Jerry’s kids here

If Jerry Glanville did indeed, in his National Football League days, once leave tickets in Elvis’ name at Will Call for a game in Memphis, it begs the question of who he would leave tickets for in Cheney.

The guess here: a couple of linebackers, and maybe a fullback.

Glanville comes to town this evening at 6:05 with a gig far removed from his previous NFL life – as the new head coach of the Portland State Vikings. But he’s not bringing as many of his friends with him to play unbeaten and 21st-ranked Eastern Washington as he’d like.

The Vikings have lost a handful of important cast members – from starting quarterback Tygue Howland the first game to standout inside linebacker Andy Schantz this week, a contributing factor in a 1-3 start. But change has been a constant since Glanville took over and brought in offensive coordinator Mouse Davis and his run-and-shoot attack, and something tells EWU coach Paul Wulff that the Vikings can weather it.

“They have seven seniors starting on offense and seven on defense,” he said. “Any time you have that much experience – a certain level of maturity to handle change and make adjustments – you have a chance.”

The change at Eastern has been in a more reasonable September schedule, and the Eagles have certainly handled it – this is their first 3-0 start since 1997, or the last time they didn’t have an NCAA Division I-A team on the front end of the schedule. The Eagles find themselves ranked among the top 20 nationally in all four offensive yardage and scoring categories – but slowing down the run-and-shoot would seem to be the emphasis this week.

Eastern’s pass defense is ranked just 110th nationally, yielding 292 yards a game – and, of course, throwing the football is what the Vikings do. Senior quarterback Brian White has thrown for 1,200 yards, averaging 43 passes a game in his three starts.

“Their quarterback knows where to go with the ball because they do it so often,” Wulff said. “You might get them three-and-out a couple of series in a row, and the next time they hit you on two or three passes and it’s a touchdown. There’s just an unpredictability to it, and when they’re clicking it’s tough to stop.”

But the Vikings haven’t always clicked – they’ve allowed 28 sacks, including nine in a 26-17 loss to UC Davis, a team Eastern beat 41-31 without yielding a sack.

Eastern, too, suffered a significant loss this week, when strong-side linebacker Makai Borden sustained an injured toe. Backup middle linebacker Marcus Walker and freshman J.C. Sherritt, both of Pullman, will take his place.