Carson’s Mack Chambers (40) and Charles Ore (25) put pressure on Basic quarterback Joseph Garza last Friday. This week, the Senators travel to Galena to open up Northern 5A league play.
Photo by Jeff Mulvihill, Jr. | InstaImage.
Finding some offensive rhythm has become priority No. 1 for Carson High football this week.
The Senators travel north to take on the Galena Grizzlies, who are 2-1 this season, hoping to get out of the bottom of the 5A North.
Carson’s offense has only scored points in one of its three games this season and the Grizzlies will stand as a litmus test of where the Senators stack up to other teams in league play.
Friday’s contest also marks the first league game of the year for both teams.
For Carson, winning its first league contest is always a priority, but the Senators have to clean up some stuff in their own end if they want to get a win.
“Offensively, we have struggled to move the ball consistently. So, that’s No. 1,” Carson High head coach Ryan Boshard said. “No. 2 is minimizing our own mistakes.”
Carson is coming off a 34-2 loss at home to Basic on Friday.
Grizzlies’ potent offense
Offensively, Galena has not shied away from throwing the ball through its first three games of the year.
Senior quarterback Ben Primka (No. 9) has thrown for 462 yards so far this season, with five touchdowns and no interceptions.
His two main targets out wide have been junior Jameson Bogart (No. 34) and sophomore Ben Imse (No. 17).
“They’ve got a good set of skills. I’m really impressed with them and what they’ve done over the last year,” Boshard said.
Boshard said the Grizzlies have some new wrinkles in the offense this year, but overall it matches what they’ve done in years past.
One of those wrinkles has been the use of Colson Kermode (No. 2) as a wildcat option in the backfield.
“We’re going to be focused on both (Primka and Kermode) of them,” said Boshard.
This season, Kermode has 132 yards rushing and five touchdowns.
Defensively, Galena has been all over the field in its first three contests. The Grizzlies have 11 sacks and 19 tackles for loss.
On top of that, Galena has been able to force turnovers, as well, with five interceptions and four fumble recoveries.
Galena’s base defensive look is a 3-4, but the Senators are expecting more unique looks from their Friday counterpart.
“They do a lot of rolling to get into a lot of different fronts to give you problems with your blocking schemes,” said Boshard. “Our offensive line play is definitely something we’re focusing on this week, and getting ready for a lot of different looks.”
Getting back to health
After missing several starters from last week, Carson expects to get a number of those players back in pads Friday.
Kicker and defensive back Isaac Avina is anticipated to be back in uniform, while Parker Story, who also sat last week, should be back on offense and special teams.
Starting lineman Sam Richetta is another name Carson and coach Boshard expect back in the fold this Friday.
