Senators head to Fernley for postseason tuneup

With a postseason spot locked up after a 12-11 win against Douglas on Friday, Carson High football has one more tuneup before it hits the Class 5A playoffs.

This Friday, the Senators travel to Fernley to take on the Vaqueros, out of Class 3A.

Fernley sits at 3-6 this season, but is no slouch, having posted 261 points in nine games.

“We need to take another step forward,” said Carson High head coach Ryan Boshard. “They go hard and that’s what (Bishop) Manogue is about, too. They never take a play off.”

Manogue, if they win on Friday, will be the No. 1 seed in the 5A playoffs.

Making sure the stage is set

Given the Senators will have a playoff game the following Friday, priority No. 1 is keeping players healthy.

On the field, the Vaquero offense will present the biggest test for Carson. Fernley’s rushing attack has been the catalyst this season.

Senior Gabe Tollestrup (No. 2) has nearly 1,000 yards rushing and has found the end zone 12 times.

The Vaqueros specialize in the veer option, making defense difficult.

Nearly an equal counterpart in the backfield will be Montano Marciano (28), who has 744 yards on the ground for the Vaqueros.

“These guys work extremely hard and they will challenge us,” said Boshard. “They are going to make us work for everything we get.”

Tollestrup is a dual threat option as Fernley’s quarterback and his favorite target has been fellow senior Jake Cumming (1), who has pulled down 316 yards receiving and five touchdowns.

Defensively, it’s been freshman Joey Machado (30), leading the way with 56 tackles and 10 tackles for loss.

The Vaqueros have 19.5 sacks this season, which means the Senators will have to do a quality job of protecting any signal caller that gets under center.

Fernley has forced eight turnovers, which will add another layer of emphasis on a Carson team looking to make sure it can play as mistake-free as possible in the regular season finale.

Friday’s game was put on the schedule to challenge Carson, regardless of where the Senators sat for the postseason.