Fire forces postponement of 4A playoff games to Monday night

The NIAA has postponed both 4A semifinal games and moved the 1A, 2A and 3A state championship games from Damonte Ranch because of the Caughlin Fire in Reno which has caused many residents to evacuate their homes.

The Carson-Bishop Manogue and Douglas-Reed games will now be played at 7 p.m. on Monday. The 1A, 2A and 3A games will still be played today at 12, 3 and 6 p.m., but at Fernley High instead.

Carson High was first informed of the postponement approximately 11 a.m. on Friday. The NIAA, according to Pat Houlihan, dean and athletic administrator, originally asked Carson if it could host a game today, but was informed that there was a two-day event on campus which would impact parking.

"The games are important, but not compared to what is happening around our area," Houlihan said.

"It's an unforeseen and tragic situation," Carson coach Blair Roman said. "There is nothing you can do.

"Weather-wise it's probably better to play on Monday."

Roman said he had checked the weather report, and it's supposed to be a high of 51 and probably around freezing at kickoff on Monday. He said he didn't expect the wind to be as much of a factor on Monday.

Wind affected the first Manogue-Carson game. Gusts were at least 25 mph, and the Senators won 27-24 on Austin Pacheco's 64-yard wind-aided field goal.

The postponement has left Roman with two days to fill before the contest. He was going to talk to his coaches after school on Friday before making any decisions.

"The kids were excited to play tonight (Friday)," Roman said. "We'll probably have a walk-through on Saturday, and we have a weights class on Monday. The kids were pumped talking about Monday night football."