First place on the line for Carson, Galena

Friday’s game between Carson and Galena High School football could serve as a de-facto Class 5A North-Division III regular-season title game.

Both teams come into Friday’s game with a 2-0 league record, but will go in opposite directions after they face off.

The Grizzlies play Hug (0-2 in league) and Wooster (0-2) to close out the season, making it unlikely Galena will drop a league game if it is able to defeat Carson on Friday.

On the other hand, the Senators (2-0) still have to play North Valleys (1-1) and Damonte Ranch (1-1), but a win Friday night would still give Carson the upper hand at a regular-season crown.

GRIZZLY STRENGTHS

After playing for the Division III state title last season, Galena has put its foot right back on the throttle with wins over Damonte Ranch (21-14) and North Valleys (49-7).

Colson Kermode (No. 2) is back under center for the Grizzlies and continues to be a solid weapon at doing a bit of everything.

The senior quarterback has thrown for 734 yards through the air this fall on a 55 percent clip and is also the team’s second-leading rushing with 231 yards on the ground.

Kermode has tossed nine touchdown passes through the air while running for four more.

“It’s going to be a chess match of trying to be able to isolate him on certain run directions with their RPO,” said Carson High head coach Ryan Boshard. “They have a great offensive structure. They put their kids in a great position to win ball games.”

When Kermode isn’t keeping the rock in his own hands, he’s most commonly handing it off to senior running back Erick Rodriguez (No. 3), who leads the team with 296 rushing yards.

Ever Whitaker (No. 28) leads the team with five rushing touchdowns and has 81 yards rushing.

Galena’s air attack has been predicated around the talents of Matt Ritenhouse (No. 21) and Ben Imse (No. 17).

Ritenhouse has a team-high 325 receiving yards and a team-best five touchdown receptions.

Defensively, Whitaker is the team’s leading tackler with 53 wrap-ups while Kermode is second with 40.

The Grizzlies have 13 sacks as a team so far this fall and have grabbed 13 turnovers, including 10 interceptions. Shiloh Wilson (No. 5) leads the team with three picks.

“I am really impressed with their defense. They fly around to the ball. They can make the right reads and get in the right holes,” said Boshard.

The Senators anticipate Galena to vary its defensive looks from a 3-3 stack to a 4-2-5 and even, potentially, a 4-4.

SENATORS ROLLING AGAIN

Carson has rebounded from its loss to Douglas nicely with two shutout wins over Hug and Wooster.

Both games have seen the offense and defense get back on track as both sides of the ball have been productive.

“I really utilized the first halves against Hug and Wooster to keep my starters up to speed,” said Boshard.

The Senator head coach said his offensive line has been a big reason the offense has been clicking on all cylinders.

Joseph Madera, Ayden Kruger, Sergio Villaneuva, Adam Avina and Cash Henry have been influential for the Senators’ offense.

“They’ve just been doing a great job for us and I’m really proud of those guys,” said Boshard.