In 24 hours, sophomore Frank Bleuss went from Carson's J.V. quarterback, to the Senators starting varsity quarterback, and then onto become just one of several stars in Carson's 21-0 win over Galena on Friday.
"I was a little excited and a little nervous," Bleuss said. "But things came around and I got real confident on who I had in the back field and on the line."
Bleuss' numbers weren't dazzling, only 27 yards passing but he ran the offense effectively, which was something Carson was unable to do last week against McQueen.
"I definitely expected that or I wouldn't have brought him up," Senator coach Bob Bateman said. "He made a few young mistakes but overall he kept his composure."
Bateman's smart play calling kept the offense simple for Bleuss. And it involved spreading the ball around as five different Senators amassed 343 yards rushing against the Grizzlies, including 254 in the first half.
Josh Carter ran for two touchdowns and Doug Brooks broke out for a 50-yard TD as Carson scored all of three of their touchdowns in the first half. Not to mention that Bleuss, Carter, and Brooks completely fooled the Galena defense numerous times in the first half.
"You always see people over pursuing and that's the beauty of the Wing T," Bateman said. "That's always been our offense."
Brooks finished with 154 yards on the ground while Carter added 91. Running back and punter Tom Evans, who improved his punting drastically from last week, also ran for 63 yards.
This was Carson's first shut out victory in a couple of years, Bateman said. And a lot of that can be accredited to senior linebacker Jed Abowd, who led the defense with 15 tackles, including four for losses.
"We played a good first half but I think we could've came out in the second half and played a better game," Abowd said.
Galena star running back Damian Rivadeneyra, who rushed for 300 yards last week against Hug High, gained a mere 37 yards on the ground against Carson.
"We had him isolated in the first half and we should've done the same in the second half," Abowd said about Rivadeneyra, who only had nine yards in the first half. "We gave him too many yards in the second."
In the second half, Galena scored two touchdowns but both were called back because of penalties. In the third quarter, Rivadeneyra's 44-yard touchdown run was brought back because of a holding penalty. Then with only minutes remaining in the game, the Galena defense recovered a Brooks fumble in the Carson end zone but a face mask penalty allowed the Senators to retain the ball. And thus Carson preserved their shut out victory, which seemed unthinkable after Carson's 52-7 loss to McQueen.
"We're a better team that what we showed last week," Bateman said. "It would take an almost perfect game for us to beat McQueen but we gave them some opportunities."
Carson hosts Sparks High (0-2) next Friday, which will be the Senator's first home game of the season. On Friday, Reno High beat the Railroaders 14-7. However, it's doubtful that Bleuss will be around for Carson's third non-league game of the season. It's likely that he'll be moved back to down to the J.V. But he's already gained the respect of his varsity teammates.
"He did a helluva a job and he's a helluva of an athlete," Abowd said. "I'm real proud of him."
