Carson quarterback Joe Nelson goes to the turf with an awkward twist of his right knee Saturday afternoon at Manogue High.
RENO — Injuries continue to put a damper on Carson High’s 6-1 start.
The Senators, who knocked off Bishop Manogue, 44-13, on Saturday, played most of the game without quarterback Joe Nelson and wingback Elijah Fajayan. Both players were hurt within a span of four minutes in the first quarter.
Fajayan, who plays wingback and fullback, hurt his knee after a short gain on Carson’s second possession. He didn’t return and came back to the field after halftime on crutches.
Nelson, meanwhile, was hurt on the first play of Carson’s second scoring drive following a 12-yard run. He said he took a helmet to the knee.
Jace Keema came on to direct Carson to 37 points in his most extended playing time of the season.
“I think it’s a sprain because I can walk on it,” Nelson said after the game. “It (the knee) is catching a little bit.”
CHS coach Blair Roman said Keema was examined by Carson trainer Adam Hunsaker when the team returned to school.
“We think he’ll be able to go (against Galena),” Roman said. “Elijah’s injury is more serious. We’ll know more about him after he goes to the doctor.”
Carson’s once deep backfield used to stand at six. With injuries to Tyler Huling and Fajayan it now stands at four.
“We’re hoping to have Tyler back (by Douglas or the playoffs),” Roman said. “He does provide us depth. Elijah is valuable because he also backs up Asa (on the other wing).”
A nightmare ride and car issues
As Carson fans, coaches and players found out, getting to Bishop Manogue on Saturday was no easy task.
The problem started with an accident on Highway 50, which forced people to take a roundabout route to the 580 Freeway.
Then, the paving project on 580 is still going, so there is only one lane each way most of the way to and from Reno.
Carson’s bus didn’t arrive until nearly noon for the 1 p.m. kick-off.
“We usually try to get here about 11:25 (for an afternoon game),” Roman said. “We had to rush around a bit. I don’t know if that affected us or not.”
Hunsaker was forced to miss the game when his car caught on fire on the way to the game,
Fortunately he was OK, and he was able to get a hold of members of the coaching staff, who took all of his training gear to the stadium for him.
Ian Schulz, who missed the game with an ankle injury, texted his father and told him to go old 395 and avoid the traffic mess through Washoe Valley.
Tight end report
With Ian Schulz sidelined with an ankle injury, Roman used linemen Corey Jasper and Eddie Duarte at tight end and guard. Austin Ackerman played center with Kevin Rusler, Logan Menzel and Blaine Soukup manning the other starting spots.
“Corey got the lion’s share of the reps,” Roman said.
Neither caught a pass or had a pass thrown their way. Both are in there for their blocking skills. If Schulz can’t go against Galena, look for Carson to employ the same strategy.
The change may have contributed to what Roman called “sporadic line play.”
“I was a little disappointed overall,” said Roman, whose team piled up 348 yards total offense.
Potpourri
This was Asa Carter’s third multiple-TD game and Abel Carter has two multiple-TD games ... The Carson players wore pink socks to honor breast cancer awareness ... Barahona has kicked field goals in four of the seven games. He had to punt some on Saturday when regular punter Brandon Gagnon was hit in the side by a helmet on a PAT attempt. Gagnon is the holder for Barahona ... Caulin Bartley had an interception wiped out because of a pass interference call ... Carson has scored 278 points this year, nearly 40 a game... Manogue’s side of the stands wasn’t even half full even though it was Homecoming...Carson is now 2-0 against freshman quarterbacks this year.
