Now there are a signs of a turnaround. On Thursday night, the Colts improved to 2-0 with a 49-7 rout of Franklin, a team that went 10-0 during the regular season last year and beat the Colts 32-14.

All those young players that Christensen was playing as sophomores and junior are grown up and improving. Running back/linebacker Jerry Misaalefua is a human battering ram. He used one hand to push away a Franklin defender on his way to a 31-yard touchdown run. He finished with 155 yards rushing and two touchdowns in a game played at Rancho Dominguez because the new Carson field still needs bleachers.

Christensen is one of the few City Section coaches still using a fullback and tight end. That tight end, junior Dayton Norris, was magnificent. He had touchdown catches of 18 and 13 yards, and finished with five receptions for 95 yards. The Colts had too much speed for Franklin, which was missing seven players because of illness.

Carson’s quickness in the secondary was challenging for Franklin quarterback Eduardo Cuevas, who had passes intercepted by freshman safety Troy Taulua and junior cornerback Kameryn Hurst in the first half, when Carson opened a 14-0 lead.

Franklin got back into the game when a blown coverage left open Joseph Arango, who went 76 yards for a touchdown after catching a pass from Cuevas down the middle.

Franklin failed to establish its running game and couldn’t take advantage after driving to the Carson 35- and 25-yard lines on its opening two possessions before stalling on fourth down.

The second half was all Carson, with quarterback Lincoln Iakopo completing all five of his attempts. He finished 11 of 17 for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Curtis Williams returned a kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown.