Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Ewu Suspends 2 Qbs; Untested Soph Will Start

Third-string Eastern Washington quarterback Harry Leons, a non-scholarship sophomore, who has never played in a college football game, will be the Eagles’ starter on Saturday against nationally ranked Idaho State after the suspensions of Brian Sherick and Scott Bond.

Sherick, a sophomore from University High School, and Bond, his junior backup, were suspended for one game by EWU coach Mike Kramer for violating unspecified team rules. Bond transferred from Walla Walla Community College in the off-season.

According to team sources, Sherick and Bond missed curfew after Saturday night’s 40-30 loss to Weber State in Ogden, Utah.

“It’s an internal matter and will be handled internally,” Kramer said Monday. “You spend months with these guys and then they let you down like this. It’s disappointing.”

Sherick completed 15 of 29 passes for one touchdown with three interceptions in Saturday’s loss, his fourth game as a college starter.

Bond played one series against Weber State, a 10-play, 65-yard drive, all running plays, that included a quarterback sneak followed by a 2-yard scoring run by David Lewis.

With the 6-foot-2-1/2, 185-pound Leons in the lineup for EWU (2-2), similar conservatism would not be a surprise. Freshman Josh Lies, a 6-2, 190-pound freshman from Keizer, Ore., will be the backup against Idaho State.

ISU (4-0), which improved to 16th in this week’s Division I-AA poll after a 26-21 victory over Idaho, also suspended two players on Monday. Senior linebacker Ike Johnson, 22, and junior running back Thomas Washington, 21, were suspended permanently after being placed on a year’s probation for misdemeanor battery.

Johnson and Washington pleaded guilty along with former Bengals Sam Carter, 22, and Derrick Carter, 22 - no relation - last month after statutory rape charges against them where reduced to the misdemeanor because the 14-year-old girls involved refused to testify in open court.

Senior defensive back Brian Bethel also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery and received a withheld judgment, meaning the conviction will be erased from his record if he completes his probationary service. His status on the football team was not immediately known.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo