Injuries plague Pelc, Griz retain top spot
10/16/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
With regular starting center Brian Pelc possibly side-lined for the rest of the season with a severe right knee injury, getting the ball into the hands of quarterback John Edwards will rest on the shoulders of Garth Enger.
"It depends on the health of Pelc, but as long as Pelc can't play, Enger will be playing center," head coach Joe Glenn said.
Enger is Pelc's backup, and Enger has worked with the first team offense at times this season. Pelc missed some time a few weeks ago with a hamstring injury, and Enger played with the first team then.
Pelc injured his knee while run blocking in the first quarter of Saturday's game against Weber State. Enger played the rest of that game at center.
This week Enger may work a little bit more with Edwards on the center-to-quarterback exchange to make sure he gets the ball to Edwards cleanly, Glenn said. That exchange isn't something Glenn is overly worried about though, he said.
Dominating. It is the only word that truly describes Montana's defensive effort Saturday night against Weber State. The Grizzlies held WSU to a mere 190 yards of total offense and an anemic 10 yards of rushing.
But as controlling as the Griz defense was Saturday, it was just another day at the office for a squad that is one of the best in the nation.
Montana is giving up just 53.7 yards on the ground, the fourth best mark in the nation for I-AA schools. As teams have struggled to gain yards on the ground, they also have struggled to put points on the board.
Opponents are scoring just over 11 points per game against the Grizzly defense, which is tied for fourth in the nation.
In the Big Sky, the Grizzlies are the most dominant squad in the conference.
UM's 26 total sacks are the most by any team in the conference, seven more than Montana State.
Trey Young and Kyle Scholle, both Grizzly safeties, are leading the conference in sacks with five and a half each. Young also leads the league in forced fumbles with three.
Elsewhere around the sky There are now four teams from the Big Sky Conference in the top 25, after Idaho State broke into the national rankings for the first time this year following its 18-14 home win over Montana State.
The Bengals grabbed the No. 24 spot in this week's Sports Network poll.
Montana retained the top spot after beating Weber State convincingly this weekend in Ogden, Utah. Since the season started, the Grizzlies have been in the top spot. Portland State was at No. 12 this week, and Northern Arizona fell to No. 16 after being upset at home by Sacramento State, 24-21. The Lumberjacks were No. 8 just a week ago but fell eight spots with the loss. Ryan Johnson is now the all-time leading rusher in Montana State history, after his 119 yards Saturday against Idaho State gave him 3,048 for his career. The previous Bobcat record was 2,997, which was held by Steve Kracher.
"It depends on the health of Pelc, but as long as Pelc can't play, Enger will be playing center," head coach Joe Glenn said.
Enger is Pelc's backup, and Enger has worked with the first team offense at times this season. Pelc missed some time a few weeks ago with a hamstring injury, and Enger played with the first team then.
Pelc injured his knee while run blocking in the first quarter of Saturday's game against Weber State. Enger played the rest of that game at center.
This week Enger may work a little bit more with Edwards on the center-to-quarterback exchange to make sure he gets the ball to Edwards cleanly, Glenn said. That exchange isn't something Glenn is overly worried about though, he said.
Dominating. It is the only word that truly describes Montana's defensive effort Saturday night against Weber State. The Grizzlies held WSU to a mere 190 yards of total offense and an anemic 10 yards of rushing.
But as controlling as the Griz defense was Saturday, it was just another day at the office for a squad that is one of the best in the nation.
Montana is giving up just 53.7 yards on the ground, the fourth best mark in the nation for I-AA schools. As teams have struggled to gain yards on the ground, they also have struggled to put points on the board.
Opponents are scoring just over 11 points per game against the Grizzly defense, which is tied for fourth in the nation.
In the Big Sky, the Grizzlies are the most dominant squad in the conference.
UM's 26 total sacks are the most by any team in the conference, seven more than Montana State.
Trey Young and Kyle Scholle, both Grizzly safeties, are leading the conference in sacks with five and a half each. Young also leads the league in forced fumbles with three.
Elsewhere around the sky There are now four teams from the Big Sky Conference in the top 25, after Idaho State broke into the national rankings for the first time this year following its 18-14 home win over Montana State.
The Bengals grabbed the No. 24 spot in this week's Sports Network poll.
Montana retained the top spot after beating Weber State convincingly this weekend in Ogden, Utah. Since the season started, the Grizzlies have been in the top spot. Portland State was at No. 12 this week, and Northern Arizona fell to No. 16 after being upset at home by Sacramento State, 24-21. The Lumberjacks were No. 8 just a week ago but fell eight spots with the loss. Ryan Johnson is now the all-time leading rusher in Montana State history, after his 119 yards Saturday against Idaho State gave him 3,048 for his career. The previous Bobcat record was 2,997, which was held by Steve Kracher.
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