Eagles have designs on Armanti
BOONE, N.C. – Eastern Washington University coach Paul Wulff received some bad news on the injury front late Friday morning when he was informed that strongside linebacker Makai Borden will not be available for today’s NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoff quarterfinal against Appalachian State.
Borden, a 5-foot-11, 215-pound sophomore, has a severe stress fracture in his right foot, which has been bothering him for some time. An MRI done earlier this week revealed the fracture, which Wulff said could easily develop into a full-blown fracture if Borden were allowed to play.
“That’s a huge blow,” Wulff said at the end of Friday afternoon’s brief practice at Kidd Brewer Stadium, where the 14th-ranked Eagles (9-3) and fifth-ranked Mountaineers (10-2) will kick things off today at 9:05 a.m. PST. “It’s something I’m trying not to think about right now.”
Wulff said junior Marcus Walker and freshman J.C. Sherritt will probably split time at strongside linebacker today.
“We’re just going to have to have someone else step in and step up, I guess,” Wulff said.
Borden, who missed EWU’s 28-21 home loss to Portland State and part of the Eagles’ 24-23 loss at Montana the following week with a toe injury, has started 10 games this fall and ranks No. 7 on the team in tackles with 52. He is the Eagles’ eighth-leading tackler with 52, including 5.5 for losses, and also has two interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries.
He will undoubtedly be missed as Eastern attempts to deal with the option-oriented offense of two-time defending champion Appalachian State, which comes in averaging 41.6 points per game.
The key player in the Mountaineers’ offense is sophomore quarterback Armanti Edwards, whom Wulff and EWU defensive coordinator Jody Sears both compare to West Virginia’s Patrick White.
“No,” Wulff said earlier this week when asked if his defense had faced anyone similar to Edwards, who has accounted for 2,407 yards of total offense and had a hand in 27 touchdowns despite missing four games with a shoulder injury, “and that’s the problem.
“You watch him on film and you think you’re watching Patrick White’s brother. He’s not just an athletic kid who can run. He can really throw the football, too, and that combination is what makes him so tough on opposing defenses.”
Sears feels Edwards, a 6-foot, 175-pounder, is one of the best offensive players the Eagles have faced this season.
“BYU had some guys, but this guy is really phenomenal,” Sears said. “Watching film, sometimes, I have to do a double take, because I’m not sure it’s not Patrick White back there. He’s left-handed, he can run like a deer and he’s quick, to boot.
“We’re going to definitely have our hands full with him.”
The Mountaineers have another dangerous offensive threat in senior running back Kevin Richardson, who has rushed for a team-high 1,085 yards and 13 touchdowns. But the 5-9, 190-pounder aggravated an ankle injury in last Saturday’s 28-27 first-round playoff win over James Madison and might not be at full strength today.
Still, Wulff expects his defense to be heartily challenged when it comes to keeping ASU’s option game from breaking the big play.
“They just put so much pressure on you, because they can score so quickly and score so often,” he said. “When you can do that, you can really keep opposing defenses reeling.”
Eastern will counter with a prolific offense that is spearheaded by sophomore quarterback Matt Nichols, the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Nichols has thrown for 3,559 yards and a school-record 32 touchdowns this fall, surpassing the previous record of 31 set by Erik Meyer in 2004.
But the key to today’s game could be Eastern’s running game and how much it can accomplish against Appalachian State’s young and undersized defensive line.
The Eagles rushed for 192 yards in last Saturday’s 44-14 first-round playoff rout of No. 2-seed and previously unbeaten McNeese State, with junior running back Dale Morris scampering for 130 yards and four touchdowns on 22 carries.
“We’re going to have to be able to run the football, there’s no question,” Wulff said. “And throw it as well. We want to be as balanced as we can. That’s the same goal for us every week, and that doesn’t change. Appalachian State is very stingy against the pass, but they’re still pretty good against the run.
“They’ve had a few games where they haven’t defended the run great, but for the most part, they’re not going to get themselves beat by giving up easy points. You’re going to have to earn your points against them, and you’re going to have to be really sound, offensively, in order to do that.”
Game notes
Backup defensive back Terry Mixon, who has missed two of Eastern’s last three games with a hamstring problem that has slowed him throughout the year, did not travel with the team this weekend because of an unspecified violation of team rules. Mixon, a transfer from Washington State, has been in on 26 tackles and has one interception. … Appalachian State is attempting to become the first team in the history of NCAA Division I football to win three consecutive national championships… . The Mountaineers are making their 15th playoff appearance and have a postseason record of 17-12. … Only 10 teams among the 116 playing in the FCS have made it to the playoffs in three of the last four years, and Eastern is one of those teams. … The Eagles rank No. 4 nationally in total offense, with an average of 470.2 yards per game. ASU is ranked fifth, with an average of 468.6 yards per game.