Carson rolls by North Valleys

Carson High’s running game is clicking on all cylinders, and that’s bad news for the remaining teams on the Senators’ schedule.

The Senators ran the ball for 363 yards en route to an easy 45-7 nonleague win over North Valleys Friday night at the Jim Frank Track & Field Complex.

Carson, which has scored 104 points in its last two games, takes its 2-1 record on the road next week at Spanish Springs.

All five of Carson’s main runners — Asa Carter, Abel Carter, Greg Wallace, Joe Nelson and Vic Castro — scored TDs. Abel Carter led the attack for the second straight week, rushing for 108 yards unofficially, including a 90-yard run.

“It was a great team effort all the way around,” coach Blair Roman said. “The line (Logan Menzel, Austin Ackerman, Kevin Rusler, Blaine Soukup and Corey Jasper) controlled things the entire time. Greg Wallace made some real nice cuts in the third level, and Abel’s 90-yard run was the back breaker.”

And, the defense, led by Ikela Lewis, Jacob Drahos and Asa Carter, was top notch. The first team didn’t allow a score the entire night. North Valleys’ TD came against Carson’s reserves.

“That started in practice,” Lewis said. “Wednesday was one of our best defensive practices, and we carried it over.”

After an exchange of punts, Carson’s offense got on track.

Nelson converted a key third-down play, gaining seven yards to his own 40. After a six-yard run by Asa Carter and a six-yard reception from Nelson to Carter, Wallace broke loose for a 40-yard scoring run. Johnny Barahona’s PAT made it 7-0 with 5:27 left.

The defense set up Carson’s next TD when Connor Pradere intercepted a Matt Sneed pass at the North Valleys 41.

“I kind of baited him (Sneed) into it,” Pradere said. “I made it look like the receiver was open and then cut in front of him.”

On the first play following the interception, Pradere got wide open behind Anthony Friend, but failed to hold on to the ball.

It was the first in a series of narrow misses Nelson had to endure. His percentage wasn’t good, but he threw the ball well.

“Joe had a couple of passes dropped and just missed a couple of others,” Roman said. I thought he played well.”

It was the Abel and Asa Show on the next two plays.

Abel Carter gained 12 down to the NV 29, and Asa followed with a 23-yard scamper down to the NV 6. Abel carried to the 2, and older brother, Asa, finished the job with a 2-yard TD run on the next play. Barahona’s PAT made it 14-0 with 2:16 left.

Carson’s defense stepped up big on the next series when Asa Carter dragged down Sneed for a 12-yard loss back at the NV 14.

A 29-yard punt gave the Senators great field position at the NV 42, and they didn’t waste it.

Nelson completed a 6-yard pass to Pradere on the final play of the first quarter, and took care of things himself on the next play. He faked a handoff to Castro, followed a block by Soukup, and bolted up the middle for 36 yards and a score. Barahona’s kick made it 21-0.

“It was a designed play,” Nelson said. “It wasn’t a read.”

North Valleys got into Carson territory on its next drive, reaching the 22 before losing the ball on downs when Drahos stopped Ben Westby for no gain.

Drahos came up big again later in the first half when the Panthers, facing a fourth-and-1 at their own 39 opted to go for it. Drahos stopped David Watson for a 1-yard loss.

Asa Carter broke loose for a 35-yard run down to the 2, and two plays later, Wallace scored from the 1 to make it 28-0.

Carson had another chance to score in the waning moments of the half after a Jace Keema interception, but Barahona was wide left on a 36-yard FG attempt.

North Valleys put together another good drive to start the second half, but it went for naught when Friend, after catching a 31-yard pass from Sneed, had the ball jarred loose by Mathias Williams. It was recovered in the end zone for a touchback.

Two plays later, Abel Carter broke loose on a 90-yard scoring run. “Nobody touched me,” said Abel Carter. “It was a great job by the line. I was basically reading whoever was there.”

Roman said the play worked because the linebacker was “cheating,” trying to anticipate where the play might go.

Carson tacked on a Barahona field goal on its next drive to make it 38-0 before North Valleys put together an 80-yard scoring drive which was capped by Sneed’s 16-yard pass to Cayden Kovich, who got behind Brandon Gagnon.

The Senators completed the scoring on their next drive when Castro scored on a 3-yard run.