The big stuff certainly matters, but it’s the little things that the Carson football team will be looking to improve upon after its season-opening loss Friday. The Senators were blanked by visiting Sutter (Calif.), 35-0, in a game where the Huskies executed their own game plan while also taking advantage of a number of Carson breakdowns. It was the season-opener for both teams. Sutter, a CIF-Northern Section champion last season, is 28-4 since 2019. “They were a 10-2 team last year and they returned almost everybody,” Senators head coach Ryan Boshard, who was made his debut Friday, said. “I'm a firm believer in challenging our kids to rise up.”
Jeff Mulvihill, Jr. / instaimage.com Carson’s Sean Finn (57) and Alva Zervoulakos (23) tackle a Sutter Union running back during Friday’s game.
And there’s no doubt it was a challenge. Behind strong line play and a powerful running game, Sutter scored on its first two drives for a 14-0 first-quarter lead, then used a solid defensive effort to wear down Carson and keep the scoreboard showing ‘0.’ Carson had its moments, particularly in the kicking game, where Isaac Avina punted effectively and the Senators twice came within a heartbeat of recovering Sutter fumbles that would have set the offense up with a short field. On offense, Carson’s progress was undone on more than one possession by tackles behind the line from a fast, swarming Sutter defense. Both Parker Story and Marcus Montes fought for yardage out of the backfield, but they were often met by multiple Huskie tacklers. It wasn’t all the Huskies’ doing, though, as Boshard was quick to point out. He said the Senators made numerous small errors throughout the game — most noticeably along the lines — that were quick to snowball into bigger problems. “When we look at this (on film), we’re going to see that we made very small mistakes that hurt us in the game,” Boshard said. “Those small mistakes cost us.” He added that he expects the upcoming week of practice to put the Senators on a firmer path. “We’ve got a lot of heart on this team; a lot of passion,” Boshard said. “They want to fight and keep fighting. Right now, 35 (points) stings a little bit, but we’re going to see a lot of positives on film.”
Jeff Mulvihill, Jr. / instaimage.com