Injury Report Good And Bad For Eastern
Rex Prescott’s streak of 36 consecutive games played could end this weekend, but Eastern Washington’s senior running back was not as seriously injured in Saturday night’s 31-14 win over Portland State as first feared.
Prescott left the PSU game after separating and bruising his right shoulder in the second quarter and is listed as questionable for Saturday night’s 6:35 Big Sky Conference matchup against Weber State at Woodward Stadium.
But Eagles coach Mike Kramer said the separation was only minor and added that Prescott could possibly be used in an emergency situation against the Wildcats.
Kramer’s injury update was not as positive, however, on sophomore tight end Scott Johnson, who sprained the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Johnson is listed as “extremely questionable,” and could be out for some time.
“We’re just not real sure, yet, of the extent of the ACL injury,” Kramer said. “He’s walking on the knee, but we’re just going to go day to day with him to see how it responds.”
Kramer added that offensive linemen T.J. Ackerman and Justen Wochnick, a pair of projected starters in the preseason, have been cleared to play after missing the first three games while recuperating from off-season knee surgeries.
“In years past, we probably would have played both of them by now,” Kramer admitted, “but we are in a really favorable situation as far as depth in our offensive line is concerned, so we’re in no hurry.
“We are of the mind that until we really need to play them, they should stay out and continue to get stronger. We’re not willing to risk further injury to either kid at this point.”
Flowers power outage
Cal State Northridge quarterback Aaron Flowers, the Big Sky’s most prolific passer, could miss at least four weeks of the season with a hairline fracture in his right fibula.
Flowers injured his leg in the first quarter of last Saturday’s 63-21 rout of Azusa Pacific, but stayed in the game - thinking the injury was a charley horse - and passed for 382 yards and five touchdowns. Flowers, who was on pace to throw for more than 4,200 yards and 39 touchdowns for the Matadors (2-2), was re-examined earlier this week and told the extent of his injury.
Ah Yat healthy again
Montana quarterback Brian Ah Yat, the co-offensive player of the year in the Big Sky last season, has been cleared to play in Saturday’s homecoming game against Cal State Sacramento after missing most of the Grizzlies’ first two games with a knee sprain.
Ah Yat, a junior, injured his right knee in the first quarter of a 24-10 season-opening win over Stephen F. Austin and was held out of last Saturday’s 35-14 rout of Saint Mary’s of California. He has practiced fulltime this week, however, and is expected to return to the starting lineup against the Hornets.
What a kick
Weber State’s Scott Shields, whose versatility as a free safety/place-kicker/punter has earned him the nickname “Slash,” is suffering from a severe abdominal sprain that adversely affected his kicking in Saturday’s 24-7 loss to Boise State.
Shields, a senior All-American, said the injury is most bothersome when he kicks with his right foot. So after having two field-goal attempts blocked by the Broncos, the naturally right-footed Shields kicked off twice with his left foot.
Quick kicks
A win over Weber State Saturday night would give Eastern Washington its first 4-0 start since 1985 when the Eagles opened 5-0 en route to a 9-3 finish that included a NCAA Division I-AA first-round playoff victory over Idaho… . Montana State, after being penalized 12 times in a 24-14 win over Chadron State two weekends ago, played penalty-free in last Saturday’s 28-26 loss at Southwest Texas State… . Portland State has started a season 0-3 for the first time since 1982. … Boise State running back Gaven Reed underwent surgery to repair a knee injury suffered against Weber State, coach Houston Nutt said, and will likely be out the rest of the season.
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