Grittiness is difference for CHS

Finishing the close ones.

That’s the difference between this year’s Carson High football team and last year’s edition.

In 2012, Carson went 0-4 in Sierra League play and lost three of those games by a total of 12 points. In 2013, three of Carson’s four league wins have been by a total of 10 points. Finishing close games tells you a lot about a team. This is a gritty bunch that has surpassed my expectations for the season. I figured Carson and Damonte would battle for second behind Galena. I’m happy for Blair Roman & Co. This is a solid group of kids, both on and off the field.

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Carson High principal Ron Beck got a close-up look at Douglas High’s soccer layout this past week. Like everybody else, he saw that the field is too narrow, and shouldn’t be used for a state tournament.

Beck sent a proposal to NIAA commissioner Eddie Bonine, asking that Carson be allowed to host the state tournament on Friday, Nov. 15, despite the fact that Carson COULD have a home football game. Beck has suggested changing starting times to 8:30, 10:30, 12:30 and 2:30 if that happens. Certainly an 8:30 a.m. game isn’t ideal, but it’s better to play the games on a more regulation field. The worst-case scenario is that the football game is pushed to 7:30 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. if the soccer games run long.

Here is the problem as it’s been explained to me. There are minimums and maximums on what soccer field can be in terms of length and width.

Shouldn’t all fields be the same width and length? Are we going to start having baseball fields with only 80-feet between bases or softball fields where the bases are 55-feet instead of 60?

Who makes these decisions when fields are built?

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Here are my picks for this week’s playoff games:

Carson 30, Spanish Springs 28: Hunter Fralick is a top-notch quarterback who can also run. Those kind of guys give coordinators like Bob Bateman nightmares.

McQueen 28, Damonte 17: I know that Damonte smacked McQueen around, but the game was meaningless. I don’t know if McQueen rested people or not. Damonte is good, but the Mustangs aren’t 44 points better than McQueen.

Galena 24, Reno 20: If the Huskies won I wouldn’t be surprised. Injuries to Eric Anderson and Chazz Clark affected the Grizzlies a great deal. I praise both players for getting out there and playing.

Reed 40, Douglas 10: I was stunned when I heard Reno beat Reed, but that’s the last game the Raiders lose until they face one of the Vegas powerhouses.

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This week is why the Division I should be just one league instead of two divisions. Get rid of the 9-game plus Hall of Fame game rule. Play a 10-game season. If you miss a team during the season, so be it. If the crossover games aren’t going to count, allow the teams the freedom to play non-league games out of the area. That would eliminate issues that come up in the current format.

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I know that Division 1A schools don’t want North Valleys because the Panthers have more than 2,000 students. How would the 1A feel about Bishop Manogue? The Miners’ enrollment is probably half of what North Valleys enrollment is, so you can’t argue numbers. I’m sure the 1A schools would bring up recruiting.