RENO — If Joey Thurman had any eligibility left after this season, he might petition coach Blair Roman to play some quarterback.
Last week, Thurman threw a halfback option pass of 40 yards to Dilyn Rooker which led to a touchdown and Friday night threw a 2-point conversion pass to Seamus Burns in Carson’s 47-39 loss to Reed in the regional final at Damonte Ranch High School.
Thurman went 3-for-3 for 125 yards on the season, not including the conversion pass.
“I might have had to run some Wildcat next year (if Joey were back),” said head coach Blair Roman. “The way their safeties come up against the run, we knew that play would be there.”
Thurman, normally the talkative sort after a game, was speechless.
BIG DIFFERENCE: Reed’s Jordan DeLeon didn’t play in the first meeting between the teams, but he made his presence felt on Friday.
DeLeon carried the ball 27 times for 194 yards and three scores, and he caught a pass for 20 yards.
He proved to be too much for Carson to handle, as he proved to be a beast to bring down, especially when he got into the second level of the defense.
LATE WEAPON: Tight end Chase Blueberg became a valuable weapon the second half of the season, and he finished his high school football career on a high note.
The senior caught two passes for 42 yards and two scores, both coming in the second half and both enabling Carson to pull within a score.
The first came late in the third quarter after Reed had gone up 40-25. Blueberg ran what appeared to be a seam route up the left side of the field and hauled in a 33-yard scoring pass from Garrett Schafer.
“That was a new play that we put in this week,” Blueberg said. “We saw it would be wide open.”
The second score was Carson’s final of the season as it turned out. Blueberg grabbed a 9-yard toss from Schafer to make it 47-39 with 3:48 left.
“That was just the boot pass,” Blueberg said. “I was wide open.”
