Carson High running back Wes Dunkin (24) takes a carry up the middle while playing at Reno High Friday night.
Photo by Carter Eckl.
If this season had started as planned, Friday night would mark Carson High’s third home football game of the season.
Instead, it’ll be the Senators home opener as the Galena Grizzlies come to town, pending air quality.
At some point this season air quality won’t be a qualifier for kickoff, but regardless head coach Blair Roman is excited to finally get a chance to show off Carson High’s new turf field.
“We are hoping for a home game,” said Roman. “We are expecting to host. Things are working in our favor that way.”
After getting a full, four quarters of football underneath their belt last Friday at Reno, the Senators are healthy and ready for another challenge.
Slowing the Grizzlies
Galena is 0-2 to start the year, but has averaged over 200 yards of offense in their first two games.
In fact, the Grizzles have compiled an average of 177 yards through the air in their first two contests.
Quarterback Ben Primka (No. 9) will be priority number one for Carson Friday night.
Primka has completed 49 percent of his passes in his first two games and has thrown for a pair of touchdowns.
“The two kids that standout on offense are their quarterback and their right tackle, No. 77,” said Roman. “The quarterback (Primka) is a gutty competitor and escapes from pressure well.”
Defensively, the Senators will have to keep plays in front of them as Roman noted the Grizzlies are not afraid to go over the top of defensive backs.
“We’re going to definitely have to bottle him up. He likes to throw deep and throw vertical, so our DB’s are going to have to do a good job there,” Roman said.
That right tackle is 6-foot-4, 290-pound sophomore Tyler Miller and Roman expects the big man to pressure the Senators on both sides of the football.
Last week in a 30-13 loss to North Valleys, Miller recorded nine tackles and a sack.
“He’s super active. He plays hard and he’s around the ball a lot,” Roman said.
Miller and the rest of the Grizzlies will sit in a 3-4 base defense.
Finding offensive balance
The Senators are healthy coming into their second full game of the season.
After the offense took some time to get rolling against Reno, Roman is hoping that the Senators can find the ground game to match Vinny Ferretti and the wide receiver’s output.
“We had our moments throwing the ball. We just need to establish more balance between run and pass,” said Roman. “We had our issues on the offensive line last spring and Vinny persevered through that. I think you saw that a little bit last week too.”
Ferretti threw for 180 yards last Friday with a touchdown after taking a couple of big hits in the first half, but the Senators could only muster 32 yards rushing – which has been more of the team’s identity in the past.
Ben Heaton had 42 yards on three carries with a touchdown while posting a team-high 16 tackles on defense.
Zane Ferguson had 11 tackles along with a tackle for loss.
Somebody will leave Carson High School Friday night with their first win of the season and the Senators are hoping they can do it while staying perfect on their new turf.
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