Surviving A Harry Situation Eagles Whip Bobcats After Qb Goes Down

Coach Mike Kramer figured his Eastern Washington Eagles might be in for a bruising, three-Ibuprofen, back-alley brawl against Montana State Saturday afternoon.

And he was dead-solid perfect with his prediction - right down to the vicious hit that might have cost him his starting quarterback for the rest of the season.

The Eagles lost Harry Leons to an apparent tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee midway through the opening period, but managed to survive his absence and a couple of other less serious dings to hold off the Bobcats 20-13 in front of a Woodward Stadium crowd of 5,027.

Redshirt freshman Griffin Garske, who has been touted as EWU’s quarterback of the future, didn’t exactly put the team on his shoulders after Leons went down. But the 6-foot-4, 217-pounder stepped in and did enough good things to give the Eagles (4-1 overall, 1-1 Big Sky) their fourth consecutive win of the young season and sixth victory in a row over MSU (2-2, 1-1).

“I thought he acquitted himself very well,” Kramer said of Garske, a former Mead High School star, who threw for 129 yards and two touchdowns as Leon’s replacement. “He’s got a lot of self-confidence, which is great for him. He did some really smart things out there, and I’m really happy with the way he presented himself in the huddle to our players.”

Garske completed 8 of 19, including a 57-yard scoring strike to Steve Correa that he launched while falling down. He displayed his remarkable arm strength by zipping the ball to Correa on a line nearly 50 yards downfield and right past a startled Bobcat defender.

“It even surprised me,” Correa, a junior wide receiver, said of Garske’s off-balance bullet that put the Eagles up 20-6 with 9 minutes, 50 seconds left in the game.

“I know Griff has a strong arm, so when I saw him trip, I just kept running my route. The ball came out and the safety (Tyson Tucker) was, like, stunned. He didn’t know he was going to throw the ball and he kind of stopped. I just kept running under it.”

Garske admitted to asking for a little divine intervention after releasing the ball under a heavy pressure and with an unsightly sidearm sling.

“I tripped right when I was about ready to throw it,” he explained through an embarrassed grin. “I threw it as hard as I could and said a little prayer while I was on the ground.

“It was ugly, but it worked.”

Garske also sneaked 1-yard for a second-quarter touchdown and tossed a 5-yard third-quarter TD pass to Steve Mattson, a defensive lineman who moonlights as a tight end in goal-line situations.

“He did a marvelous job, he really did,” MSU coach Cliff Hysell said.

But Hysell seemed even more impressed with an EWU defensive effort that limited his Bobcats to just 169 total yards - 88 of which came on a fourth-quarter TD drive that did little more than make the final numbers, including the score, deceiving.

The Eagles suffocated MSU’s struggling offense from the opening kickoff, holding the Bobcats to four first downs, 64 total yards and zero yards passing through three quarters.

Rob Compson, a surprise starter at quarterback because of Jeff Tuss’ sore shoulder, finished with 63 yards passing and capped MSU’s only touchdown drive with a 16-yard pass to Chip Hobbs. The Bobcats’ other score came on a 49-yard third-quarter interception by Omar Turner, who picked off a Garske pass after his intended receiver, Antwan Miller, fell down.

Otherwise, MSU’s offense was little more than a rumor, thanks, also, to a pair of interceptions - one of the leaping, one-handed nature - by EWU free safety Maurice Perigo and a consistent push by the defensive line that produced four sacks and three other tackles for losses.

“Offensively, we weren’t consistent enough,” Hysell said. “At times the protection was there, but at times it was like a track meet to get to our quarterback.”

Kramer said Leons’ injury will be evaluated further this week, but he appeared to be holding out little hope of the junior starter returning this fall.

Kramer said Perigo, who was a running back in high school, might end up as the No. 2 quarterback on the Eagles’ depth chart when they travel to Sacramento State for next Saturday’s 6:05 p.m. Big Sky game against the Hornets.

EWU 20, Montana St. 13

Montana St. 0 0 6 7 13

E. Washington 0 7 6 7 - 20

EWUGarske 1 Run (Atwood Kick) MSUTurner 49 yard interception return (kick failed) EWUMattson 5 pass from Garske (kick blocked) EWUCorrea 57 pass from Garske (Atwood kick) MSUHobbs 16 pass from Compson (Groshelle kick) A-5,027

MSU EWU First downs 10 18 Rushes-yards 26-108 53-175 Passing 61 171 Comp-Att-Int 10-23-2 12-23-1 Return Yards 61 103 Punts-Avg. 7-39.7 6-37.2 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 3-2 Penalties-Yards 1-5 3-30 Time of Possession 22:24 37:36 Individual statistics RUSHINGMSU, Engelking 20-112, Tuss 1-11, Compson 5-minus15. EWU, Prescott 20-92, Sewell 23-83, Leons 3-23, Garske 7-minus-23.

PASSINGMSU, Compson 9-19-0-63, Tuss 1-4-2 minus-2. EWU, Garske 8-19-1-129, Leons 4-4-0-42.

RECEIVINGMSU, Vallez 7-35, Morgan 2-10, Hobbs 1-16. EWU, Correa 5-123, Miller 3-29, Knaevelsrud 1-10, MacKenzie 1-8, Mattson 1-5, Prescott 1-minus-4.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Photos (1 Color)