Pain tolerance key for Jacobs

10/25/2005

BOWLING GREEN - If quarterback Omar Jacobs plays Saturday, he will have to shoulder the pain. If not, his Bowling Green State University teammates will have to shoulder the burden.

After separating his non-throwing shoulder last Saturday in the loss to Western Michigan, Jacobs is questionable for the Falcons' upcoming game against Akron, BG coach Gregg Brandon said yesterday. The decision on Jacobs isn't expected to come until Saturday and will largely depend on how much pain he can tolerate.

"It's going to be painful," Brandon said. "It's going to be a matter of how effectively he can throw the ball and how much he can deal with the pain.

"He's got to get that arm out in front to throw a ball. If he can do that, we'll make an evaluation from that standpoint, and see where he's at."

Brandon is preparing his team to play without Jacobs and would start redshirt freshman Anthony Turner in his absence. He seemed less concerned about who would quarterback than with the mental focus of his team, which experienced a letdown after Jacobs was knocked out late in the first quarter of Saturday's 45-14 loss.

"When he went down, the whole team went down," Brandon said. "We didn't respond, we didn't answer the bell, and that's unfortunate. We've addressed that and we need to overcome that."

BG, leading the Mid-American Conference East by a half-game, has its next three games against divisional foes. They host the 3-4 Zips, followed by a trip to face 1-6 Kent State.

The Falcons end their season with the meat of their conference schedules, the games they most want Jacobs healthy for, on the road against 4-3 Miami and hosting 6-1 Toledo.

PLAYERS HONORED: The Falcons had conference players of the week yesterday in two sports. Women's soccer player Lindsay Carter won MAC honors and hockey player Jon Horrell won the Central Collegiate Hockey Association goalie award.

Carter, from Hilliard, Ohio, had two goals over the weekend as the Falcons increased their win streak to seven games. BG is in first place in the MAC and is guaranteed a share of the regular-season conference title. The Falcons will host a MAC tournament quarterfinal match next Tuesday.

Horrell had 41 saves to lead the Falcons to a 2-2 tie against Ohio State on Saturday.

Contact Maureen Fulton at:

mfulton@theblade.com

or 419-724-6160.