Connor Pradere secures a 22-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Nelson in the second half of Friday's playoff opener against Spanish Springs.
Carson High’s ninth straight win wasn’t as easy as the final score indicated.
Spanish Springs cut Carson’s lead to one point early in the second half, but the Senators scored 21 unanswered points en route to a 49-34 win in the opening round of the NIAA Division I football playoffs Friday night at the Jim Frank Track & Field Complex.
Carson, 9-1, puts its nine-game winning streak on the line next Friday night at home against the Reno Huskies, who knocked off Damonte Ranch. Kick-off is 7 p.m.
“I felt like it was going to be a four-quarter game and it was,” Carson coach Blair Roman said. “I’m proud of the way the offense responded after they scored (to make it 21-20). We really picked up the tempo offensively in the third and fourth quarters. The match-up with Spanish Springs is a good one, and the scores indicate that.”
Spanish Springs dealt Carson its only home loss last year, and playd CHS tough before losing 28-6 earlier this year.
And, the Senators found themselves in a battle when Travis Vargas scored his third and final TD of the game, this one on an 11-yard run, to make it 21-20 with 8:53 left in the third.
That’s when the game shifted in Carson’s favor for good.
Using the no-huddle offense, the Senators embarked on a 14-play 75-yard drive which was capped by Jace Keema’s 5-yard scoring run to take a 28-20 lead.
The key plays were an 8-yard run by Abel Carter on a third-and-3 play for a first down at the Carson 40 and a Joe Nelson-to-Abel Carter 6-yard pass on a fourth-and-4 play which gave the Senators a first down at the Spanish Springs 30.
It was all Keema and Abel Carter the rest of the way, each carrying the ball three times.
“That’s the thing. We have to find a way to stop it,” Spanish Springs coach Eric Borja said. “That’s what they do. That’s what they practice all summer. We have to get better; get physically stronger.”
Carson’s defense, which struggled against the pass for the second straight week, forced the Cougars’ Korbin Marcum into two incompletions. Asa Carter, who lined up wide, sliced in and blocked the punt. Alex Estrada fell on the ball at the Cougars’ 9-yard line.
Nelson carried for a yard and Asa Carter gained four down to the SS 4. Back-up QB Jace Keema, who was used in the red zone and in short-yardage situations, was stopped just short of the end zone on third down. He scored on the next play. Johnny Barahona’s PAT made it 35-20 with 11:54 left in the game.
“Teams haven’t been able to stop the no-huddle coach (Kiko) Vega put in,” Nelson said. “Our offense will be tough to stop until somebody does.”
Carson, unofficially, chalked up 517 yards of total offense. including more than 360 on the ground. Abel Carter eclipsed the 100-yard mark with 125 and Greg Wallace had 156 and two scores.
Spanish Springs theatened on the next series, moving into Carson territory at the 48 after a 32-yard pass to Colton Allen. Vargas fumbled on the next play, and Ikela Lewis recovered at the Carson 43.
Asa Carter came up big two plays later, catching a 61-yard bomb from Nelson to make it 42-20 with 10:22 remaining.
It was over at that point in everybody’s mind but the Cougars, who stormed back to make it 42-27 when Marcum found Ian Check for a 47-yard TD pass. Check was wide open, as Carson suffered a breakdown in the secondary.
Once again, Carson answered back.
The Senators drove 70 yards in five plays capped by Nelson’s 22-yard pass to Connor Pradere. Barahona’s PAT made it 49-27 with 7:06 left. The key play was a 28-yard scamper by Wallace.
It was Wallace who got the Senators off to a good start.
After the Cougars took a 6-0 lead on the opening drive, Wallace scord on runs of 77 and 32 yards, respectively, to give Carson a 14-6 lead early in the second quarter.
“The first TD I didn’t even get touched,” Wallace said. “It was an amazing job of blocking by our line. The second one I cut it up inside when I saw an opening. We have a really good line, and they have been doing a great job this year.”
Carson, which has been known more for its explosiveness this year, put together a 12-play 82-yard scoring drive after forcing Spanish Springs to punt on the ensuing possession. Keema capped the drive with a 4-yard TD run.
The big play was a 40-yard run by Abel Carter on a third-and-15 play from the Carson 23. Another big play was a 14-yard pass from Nelson to Abel Carter down to the 7. Carson scored two plays later.
Spanish Springs, thanks to two more scores by Vargas, the second after a Wallace fumble, cut Carson’s lead to 21-20 in the early moments of the third quarter.
That was, in essence, the Cougars’ last hurrah.
