Senators are getting technical on the sideline

Carson varsity coaches Greg Chech and Vic Castro use an iPad Thursday night to review plays during the Douglas game.

Carson varsity coaches Greg Chech and Vic Castro use an iPad Thursday night to review plays during the Douglas game.

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If you’re an NFL fan, you have seen advances in technology through the years.

In the 1980s, players and coaches looked at actual photographs. When the practice first started, there would be runner(s) that would come down from the pressbox to hand deliver the prints to the sideline.

In the past few years, computer tablets have made their way to the sidelines of college and pro teams, and that technology has finally filtered down to the high school level. CHS uses iPads on the sidelines

Hudl, a software company founded by David Graff, Brian Kaiser and John Wirtz in 2006, offers the tools to edit and share video, study associated play diagrams, and create quality highlight reels for entertainment and recruiting purposes.

More than 100,000 teams in various sports use Hudl software, and there are nearly 4 million unique users.

It will eventually revolutionize coaching at the high school level, and Carson coach Blair Roman indicated it has been an immense help to his staff.

“They started a pilot program two years ago,” Roman said. “We applied, but were not chosen.

“They eventually opened it up to everybody, and fortunately our booster club stepped up and paid for it ($400).”

Computers on sideline was legislated by the national federation four or five years ago, according to Roman.

Carson uses press box and end zone cameras, giving coaches a look at every play from two different angles.

“We get to see plays from both angles which is nice,” Roman said. “I don’t look at it as much as my assistants do. I’ll take a look a couple of times a games at certain plays.”

Vic Castro, Carson’s line coach, loves his new toy.

“It should be illegal,” he said, laughing. “It’s a great teaching tool. The kids get to see right away why a play worked or didn’t work.”

Castro usually gathers his linemen after every series.

Steve Dilley, the Senators’ defensive coordinator, does the same thing.

“A friend of mine in southern California used it (last year),” he said. “It has been very helpful, and it allows you to make adjustments on the run.”

All the coaches agree if somebody is playing both ways it makes things more difficult.

“I don’t come out often, but I could see where you can fix things quicker,” running back/linebacker Abel Carter said.

•••

Reno handily won the first meeting between the schools, 34-17, back on Sept. 2.

Brandon Kaho scored three touchdowns and kicked two field goals for the 9-1 Huskies.

If Carson loses, the Senators will have their first non-winning season in four years and third in Roman’s nine-year tenure at the helm.

“It benefits both teams to have played before,” Roman said. “We have a much better idea on how they will attack us. They line up in so many different formations. The kids will have a better understanding on how to line up correctly. We gave them a couple of cheap touchdowns because we lined up wrong.

“Offensively, they have a lot of weapons. They basically run three different offenses. They run a Wildcat, a power I and a spread offense.”

Case in point. Eight different players have attempted a pass for the Huskies this year. Through nine games, Kaho was 7-for-11 passing for 60 yards.

Kaho, who sat out last week with a concussion, has gained 975 yards on the ground and rushed for 19 scores. He leads the area in scoring with 170 points. However, he has yet to be cleared to return as of Tuesday afternoon.

Quarterback Drake Vestbie, through nine weeks, had passed for more than 1,400 yards. Reese Taylor is the No. 2 rusher, and Will Barnard is the leading receiver.

•••

Chandler Tierney gets his second consecutive start on the offensive line, which means Sheldon Miller may spend more time on defense on Friday.

“He did pretty well,” Roman said of Tierney.

The CHS coach said the mistakes Tierney is making are correctable, and that’s the most important thing.

•••

The Reno-Carson game will be shown on My21 (Charter Channel 6), meaning the game will start around 7:15 p.m. instead of 7.

This will be Carson’s third appearance on TV this year, and the second time against Reno.

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