Railroaders explode for most points since 2015 in 46-30 road win at Dayton
Carlos Rodriguez is making this whole head coaching thing pretty easy for Brad Rose.
After scoring Sparks only two touchdowns of the season in games No. 1 and 2, Rodriguez found the end zone five different times on Friday night as Sparks (1-2, 1-1) picked up its first win of the season, 46-30 at Dayton (1-2, 0-2).
“I mean, he (Rodriguez) is just a great athlete,” said Rose, who picked up his first win as Sparks head coach. “He’s one of the better 3A athletes and he’s just, I don’t know how to explain it. He’s just a great all-around athlete. He’s explosive. He’s quick. He’s got great vision.
“Special is an understatement.”
Of his five touchdowns, only two were offensive. He returned one kickoff and one punt (giving him four special teams touchdowns in three games) and took an interception to the house. He alone matched the Dust Devils 30 points.
Rose installed a pass-heavy spread offense at Sparks over the offseason, but after getting blanked offensively by Lovelock and South Tahoe in consecutive weeks, went run heavy at Dayton. The Railroaders only threw the ball “five or six times.”
“We kind of took a play from the Reno playbook and kind of just snapped the ball to him (Rodriguez) and let him make some plays offensively here and there,” Rose said. “And he did exactly that.”
The 46 points were the most scored by Sparks since week 2 of the 2015 season – a span of 17 games – also at Dayton, a 48-0 win.
“My background is as an offensive coordinator, and to be shut out (offensively) two weeks in a row, wasn’t something I wanted to start out the year doing,” Rose said. “But it’s nice to come out and we had some great offensive production tonight.”
Sparks will try to win a second straight next Friday in its home opener against Elko (1-1, 1-1). The Railroaders endured an overtime loss on the road to the Indians last year, falling on a trick play in the game’s final snap.
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