Carson running back Christian Rey (21) looks for extra yardage during Friday's game against visiting Wooster.
Photo by Jeff Mulvihill, Jr. | InstaImage.
What looked like a 1920s-style grind-it-out night turned into a points parade in the second half Friday at Carson.
It was visiting Wooster which came away with most of them in a key Northern 5A-Divison III football matchup.
The Colts scored 17 fourth-quarter points and came up with the game’s two key turnovers to hold off Carson, 24-13, and remain unbeaten in D-III games.
Wooster improved to 4-3 overall and 2-0 in league games. Carson, coming off a shutout win over Hug a week earlier, dropped to 2-5, 1-1.
THE KEY PLAY
With Wooster clinging to a 14-7 lead following a fourth-down, 3-yard touchdown run from quarterback Carlos Lopez early in the fourth quarter, the Colts’ defense came up with the night’s big play.
Wooster’s Dominick Espinosa picked off a Carson pass on the right side, then used the sideline to reach the end zone after a short run. Suddenly, a game that had been tied at 7-7 after three quarters had the Colts up by two scores.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first half was not a showcase for football offenses.
The teams combined for 10 full possessions, with seven ending with punts and three lost fumbles. Neither team got inside the opponents’ 25-yard line.
The Colts broke open the stalemate two plays into the second half. Espinosa hauled in a short pass, made a couple of Carson defenders miss, then took off down the right sideline for a 79-yaerd score and the game’s first points.
Carson answered not long after, taking advantage of a short field following the Colts’ second lost fumble of the night. The Senators drove 23 yards, capped by a 3-yard scoring run from Christian Rey.
Carson's JT Heaton (24) celebrates a fumble recovery against Wooster on Friday night. Photo: Jeff Mulvihill Jr.The Senators’ final score of the night came on a 5-yard pass from Drake Hardcastle to Ethan Hendee midway through the fourth quarter. That cut the Colts’ lead to 21-13, but Carson would get no closer.
BY THE NUMBERS
4 — The teams combined to score on four straight possessions to begin the fourth quarter
6 — There were six turnovers Friday, four by Carson
37 — Second-half points scored
NEXT UP
Carson travels to Galena (2-5, 1-1) on Friday for a pivotal 5A-III game.
Wooster returns home to play Hug (1-6, 0-2) on Friday.