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Jim Pearson, General Manager and Former
Knee injury knocks out Garnett
Oct 26, 2005
Brian Milne
by The San Luis Obispo Tribune
Already beset by its first Division I-AA loss of the season, the Cal Poly football team suffered another loss Tuesday when an MRI exam revealed senior quarterback Anthony Garnett has a torn ACL and meniscus in his left knee, an injury that will sideline the Mustangs' senior captain for the remainder of the season.
Garnett, the centerpiece of the Mustangs' option offense, injured the knee on a pass attempt with 22 seconds remaining in Saturday's 36-27 loss at Montana.
"It hurts, but it's not really a big surprise," Garnett said from the Cal Poly training room Tuesday. "In the back of my mind, that's what I was thinking and I was prepared for the worst."
Garnett was injured while rolling out to his right under pressure from Montana linebacker Kyle Ryan. Looking for one of his three receivers on that side of the field, Garnett flung an off-balance pass across his body before Ryan could track him down. When Garnett planted his left foot after the pass, his cleat got caught in the artificial SprinTurf at Washington-Grizzly Stadium and his knee buckled under his momentum.
He was never hit on the play but had to be carried off the field by team physician Sean Devine and trainer James Eggen. Garnett was eventually carted to the team locker room and has been on crutches since.
"It's not good," said Cal Poly receiver and good friend Anthony Randolph, who lives in an apartment next to Garnett. "It's definitely a blow emotionally and physically to our team. We're going to have to rally behind him this week."
With Garnett's career coming to a premature close, redshirt freshman Matt Brennan appears to be the one who will take over the starting quarterback duties Saturday at UC Davis (4-3 overall, 2-1 Great West Football Conference).
Cal Poly head coach Rich Ellerson has not named a new starter publicly, but Brennan is listed as the starter on a Cal Poly-issued depth chart and took most of the snaps Tuesday, according to players.
Senior John Mende is listed as the backup while redshirt freshman Ernie Cooper is the third-stringer.
Cal Poly (5-2, 3-0) has rarely used its backups this season as Mende (4 of 5 for 35 yards) and Brennan (6 of 11 for 33 yards) have combined to attempt just 16 of the team's 122 passes.
"The coaches are confident and we're confident (Brennan) will get the job done," Randolph said. "He played a lot against Troy and from what I've seen in practice, he's a solid quarterback and I know he'll do a great job."
Garnett is the Mustangs' second leading rusher with 155 yards and seven touchdowns on 70 carries. He has completed 63 of his 104 pass attempts (60.6 percent) with just four interceptions (158.13 quarterback rating), throwing for 1,028 yards and seven touchdowns.
The Seaside product, who spent his first two years at Monterey Peninsula College, said he is uncertain when he will have surgery.
"It's time to move on," Garnett said.
"Right now the most important thing for me to do is support my team and help out wherever I can. I'll be my quarterback's eyes on the sideline, trying to do all the stuff they did for me to make sure we don't skip a beat out there."The following material was derived from foreign sources and is only available in its original language.
