Abel Carter tries a run up the gut against a stingy Reno defense Friday night.
Former Damonte Ranch coach Tony Amantia has stepped in at Reed for Ernie Howren, and there hasn’t been a drop-off for the Raiders.
The Raiders bring a 2-0 record into Friday’s home nonleague match-up against the 1-1 Senators, who are coming off a 19-0 loss to Reno. Reed knocked off Clayton Valley Charter, 38-22, and thumped Douglas, 34-6.
With Amantia at the helm, the Raiders are firing on all cylinders.
“Defensively there isn’t a ton of difference in what they are doing,” Carson High football coach Blair Roman said. “The personnel looks the same and the schemes look the same. Austyn Mitchell (outside linebacker) is a real solid kid.
“In terms of offense, they are showing a few more wrinkles. They ran a couple of nice trick plays that Reed hadn’t run against us before. They are running some zone read and counter.”
The quarterback is Cam Emerson, who has passed for 394 yards and four scores. Josiah Schmdt is the top runner with 219 rushing yards.
QUARTERBACK NEWS
Roman said he won’t name a starting quarterback for Friday’s game at Reed until game time (7 p.m.).
The Senators lost senior quarterback Daniel Morrison in the first quarter of a 14-13 win over Lewiston.
Junior Blake Menzel finished the Lewiston game and started the Reno game. Menzel is 6 for 18 passing for 39 yards. Sophomore Jon Laplante got a few snaps against Reno and went 0 for 2 passing.
Roman admitted the quarterback play needs to improve, and he will be spending extra time with his two youngsters.
Any semblance of a passing game will take a little pressure off Abel Carter, who has carried 42 times for 366 yards and both of Carson’s TDs.
GREENE ON THE FIELD
Clayton Greene, the Senators’ 315-pound starting guard, went through non-contact drills Monday and Tuesday. Roman is confident he will be ready to go by Friday’s game. Greene suffered a slight concussion against Lewiston.
Left guard Carl Cavner will miss Friday’s game with a concussion. His spot will be taken by Cole Purdy, who started last week for Greene. Cavner said he failed his first concussion test.
POSITION SWITCH
Roman indicated junior wide receiver Ben Granados is being shifted to cornerback for the rest of the season.
Granados, in his first year of football, is slated to see some action on special teams against Reed. Roman said the transition to defense will be a season-long thing, and he expects Granados to compete hard for playing time as a senior.
TRIO RETURNS
Receiver Terin Keller, cornerback Sherman Smith and wingback/safety Chance Smith are expected to make their first appearances of the season. All three missed the first two weeks of the season for violating school/team rules.