you couldn’t block him when he played linebacker. You just needed to try to slow him down. He was also the most dominant 1 on 1 blocking tight end I’ve ever coached against in 27 years coaching high school football. His blocking ability in Shane’s offense was actually more impressive to me than his accomplishments as a LB, which were tremendous.”
“We brought Nick up as a sophomore,” Quilling said. “He didn’t start all the time, but you could tell he was going to be good. In 30 years of coaching, he was the most physical kid I’ve ever coached. He wasn’t the fastest guy, but he was able to get there and make plays. He loved to hit. On offense, he’d play guard, tackle or tight end depending on what we needed him to do in that game. He was unbelievable.”
The unfortunate thing was Carson didn’t have the success as a team during his varsity stint.
The 2004 CHS grad was just as dominant on the wrestling mat, placing third as a sophomore, second as a junior and he won a state title his senior year.
“That (state title) was one of my most important achievements,” he said. “I put a great amount of work into it. It was nice to have that crowning achievement. The last match I wrestled was a state final match.”
Shine walked on at Nevada along with former Douglas stars Luke Rippee and Andy McIntosh. Shine redshirted as a true freshman, and then played 11 games as a redshirt freshman in 2005, mainly on special teams.
Shine, who was planning on majoring in business, left the program and school after getting his girlfriend, Sara (now his wife), pregnant.
“I went from being a student-athlete to a father almost overnight,” Shine said. “That was quite a transition. I moved to Las Vegas to be a father (and husband) to my son (Caleb).”
Shine and Sara eventually got married, and now have three kids — Caleb (11), Kylie (8) and Noah (4). The whole family was in town.
And, Caleb is already following in his dad’s footsteps. He’s already involved in football and wrestling. Nick expects his youngest, Noah, to also get involved. Both will have a lot to live up to.
It was Shine’s father-in-law who suggested he become a firefighter.
“It was something I was always interested in doing,” Shine said. “I went to CSN (College of Southern Nevada). I took EMT and fire science classes. After making some rounds to the fire houses and talking to some people, I knew it is what I wanted to do. It’s been eight years, and I’m loving it.”
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Dan Madsen played two years for Paul Croghan in the last 1980s, starring in the defensive backfield and playing wide receiver. He earned all-league and all-state honors at CHS.
“We lost to Wooster in the zone finals when I was a junior, and we didn’t make playoffs my senior year,” Madsen said. “Ferd (Mariani) was a big part of it (the success). He ran the show (offensively).”
“He was a fierce competitor,” said former CHS basketball coach Carlos Mendeguia, who played football and baseball with Madsen. “He was the type of guy you could rely on to lock down a receiver. He was very physical. He wanted to win in anything he did, whether it was a board game or on the field.”
While Madsen was obviously a good football player, he was even better in baseball. He starred for coach Ron McNutt’s team, playing center field. He got a scholarship to UNLV and played for the legendary Fred Dallimore, and he played professional baseball, making it to Double A before being released. At UNLV, he was a teammate of former Carson star Donovan Osborne.
Madsen went onto manage in the Texas-Louisiana League, an independent league, and he also worked in Chico with CHS grad Charley Kerfeld.
“After that came to an end (in 2003), I interviewed with three teams (as a scout), and I got hired by the Red Sox,” Madsen said. “I’ve been with Boston ever since.”
Madsen started as an area scout and eventually moved up to his present position as a cross-checker. He currently takes second looks at players recommended by local scouts. He lives in the Temecula area, and is responsible for the West Coast.
“I was supposed to go in (before this), but I couldn’t be here that year, so I’ve known that I was going to be in,” he said. “It’s an honor.”
Madsen said his mother still lives in town, but he hasn’t kept up on the progress of the CHS football team.
“My dad (when he was alive) would let me know what was going on,” Madsen said. “I just came through Carson a couple of weeks ago to see my mom. I get back for the holidays.”
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Dan’s older brother, Eddy, played one year for Croghan and one year for Carl Vinci. He played outside linebacker and wide receiver in addition to returning kickoffs and punts.
And like his brother, Dan, he also played baseball for McNutt.
“The first year I played varsity we were .500 I think,” Eddy Madsen said. “My senior year we went 7-2 and tied for second in the 3A. We made the playoffs, and only the top four made it.
“Our big rival back then was Reno High. Douglas had just come up to 3A from 2A.”
Former Carson basketball coach Bruce Barnes was a classmate of Eddy Madsen’s both at Carson and Menlo College.
“He outworked everybody,” Barnes said. “He was so intense. We called him ‘Mad Dog.’ During baseball season, he’d sprint to the outfield at the start of the inning and sprint back in at the end of the inning. He did it in college, too.”
Eddy, who now lives in Minden, went onto play at Menlo College.
He eventually joined the Air Force and retired as a colonel in 2015. He deployed to spots like Afghanistan and Pakistan, eventually working his way up the ranks.
“My dad was in the Air Force, and I grew up on bases,” he said. “It is something that gets in your blood I guess.”