A winning record has been out of the question for a couple of weeks. Ditto for a playoff berth. With two games left in the season, the Dayton High football team has very little to play for.
"We're OK," Dayton coach Rob Turner said. "We're a little flat I think. Last week was tough to swallow. We were in control until the last four minutes of the game. It's a tough one to come back from. We have to be able to finish. You have to make plays and we didn't."
Well, the Dust Devils (1-6) get a chance to break their six-game losing streak Friday when they host Sparks (0-8, 0-7) at 7 p.m. on Senior Night where Turner will bid farewell to nine seniors.
"They (Sparks) have had their struggles," Turner said. "Hopefully we can bounce back from last week and go into the Fernley game with a little momentum.
"Sparks likes to throw. Last year we prepared for the pass and they ran it a ton. We'll be planning to play run first. Their quarterback (Geo Vasquez) can throw the ball and they have a tough little running back. Defensively, they are tough up the middle. We're still hoping to establish the run with our wedge play. Maybe we'll be able to get them on the edge."
Dayton enters the final games without starting quarterback Jake Turner, who dislocated his left shoulder. He'll be replaced by sophomore Skyler Berntson, who just returned to action last week, after serving a one-game suspension for being ejected prior to the Wooster game.
This could be a glimpse of the future. Berntson is only a sophomore and running backs Taryn Aguilera and Austin Fletcher are only juniors.
It's obviously been a rough year for Sparks coach Rob Kittrell.
"Every week we're the slower team," Sparks coach Rob Kittrell told the Sparks Tribune. "When you have to make up for that athleticism, you have to disciplined and smart. We're starting to make more plays defensively; to get in better position defensively."
SOCCER
Carson blanks Damonte
RENO - Cristian Hernandez scored two goals and Francisco Barrios added one to lead Carson to an easy 3-0 win over Damonte Ranch.
Carson improved to 5-4-5 heading into Saturday's showdown against first-place Wooster at 11 a.m.
"The back four of Zach Smith, Michael Samii, Cruz Kerver and Adam Shoaf were simply awesome," Carson coach Mehdi Samii said. "We lost our starting keeper (Jose Gonzalez) to an injury in the sixth minute, and Gustavo Villagrana played a fantastic game."
Carson scored in the fourth minute when Jon Guevara played the ball to Hernandez, who put it past the Damonte keeper. Twenty minutes later, Carson was awarded a free kick, and Hernandez put it in the bottom left corner for a 2-0 lead. In the 71st minute, Barrios put it past the keeper with his back heel.
Samii also praised the play of midfielders Nate King, Daniel Limon, Miguel Ortiz and Guevara. He also was pleased with the play of his reserves.
• In JV action, Carson beat Damonte 3-2 thanks to two goals from Francisco Cabrerra and Adrian Gutierrez.
VOLLEYBALL
McQueen tops Douglas
Shawnee McFadden had six kills and six digs in a 25-23, 25-18 and 25-18 loss to the Lancers on Tuesday.
Jenna Broussard had two kills, four digs, an ace and 1.5 blocks. Ariah Barth contributed three kills and four digs. Kristina Barnum had eight kills and two digs with Shelby Van Winkle finishing with 12 assists, four kills and seven digs.
Douglas fell to 5-8.
Yerington sweeps Silver Stage
YERINGTON - Chloe Dane had 12 kills, six digs and four blocks to lead the Lions to a 25-10, 25-15 and 25-8 victory Wednesday night.
Savena Rogers had 11 assists and two digs, while Arcelia Arellano added eight assists and four digs. Bailee Banta added 14 digs and two aces with Jazzmin Bryan adding nine kills and three blocks. Jesslyna Cochrane added eight digs.
Yerington is 22-7 overall and 5-2 in league.
