Nevada Appeal: Senator football heads south for second game

Carson High School football’s first test of the season resulted in a 33-13 loss to Spring Creek.

The Senators, however, were able to do some things well, but some costly turnovers were at fault for the 20-point margin.

“We just need to be a little more precise on our timing and our reads and we want to take care of the football,” said Carson High School head coach Steven Nelms.

A look at Friday’s game:

RECORDS: Carson (0-1); Canyon Springs (1-1)

LAST WEEK: On the ground, Carson ran for 238 yards, with 146 of that coming from senior Johnathan Alvarado. Alvarado took 23 carries in total, averaging more than 6 yards per rush. The Senators averaged more than 5 yards a carry despite some heavy boxes from Spring Creek. Ean Thomas finished with 11 total tackles, catching some praise from his head coach. “He (Thomas) was always around the ball. He played super-well,” said Nelms. Offensive lineman Daniel Rivera was credited with three pancake blocks. In its two games this season, Canyon Springs thumped Clark last week, 47-6, and was on the receiving end of a thumping, losing to Basic, 35-6.

SERIES: Carson leads the series, 1-0 (since 2004), winning last season’s game, 27-0.

AT STAKE: For the Senators, protecting the ball will be objective No. 1 as Carson searches for its first win. The Pioneers will look to avenge last year’s shoutout loss.

CARSON ON OFFENSE: The Senators’ quarterback battle rages on for another week after Nicholas Head and Elijah Larry split snaps at the position against Spring Creek. Nelms says the Senators will see a 4-2-5 look from the Pioneers’ defense but are anticipating additional defenders in the box to try and slow the run.

“We want to see some improvement in our play-action and our short passing game this week,” said Nelms. “We will do a better job of motioning and attacking space outside of the box.”

CANYON SPRINGS ON OFFENSE: Canyon Springs is fast. Nelms knows the Senators will have to contend with the Pioneers’ speed, but he thinks his squad is capable. In the 35-6 loss to Basic, Canyon Springs’ total offense was carried by its rushing attack.

“They run some zone, outside screens to the receiver. They have really good team speed,” said Nelms. “We’re expecting to try and stop the zone read and the screen game.”

FINAL NOTE: Canyon Springs appeared to turn a corner after getting shut out by the Senators last season. The Pioneers started the 2024 campaign 0-4 before winning eight of their final 10 games and qualifying for the Class 4A state championship, which they lost to Mohave (30-6). Canyon Springs flashed some serious firepower on offense last week. With the Pioneers’ offense predicated on zone reads and screens, it’ll be up to the Senators to maintain assignment discipline on defense Friday.