LITTLE ROCK — Louisiana-Monroe Coach Todd Berry’s voice sounded weary Monday as he confirmed the Warhawks’ latest injury, and the deepest dent in their bid among a crowded field of contenders for a Sun Belt Conference title.
After injuring his left foot in the first quarter of a loss Saturday to Louisiana-Lafayette, senior quarterback Kolton Browning was ruled out Monday of a pivotal match up of two teams tied for first place when the Warhawks (6-3, 4-1) travel to Arkansas State (6-3, 4-1) at 6 p.m. Thursday in Jonesboro.
“It’s a disappointing loss,” Berry said of not having Browning available. “Our injuries have really started impacting our team, not just in terms of the players out there but in overall depth and conditioning.”
However, Berry didn’t rule out a return down the line for Browning, who dressed for a Monday practice but did not take part as senior backup Cody Wells led the first-team offense in preparing for the Red Wolves.
“Is he out for the season?” Berry said. “A lot is dependent on whether we can get a bowl bid. It’s unfortunate. He was tackled, and it’s been one of those seasons again.”
Indeed, October dealt severe blows to the Warhawks, who drew national attention for upsetting then-No. 8 Arkansas in a 34-31 overtime victory, and put scares into Auburn before losing in overtime and dropped a shootout in Monroe to Big 12 foe Baylor.
On Oct. 13, running back Centarius Donald went down with a knee injury, depriving Louisiana-Monroe of one half of its backfield tandem. Two weeks ago, leading rusher Jyruss Edwards, who had 438 yards and 6 touchdowns 99 carries, was lost for season in a victory against South Alabama with an undisclosed upper-body injury.
The losses heaped more pressure on Browning, who averaged 47.3 yards rushing, in addition to serving as the conference’s second leading passer at 254.2 yards per game.
Browning, who averaged a Sun Belt leading 301.6 yards per game of total offense, returned briefly to the sidelines on crutches with his left foot in a boot. He didn’t stay long before disappearing back down the tunnel to go for more tests early Saturday evening.
The departure, which came with the game tied 7-7 in a 40-24 defeat, was easily felt, Berry said.
“There was a little bit of a letdown in the game,” Berry said. “You could feel the air go out of the sideline, and maybe some guys tried to make too many plays.”
Arkansas State Coach Gus Malzahn said Monday the absence of Browning, who was completing 61.8 percent of his passes and had 23 touchdowns against only 6 interceptions, wouldn’t alter the Red Wolves’ game plan.
And Malzahn doesn’t anticipate Berry to pare down the playbook for Wells and to “expect [players] to rally around him.”
“He’s played quite a bit, and he’s a veteran guy,” Malzahn said. “He’s used to running their offense, and I don’t think it’ll change much. Sometimes, with back ups, you shorten up the playbook. We don’t think that will happen.”
Arkansas State linebacker Nathan Herrold said “we can’t have the mind-set to see them as wounded.”
“If you sit down and watch any film on them, they’re far from that,” Herrold said. “They’re still pretty dangerous. The new quarterback in there has an arm on him, and he can move pretty good and looks athletic on film.”
Wells, a 5-11, 196-pound senior, has appeared in 26 games over four seasons, passing for 1,501 yards and 11 touchdowns while completing 56.5 percent of his throws.
“He doesn’t have all the playing snaps that Kolton has, but he’s a bright young man,” Berry said. “He’s in the game mentally. He’s always been passionate about learning new stuff. He’s very vocal in quarterback meetings.”
In the past two seasons, Wells has thrown more than 15 passes in a game three times - all losses - and went a combined 53 of 93 (56.9 percent) for 670 yards and 5 touchdowns against 5 interceptions.
THURSDAY’S GAME All times Central La.-Monroe at Arkansas State, 6 p.m.
SATURDAY’S GAMES La.-Lafayette at Florida, 11:21 a.m.
Florida Atlantic at W. Kentucky, noon Navy at Troy, 2:30 p.m.
So. Alabama at North Texas, 4:30 p.m.
Sports, Pages 15 on 11/06/2012