San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
INJURY TEMPERS AZTECS WIN
Greg Bell departs early after hurting his left shoulder
San Diego State running back Greg Bell was injured on his second carry Saturday afternoon against Towson.
Bell returned a series later to see if he could play through the pain, carrying one more time (on a play negated by penalty) before signaling to the sideline as he came off the field.
Bell was done for the day. And perhaps several weeks longer.
48 Aztecs T 2 ows 1 on
For the second straight year, SDSU’S standout running back suffered a serious injury, this one to his left shoulder/collarbone.
Bell, who came into the contest as the nation’s fourth-leading rusher, added but 4 yards to the 405 he gained the first three games of the season.
He had his shoulder pads off and an ice pack over his left collarbone by the second quarter.
It is a big loss for the SDSU offense, but maybe the Aztecs will get by with a little help from Bell’s friends.
SDSU displayed its depth at running back, its penchant for big plays on special teams and opportunistic defense in a 48-21 victory over Towson before an estimated crowd of 2,000 (announced attendance was 7,619) at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Backup running backs Jordan Byrd, Kaegun Williams and Chance Bell all scored in Greg Bell’s absence.
Each back also rushed for at least 75 yards — 75 for Byrd, 76 for Williams and 79 for Bell — as the Aztecs accumulated 281 rushing yards on 47 carries against the Tigers.
“Those guys are so competitive, but they have so much respect for each other,” SDSU head coach Brady Hoke said. “How they believe in each other. You hear them on the sidelines. They’re excited for the guy who is either playing ahead of them or playing behind them.”
Said Chance Bell: “Greg ’s a great athlete. We’re definitely going to need him for the long haul.
“It was tough seeing it ... but like we preach around here, it’s next man up.
“You never know. Your role can change in one play. I feel like we really stepped up to that challenge today. That’s the most important from the team aspect.”
SDSU heads into a bye week with a 4-0 start for just the second time in the past four decades. The Aztecs opened the 2017 season with six straight wins.
Following the week off, SDSU will open Mountain West play Oct. 9 against New Mexico.
SDSU played the game without four starters — quarterback Jordon Brookshire, wide receiver Kobe Smith, middle linebacker Andrew Aleki and cornerback Tayler Hawkins — who were all out with injuries.
Soon enough, Greg Bell joined them.
Bell appeared to get injured when a Towson lineman fell right on top of him midway through the first quarter.
Hoke said he didn’t see the play but believed Bell aggravated an undisclosed injury from last week that forced the running back to miss a second-quarter series against Utah.
Hoke did not have an update on Bell’s condition during postgame remarks, but he did say “I don’t think there’s any doubt that he will be healthy for New Mexico.”
Bell missed most of the second half of the season a year ago after suffering a leg injury, rushing for just 100 yards in the last four games after collecting 527 yards in the first four games.
His absence seemed significant as Towson (1-3), the only FCS team on SDSU’S schedule this season, made a game of it in a first half in which Hoke said the Aztecs “came out sluggish.”
The Tigers trailed only 2114 at halftime with 21 unanswered points by SDSU sandwiched between two Towson touchdowns.
The Aztecs came out in the second half and quickly assumed control, scoring two touchdowns in the first five minutes of the second half to build a 35-14 lead.
“You hate to give up anything going into halftime,” Hoke said. “A field goal, a touchdown, whatever it might be, we can’t do that.
“For us to come out and answer defensively and offensively, I thought that was huge.”
The Aztecs’ third blocked punt return for a touchdown in four games (one was called back on a penalty) came on Tyrell Shavers’ block and Trenton Thompson’s 11-yard return with 58 seconds expired in the third quarter.
The TD was originally credited to SDSU’S Noah Avinger, whose name was mentioned over the PA moments later when the cornerback intercepted a Chris Ferguson pass near midfield.
Byrd took a handoff three plays later, beat the Tigers to the left corner and was gone for a 55-yard TD that provided a three-touchdown lead with 10:43 remaining in the third quarter.
Chance Bell broke loose on a 61-yard run later in the quarter for what was originally ruled a touchdown.
He broke a tackle near midfield and was tripped up at the 10-yard line, but kept his feet long enough to tumble over the goal line.
On review, he was deemed down a foot from the end zone.
On the next play, Bell carried in for a 1-yard touchdown.
“I told Byrd afterwards that I’ve got to borrow a little bit of speed from him,” Bell said. “Punched it in on the next play, so it’s all good.”
A pair of Matt Araiza field goals — from 48 and 36 yards — accounted for the Aztecs’ other scores.
The second field goal gave SDSU a 34-point lead. Towson narrowed the margin with a Ferguson touchdown pass with 5:59 to play.
Araiza was most notable again for his punting.
The nation’s leading punter averaged 65.7 yards (with a long of 72 yards) on three first-half punts.
That’s when SDSU needed him most. The Aztecs offense sputtered early on.
Aztecs quarterback Lucas Johnson (16-for-25, 149 yards, TD/INT) threw an interception on his third attempt of the game and missed some open receivers, though he did complete 64 percent of his passes.
Freshman quarterback Will Haskell replaced Johnson midway through the fourth quarter and guided the Aztecs on their final drive. Haskell rushed three times for 20 yards and completed his lone pass for 20 yards.
The Tigers opened the scoring with a 19-yard touchdown pass with 5:36 left in the first quarter when Ferguson hit uncovered running back Jerry Howard Jr. out of the backfield.
Towson had taken possession after an Aztecs turnover when Johnson floated a third-down pass that Tigers defensive back Mark Collins Jr. picked off.
Later, Towson employed the two-minute drill to perfection, running perhaps the most efficient series of any Aztecs opponent this season.
The Tigers got the ball with 1:46 remaining until halftime and drove 80 yards down the field, with Ferguson completing eight passes during the drive. The last one was a 4-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Caleb Smith with six seconds showing on the clock.
The Aztecs appeared in command in between those two scores.
Williams made it 7-7 with 4 seconds remaining in the first quarter on an 8-yard touchdown run and Byrd gave the Aztecs a 14-7 lead with a 12-yard scoring run.
Johnson’s best throw of the first half, a ball lofted to the left corner of the end zone, dropped into the stomach of wide receiver Elijah Kothe for a 16-yard touchdown that made it 21-7.
SDSU’S defense had difficulty with Towson’s short passing game in the first half. Ferguson completed 15 of 23 attempts for 187 yards. He was 4 of 12 after intermission, though, passing for only 26 more yards.
SDSU’S defense limited Towson to 228 yards in total offense — all but 13 yards of it in the first half. SDSU linebacker Garret Fountain recovered a fumble that led to one SDSU touchdown and Avinger’s interception led to another.
“We practiced all week for what they gave us,” said SDSU safety Patrick Mcmorris, who led the team with eight tackles. “We just came out a little slow . ... We definitely picked it up in the second half.”