Garske Gets Annual Call For Eagles
If this is Cal State Sacramento weekend, it must be Griffin Garske’s turn to start.
That might seem like the logic Eastern Washington coach Mike Kramer has used the past two seasons to determine his starting quarterback against the Hornets. But the truth is, Kramer can’t seem to keep his No. 1 guy, Harry Leons, from getting beat up by Montana State.
Last fall Leons had the Eagles off to a 4-1 start before going down with a season-ending knee injury in a 20-13 win over MSU. Garske, a redshirt freshman at the time, stepped in to mop up against the Bobcats and then made his first collegiate start the following weekend at Sac State.
The former Mead High standout shredded the Hornet secondary for 309 passing yards and four touch downs in a 51-34 win. This afternoon, courtesy of the mild concussion Leons suffered in last Saturday’s 17-7 loss at Montana State, Garske will start under center for the first time this season when the Eagles (4-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big Sky Conference) entertain Cal State Sacramento (1-3 and 1-1) in a 1:05 matchup at Woodward Stadium.
Leons, a fifth-year senior who leads the Big Sky in passing efficiency with a rating of 167.45, will be available if needed, according to Kramer. But he did not practice this week.
“Actually, he threw a couple of passes yesterday,” Kramer said Friday morning, “but he wasn’t suited up, so we’ll definitely start Griff.”
The quarterback change might be the most discussed issue surrounding today’s game, but it’s not No. 1 on Kramer’s list of worries. He’s seen Garske perform and has plenty of confidence in the 6-foot-4, 217-pounder, who has thrown for 343 yards and three touchdowns as Leons’ backup this fall.
Kramer’s main concern is the uncertain psyche of his players following last weekend’s unexpected loss in Bozeman.
“We still don’t know if we can bounce back from a tough loss,” he said. “And I really won’t be able to gauge where we’re at emotionally or mentally until we get into the first or second quarter against Sac State.
“Rebounding from a tough loss is something we have to be able to do if we’re going to be the kind of team we want to be.”
The Hornets are coming off their first Big Sky triumph in school history - a 23-19 win over Idaho State - and have impressed Kramer with their week-to-week improvement.
“They’ve gotten dramatically better in every single game,” he said. “They’ll bring in a wide-open offensive attack with a lot of no-back looks and a defense that has been playing with a lot of ferocity lately. They’re actually pretty solid all the way around.”
The key to Sac State’s offense is junior quarterback A.J. Bernhardt, who has thrown for 1,091 yards and six touchdowns. The Hornets are averaging 272.8 yards per game through the air, but only 71.0 per game on the ground.
They rank last in the Big Sky in total defense, however, having allowed an average of 481.5 yards and 32.8 points per game - none of which means much to Kramer.
“We’re still pretty wary,” he explained, “because we know our challenge. It wouldn’t matter if we were playing the San Francisco 49ers, the thing we’ll be most concerned about is our mental status.”
Game notes
Redshirt freshman Ole Olesen, a starter at left cornerback in Eastern’s first five games, will be sidelined for two to four weeks with a knee sprain suffered against Montana State last weekend. … Sophomore LeVar McClary will move from right to left cornerback and junior transfer Shantell Franklin will start at right corner. … Starting strongside linebacker Jerrad Jeske, one of three Eastern players to suffer concussions at MSU, will not play today. Britt Lentz, a 6-3, 205-pound sophomore, will start in his place… . Defensive end Ed Harris, another concussion casualty, has been cleared to play and is expected to start.
Because of injuries to several members of its linebacking corps, Sac State has moved outside linebacker Ryland Wickman to middle linebacker.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Sac State vs. EWU